I do not know what I may appear to the world; but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me. -Sir Issac Newton

Saturday, April 25, 2009

I cast my VOTE!

A couple of days back i exercised my fundamental right of the indian constitution. Yes. I cast my vote. This is the second time i voted in my life. Recollected few general reminisces of the voting experience here below..
by the time i entered the election booth,at 10'OClock,many middle aged men/women, aged people ,Churi clad girls and few young chaps with barmudas were already waiting in the queue. As my turn came,the officials noted down my Voter id no and took my signature . One of the officers asked to show my hand for marking ink . I showed all my fingers as i forgot the finger which was marked the previous time i voted. He pulled my index finger , made a dirty pink marking and directed me to the ballot cabin. It looked more or less like a internet browsing cube. Two electronic voting machines(EVM) were placed side by side . The EVM were quite bigger than initally imagined. I quickly browsed through the candidate names printed on the EVM and pressed the button corresponding to my choice. But there was no ENTER button to press after making the choice ?!
As i was abt to leave the ballot room , i heard a 'tin ...tin' from my mobile, a typical SMS omen. Just a moment before picking up the mobile from my pocket, a thought suddenly flashed... may be the message is "Your vote has been successfully Registered. Thank You- Election Commission" !??? Well, it is quite usual that everytime after picking up cash from ATM or make an online payment, an acknowlegement SMS appears on my mobile, that too within a minute . Getting used to this , my sudden hunch is not a surprise . Aftermath, few more thoughts wavered into my mind then and there that day.... Why there is no online voting system?! despite being an IT hub of the world ! If online tax payment is a reality , why not an online voting system? It is unlikely that every one of the above 18yrs citizen will go for online voting , if introduced. But this facility would surely attract the younger generation to cast their vote and make them accountable for the Indian polity. I think the apathy of youth with voting is more abt laziness in getting regitered in the electoral office and going to the voting booth rather than any frustation with the corrupt politicians etc as some youths claim.
I was also thinking abt the wrong address got printed on my VoterID Card. I would not be able to use it as an address proof anywhere :(
a word of appreciation to be surely mentioned here. Elder citizens were allowed to vote ahead of the queue. More specifically,the elder citizens didn't request as a favour. But the election workers themselves invited them to vote ahead of the queue!

P.S:
By the way if you are eager...the SMS i actually recieved was like
"HanumanJi devotional songs download . Rs.15/month.Limited offer. Hurry"!

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