Being a Citizen or Behaving a Citizen?

Legally you become a Citizen by just being born in India or holding an Indian Passport.
How do you behave as a Citizen? India is a democratic country, a country in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held elections.
The Vote you cast in a General Election to elect people’s representative is the most important behaviour of a Citizen. It is your opportunity to express your view about who is eligible to run the Nation. In a country with more than 100 crore citizens, how just one single vote of yours has any value? On a micro perspective this might not look effective but on a macro level every vote is DNA in building a nation. In India still our average vote polling percentage is around 70%. The more saddening thing is most citizens who don’t cast their vote are high class educated ones. People who dutifully offer their votes are mostly very common citizens. This is why politicians cheat them easily. As you children receive good education it is also important you realise the value of voting so that you behave as citizens once you turn 18.
Why is that 100% Voting is important? Imagine a very small country with 100 Citizens . Three parties A, B & C run on elections to rule it.

• 30 Citizens vote for A,
• 10 Citizens vote for B
• 35 Citizens vote for C.
• 25 Citizens didn’t offer their vote

C will be declared the winner as single largest party but the votes C earned is only 35% whereas the votes C couldn’t earn is 65%. In simple terms the country will get a ruling party which is not trusted by 65% of the population. How will the country and its people develop? The concept of representation itself fails drastically. Also more and more the voting percentage reduces, it is easy for the wrong parties to buy votes with money or other means.
The other aspect is responsible voting. A simple analysis and reading manifesto will give idea about the contesting parties. As an individual we must cast our vote honestly for the party or candidate who we believe is the most rightful. Instead people vote for money, freebies, favourite personalities, religious/caste orientation and for family tradition voting policy. All this is irresponsible voting behaviour. This the root cause for vote bank politics and parties to do favours for the vote banks instead focusing on real needs of the country.
To behave as Citizen who gives a meaningful vote you need to acquire enough knowledge about the political climate of our country. Politics is not at all boring or difficult domain to understand. Start your Citizenship behaviour as a child by questioning the issues that concern you. Politics start from very basic needs. By the time you decide to vote or not, the water you drink may have become a bit more expensive, that much politics is intervened in your life. Do you still think voting is unnecessary?
Stop just being a Citizen, Start behaving as a Citizen!

Dilip Lenin
Marketing Professional
Tuticorin