PM Narendra Modi started two massive Programmes to transform the mindset of Indians. That is the New India and Khelo India that, together, are producing visible results on the ground. India’s CWG2022 performance is there for all who care to see.
Take the example of Mirabai Saikhom Chanu, our Women’s 49Kg category Weightlifter at the #CWG2022. She started her campaign after all others had finished! All of 27 years of youthful age, she strode into the arena and with her very first lift in the Snatch segment, went into the lead. Then she did the same in the Clean & Jerk segment and sealed the India’s very first Gold in the CWG2022! What a dominating performance! She was the show stopper of that event! Full of grace and smiles, she made India proud.
Then take the example of another Weightlifter of India, Bindyarani Devi (55kg). She clinched a silver in the women’s 55kg as India continued its medal rush at the Commonwealth Games. She lifted a total weight of 202kg (86kg+116kg). Nigeria’s Adijat Adenike Olarinoye also obliterated the Games record in snatch and total effort with an aggregate of 203kg (92kg+111kg) to win the gold medal. Bindiya failed to lift 114 Kgs but to seal the Silver she lifted an unprecedented 116 Kgs in her last do-or-die attempt to seal the Silver Medal! Gutsy and ferociously competitive, Bindiya exemplified Indian Women’s rise in New India.
Gururaj Poojary, this 29 years old had just got married and was immediately called to the CWG2022 camp for training. He left his newly wed wife to join the camp. Gururaja ranked fourth after the snatch round. In a stunning attempt, Gururaja lifted 151kg in his final Clean & Jerk attempt to win Silver from behind!
21 year old Sanket Sagar raised his life from working in a Paan Shop to winning a Silver for India. Sanket’s sister Kajol, won Gold in the Khelo India games conducted recently.
There are and will be many more such inspiring stories from New India. We can either sit back and bask in their glory, or look at what New India means for you & me, the Aam Admi or Common Man.
New India is = New Mindset.
What is the most unwanted thing in our ordinary lives? Corruption!
Corruption of all kinds. The obvious, headline corruption is that of financial corruption by career politicians, especially those that have made it into a Dynastic Business or profession. Passed on for generations, it has resulted in the country being looted dry. This impacts the middle and lower strata of our nation the most. Poor infrastructure, poor roads & footpaths, even poorer public health services and the worst government educational institutions. It has even seemingly crept into our judicial systems, especially the law & order wing of the justice system.
Moral Corruption. The deluge of rape & molestation not just of women, but also of children, even toddlers! The newspapers carry incidents of such atrocities every single day. For every crime reported, the thumb rule for the world’s second most populous country is that a 1,000+ go unreported! If this does not post an existential threat, what does?
Ideological Corruption. How can any ideology justify mass killing, beheading, bull dozing, exclusion of fellow citizens? Of course not! The Mahatma famously said “An eye for an eye will turn the whole country blind“. That’s where we’re headed by ideological blindness!
Petty Crimes like chain snatching, abduction, Internet frauds (not petty, really!) are rampant all over the country.
I could on and on. There’s no need, as you can read newspapers every day to find the proof of these.
So what, if anything, does New India hold for us ordinary citizens? The Aam Admi?
Every one of these oft repeated failures stems from just ONE thing. YES. Just ONE thing!
And curing that is in the hands of every single citizen of India! YOUR VOTE.
Just like the Khelo India initiative has worked miracles by changing the mindset of ordinary (and mostly rural) Indians, who grabbed the opportunity of better infrastructure & programmes created by the Government, we ordinary people have this opportunity almost every year, often multiple times a year – the Elections at the three levels of government! Municipal, State and Central elections!
History has shown us that Career Politicians are a core source of extreme corruption, especially the dynastic variety. The old adage “Power breeds Corruption; Absolute Power breeds Absolute Corruption” is more relevant today than every before. It breeds all sorts of corruption, some of which are mentioned above.
Career Politicians master the art of nursing vote banks using emotional manipulation such as: Religion, Language, Caste, Region, Money, Muscle, Lies (aka Jhumlas), Misinformation, Disinformation, etc. and their tool kits are huge.
And we ordinary people fall into such emotional traps very easily. But worse, we cannot “see” this trap and hardly ever come out of it. That’s why it’s called “Vote Banks”.
The only way out is, surprisingly simple:
Do NOT vote for any Career Politician. Vote, instead, for new faces from amongst us. Vote for a Common Man.
S/he wont have the money for grand publicity or buy votes. Give them the opportunity and we will see the New India emerge in the most important core area – politics. Just like new champions have emerged from unknown rural areas in all sports!
This is the opportunity of New India. Vote for the Common Man. The Aam Admi! Reject the Corrupt Career Politician. In a democracy, politics was never meant to be a Profession or Career, but an avenue for Public Service!
Twitter: @jsvasan
.