It has been always like this in India and among us Indians. While there is a crisis there is a huge hue and cry and once things get past it, even if there was no significant effort done to review the causes and prevent further reoccurrences we forget about it and things calm down until such a point when we see it appear before us in the form of Kargil War. When 26/11 attacks occurred every Indian, back home or in various parts of world showed support and anger against the barbarism. We at ASU, forming one of the largest Indian student community, also staged a peace protest condemning this violence. It was nice to see that this had attracted the attention of the ordinary people of other countries and they too participated in this protest. (Especially because not many in US are aware of world politics except I-rak or Af-gan as they call it.) Forget what happened back home post 26/11, with politicians and diplomats trying to appease US or abide by their policies, or may be to protect ourselves from the possibility of instability in the region due to Taliban resurgence in the wake of an Indo Pak war. It’s a complicated political situation. Question at this point is what have we as Indians, abroad done towards it, barring a peace protest? Did we think what role, may be small, we can take to correct things?
Let us act today, and we can see a better tomorrow.
(Photos courtsey Arvind R.)
I was in India at the time of this rally, so unfortunately i could not participate. However i dont know what purpose it serves, really. It aint gonna change anything.
ReplyDeleteAnd regarding voting rights, I dont know if the candidates we choose would be the right ones, since we may not experience the issues at the ground level and will only judge the candidates by what we see in the media, which can turn out to be gravely wrong.
I know a lot of countries allow their citizens staying abroad to vote, but i know also that all these citizens vote whenever they have a chance. How many of us voted when we were in India? How many students in India vote? That is perhaps the bigger question to ask.
Santhosh, you are totally wrong about disregarding the purpose a rally serves. Rallies are a way of publicizing and making people and communities at national and international level become aware of sensitive issues. A thought filled into a head will make that person more alert and act in a right way for future incidents. The message of a rally might not ring a bell in everyone, but if does with the few right, then it serves the purpose.
ReplyDeleteReplying to your opinion on voting, most Indians residing in US should be able to get a picture of candidates in his/her constituency through their parents/friends/contacts. They would have direct notice of the works undertaken by the candidates there. The media should be of additional help.
Coming to voting, I always voted whenever I was in India after I attained the right age.. its a negative thought that one's vote doesn't hold any credibility..