Despite the number of ads floating in the print and visual medium exhorting us citizens to exercise our right to vote, I will now confess that I have never voted and will not be voting this year as well. Before all of you decry me as a worthless and complacent citizen, let me quickly inform you that this not because of any political apathy but due to the lack of the essential tool needed to exercise this right - the voter ID card.
Sometime last year when the government started the extensive task of checking its voters list, updating lists and then issuing voters id cards, the BJP was one of the first to ensure that every practising and non-practising Hindu was on the rolls. This was particularly important in our area considering Hindus are completely outnumbered by Muslims who have more or less hijacked the loacality. So we dutifully added our names to the list and we were provided with a number that we had to quote and a form (i think) that we were to produce to get the id card at a subsequent date.
In time it was announced that the id cards for the area were being disbursed at a certain school that I have never heard of. Considering I am a veteran of our loacility (having lived here for near about 15 yrs) that was quite something. Nonetheless we forged ahead and discovered this seedy lane and derelict building only to understand that the id card distribution was stopped for the day due to some communal skirmish earlier in the afternoon. So we decided to come back the next day bright and fresh thinking that the process will be over in a while and that maybe we could catch a movie while we are at it.
When we made it back to this place, I should have been a little suspect considering the near total turnout of Muslims and the near absence of any other community members. What was surprising was that there were social workers (euphemism for thug aspiring to be politician) who were helping their particular community people to get their cards while minority people like us were compeltely ignored. The serpentine queue resembled Hanuman's elongated tail and the only heartening fact was the sight of people further behind me in the line - like they say, there is always a silver lining. So we sweated it out while other women tried to make small talk, though not succesfully - especially when one mistook my husband for my father - she is definitely not getting any award for PR! Everytime the venerated portals opened to admit the next lot of lucky people, the entire queue surged forward like the waves of the ocean in high tide only to be sternly stemmed to ensure even more hours of patient waiting. Just when I was ready to throw in the towel, I finally joined the lucky lot, albeit not without a few vocal complaints, and then realised that the queue continued inside. There was only one counter inside to verify details followed by a desktop with a camera to click a picture and finally the vajra astra was in your hands. After some more waiting this time in even more cramped conditions without potable water, i finally stood at the hallowed counter.
To say that I was overwhelmed is putting it lightly. I was near week in my knees and thought I would faint in disbelief. However I pulled myself up and gave them my number, feeling a heady mixture of relief and fulfillment. The disinterested human with a sneer on his face - enjoying his uncharacteristic position of power - looked up and shook his head - left to right and briskly waved me on. I looked at him flabbergasted. What did he mean? Then another individual took pity on me and revealed to me that they were only disbursing id cards for the area that lies opposite to mine and falling in a certain range that did not include my number. Dumbfounded I walked out with wooden feet to my husband who was ready to congratulate me on having achieved the impossible feat, only to blurt out the fact that our entire day in the sun had been wasted. The basic question that I had nobody to ask was, why wasnt this little fact publicised outside. Why was nobody informed? Can you imagine this error in a corporate or service steup. Will this lack of information be pardoned?
Thats when I decided that this murky, unorganized, fiefdom of politics and election is just not for me. If it is so easy to get a PAN card or a license, you atleast have consultants who manage the process for you, why should a voter id card be so elusive.
When our electoral and governmental processes are streamlined, when citizens are respected and empowered to exercise their voter franchise rather than forced to grovel and beg for their fundamental right - that day I and many others like me will become part of the democratic process. Till then we are unhappily staying out of this mess.
No comments:
Post a Comment