Youngistan!!! - Design the destiny of your nation

There are a millions of problems in a developing country like ours. Apart from the population, unemployment, poverty there is host of problems like total lack of transparency, rupee slide, accountability, steep rise of prices, human safety and security especially for women, communal politics, corruption and other problems.

To put the country on the path to success and build our nation, we need to elect good leaders who can take the country forward. For this to happen, as a common man,  we need to exercise our franchise and give a democratic shake up.

In the recently held Delhi polls, many 18 and 19 year olds have not enrolled to vote and nearly 65% of youngistan did’nt  bother to visit the polling booth to vote says another headline.

They seem to be disillusioned by the political system and seems to have lost faith in our democratic system. Otherwise, how else would you explain the same brigade which fights for Nirbhaya  and holds fire torches for "anna uprising'  or august kranti turn cold feet  when they have to vote. The same brigade seems to be very active and patriotic when they have to voice protests over social media apps.

On the flip side, when it comes to voting, we hear them say “ I see no hope for the country”.  “All politicians are the same”(in a negative tone), “ I don’t see any change, all of them are corrupt” , “ we are finished”,” kuch nahin hone wala” “ sab ke sab bekaar”  etc.,.

Not just youngsters  we even hear many elders being cynical and pessimistic.

We need to inspire these youngsters with successful stories.

 Perhaps I feel here is where Indian history is of value. The sepoy mutiny, the Dandi march, the quit india movement,the vellore sepoy mutiny, the rationalist acts of many like Lal, bal, pal and INA of Subhash Bose would not have helped us free from colonial rule if  the "aam aadmi" did not support the leaders then.  Also, marketing and  advertising the rich glorious cultural past of our country  will  instill pride in them. I think no other country can match us in terms of rich ancestral culture, a 10,000 year old history  and modern technological innovations.

Apart from my own country, which won freedom from the hands of The British through non-violent methods, another country whose human spirit inspires me is Japan.

The country which  has seen the worst catastrophes during world war and is periodically destructed by nature has risen like a phoenix each time their enemies strike them, even nature does’nt spare this island nation . The numerous earthquakes and natural disasters crush the country into a debris but not the Japanese spirit. Had they said “ We are finished”, we would’nt see Japan as one of World’s super power today. Every citizen seems to have taken it upon himself to build his nation.    Anybody who knows Japanese history will know that the riches of a nation are not just natural and material resources but human resources.

 And, when it comes to human intelligence , there is no disputing that we Indians are second. Our intelligence infact is best utilized by the developed nations especially through brain drain. We need to work on our nationalism,  responsibilities and discipline to put our country on the path to success and emerge as a super power.

So, apart from  arm chair criticizing and being cynical, Youngistan,  take up the responsibility of building our nation. And as a first step to this,  exercise your franchise. Project the proud spirit of an Indian and build the destiny of the nation.  Whom you vote, how you live can make a difference not just for you but for the coming generations as well. Pessimism does creep in and sometimes the negative incidents around us makes us  wonder that If anything is going to change; but fortunately optimism being the stronger of the two reasons that “Rome was not built in a day”

 Those would be my inspiring words for the youngistan to vote in the Indian general elections of 2014. And the best way to mobilize them or  reach them is through Social mobile apps like Wechat . Almost most youth have cell phones today and have internet  access. So,it would be easy to reach to the urban youth to vote while the remaining illiterate rural youth have to be reached through TV and other media.

This post exclusively written for Indiblogger's "Indian General Elections 2014 With Social Mobile Apps"