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Politics? Yawn, say GenY
- By Murli
As we say in Kannada, Dushtan kandre doora iru
(keep away from the bad guys).
But think, what happens when you leave politics - the most important
job of governing the country - to the bad guys?
C'mon you guys 'n gals, take this quiz. Who is N.R. Narayana Murthy? No big deal, it's full marks to all of you. OK, fasten your seat belts for the next one. Who is Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi? It's a bouncer, right? Chances are 7 out of 10 will get it wrong. Only a few will get it right, that she was the daughter of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and, even fewer will know that she ruled as the PM for 12 years, from 1969-1977 and 1980-1984.
What does this prove? That the youth today find Indian politics a …yawn. Boring stuff, yaar. That's why you go to sleep when the TV news channels scream murder on the hot political 'item number' of the day.
Well, we are like that only. 'Coz Indian politics is a dirty old, scum ball, better left alone. As we say in Kannada, Dushtan kandre doora iru (keep away from the bad guys). But think, what happens when you leave politics - the most important job of governing the country - to the bad guys? It gets worse and worse. Until you don't want to be part of it anymore.
There's a famous book by Robin Sharma called 'Who will cry when you die?' Because of your lack of interest in politics, a day will come when Indian politics, managed wholly by the bad guys, will get the country to such a situation that we will be asking ourselves, who will cry when the nation dies?
As a student, it is not enough if you know that e=mc2 (Einstein's theory of relativity if you didn't know!). It is also important that you know who's governing the country, how, why, what can be done, and what should be done, etc etc. You should not answer, for example, answer that Indira Gandhi is the daughter of Mahatma Gandhi, as some students stated in a survey about Mrs Gandhi!
There's another important reason why you should be as aware about politics as your academic future. When you walk out of college, you will walk right into the polling booth as a voter, as you will be eligible to vote! And when your knowledge about politics is zero, do you know young voters like you will be precisely responsible for the kind of governments we get. That's how we end up getting the government we deserve. Actually, it has gotten worse. These days we get the government we DON'T deserve!
Today, nearly half of our population comprises young Indians in the age-group of 15-40. Imagine the danger to the country when such a large number of people are ignorant or disinterested in politics! So don't blame the politicians, begin by blaming yourself. Take charge of things, and learn, step by step, know little by little, and pass the "general awareness test in politics". In life, unlike in studies, the test comes first, the lesson later. So, don't worry if you fail. The important thing is, you will learn the "lesson" right. And this will definitely make you into a well-rounded personality, and also keep the nation in the right direction.
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