Rock the Vote, by Hamsa Subramaniam

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics

is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.  -- Plato

It was almost unbearable for me to be away from Washington, DC during the elections this year. I remember when I was in third grade, Ms. Bukaty told us that voting was a privilege and since then I have always taken an extra effort to participate in my political process. I remember being 18 years old and campaigning for Howard Dean in the dead of winter during the Iowa caucuses, and again for Barack Obama during the Virginia and Maryland primaries. I have canvassed, phone-banked and stuffed envelopes. I have participated in voter registration drives and will never back out of a political conversation.

Now that the Indian elections are fast approaching, I am saddened to find apathy, defeat and disinterest. Living in India as a Service Corps Fellow for eight months, I have been privy to numerous discussions about how the BJP discriminates against non-Hindus and how Congress caters to Muslims and other minorities unfairly.  I’ve heard grumbling about how sleazy politicians give the uneducated poor a bottle of liquor and a free meal to buy campaign peons and ultimately votes.  Lunchtime conversation at SAATHII reveals that many people feel disenfranchised because they are unable to vote for someone they believe in, someone who will keep promises, someone who will actually serve the public instead of filling their own coffers.

My 16 year-old cousin said that she and her friends think that Indian politics won’t change until young, energetic politicians with new ideas and a fresh perspective oust the dynastic politics that has gripped many regions in India.  “We need someone who will realize that [young people] have voices too. We need someone who will sacrifice for the Indian people as opposed to caring just for their own religion and caste.”

I see on a regular basis political parties in Tamil Nadu choosing a candidate to stand for election based on the caste most represented in his constituency to gain votes. In one election, the chosen candidate then quoted the famous Tamil poet Barathiyar, professing on the dais, “Caste does not exist in Tamil Nadu, my children.”  Is this a display of calculated hypocrisy, or merely symptomatic of an India that is still far from gaining a sense of national unity and citizenship?  Those I have spoken with in India feel that caste should be maintained as an important cultural marker and an enforcer of shared values and customs, while not reverting back to the rigid caste hierarchy of the past and its accompanying system of overt discrimination. From my observations however, this has resulted into what has become either cultural discouragement of lawful actions (such as inter-caste marriage), or laws that administer to castes inequitably (e.g., reverse affirmative action often precluding Brahmins acceptance to college). 

This is just one example. These are the kinds of incongruities which cause frustration among those who are aware of what is at stake.

At the end of the day, while India has on average, a higher voter-turnout than the United States (60.7% versus 48.3% according to the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance), those Indians whose votes cannot be bought – those who are educated – end up not voting. However, this group of people also tend to be the ones who have ideas, who have a vision, who know what a government should be like. No matter how naïve, “western” or futile it may seem, voting is both a right and a privilege that so many in the world lack.  As Plato points out, the direction of Indian politics has so far been dictated by the poor who cannot help but look to politicians for a free meal and cash, as opposed to social change. And many politicians give their public what they want to get votes. Free televisions. Free booze. Free meals. 

The educated must hold government responsible for their actions, even if it means choosing the lesser of two evils for now. Politicians should be at the mercy of those who elect them. The onus for social change is on people like us who can afford to think about the future, instead of putting food on the table tonight. I have started this conversation many times with my co-workers and I encourage the other AIF fellows to do the same – talk to your Indian co-workers, families and friends about voting, lest the future of Indian politics continues to rest solely on Plato’s inferior.

Rock the Indian vote.

- Hamsa Subramaniam