Today, while on my way to college, I got entangled in a rather interesting conversation. The rush hour meant I was not going to find a seat. But what it also meant, was overhearing other's conversation about daily life in general.
“What will AAP do if it comes to power?" "They’ll run away like they did they did in Delhi. What was it, 35 days?”
“Forty nine”, I corrected him.
I’m not going to divulge into greater details of what unfolded next, but let’s just say, it turned into an extraordinary discussion for a Friday morning. In the end, that man said something, which really did click a switch in my brain.
“Even today’s kids na, they think they know too much. Look at him - can’t even vote; yet has such strong views about politics.”
I wasn’t surprised, to be quite honest. I’ve had many a Twitter fights defending AAP, and many of them have given me the same response. They think, I, being sixteen years of age, am too ignorant, and don’t know much about the worldly affairs. Even my Chemistry teacher at college was taken aback when he found Tejas and I reading The Economist, saying in his days, kids of our ages stuck to Tinkle.
So, how did this drastic change from Tinkle to The Economist come about?
I have one answer for that. The entry of the Aam Aadmi Party into the political scenario.
“What will AAP do if it comes to power?" "They’ll run away like they did they did in Delhi. What was it, 35 days?”
“Forty nine”, I corrected him.
I’m not going to divulge into greater details of what unfolded next, but let’s just say, it turned into an extraordinary discussion for a Friday morning. In the end, that man said something, which really did click a switch in my brain.
“Even today’s kids na, they think they know too much. Look at him - can’t even vote; yet has such strong views about politics.”
I wasn’t surprised, to be quite honest. I’ve had many a Twitter fights defending AAP, and many of them have given me the same response. They think, I, being sixteen years of age, am too ignorant, and don’t know much about the worldly affairs. Even my Chemistry teacher at college was taken aback when he found Tejas and I reading The Economist, saying in his days, kids of our ages stuck to Tinkle.
So, how did this drastic change from Tinkle to The Economist come about?
I have one answer for that. The entry of the Aam Aadmi Party into the political scenario.
So, it has been more than a year since AAP was formed, and has taken the shape we know of today. Having been born out of the India Against Corruption movement, it has since come a long way. Some would argue for the better, some would say it has been for the worse. But in my opinion, it gave every citizen of India some food for thought, so much so, that I’m sure every person around the corner has an opinion about politics. Right from the watchman to the lab attendant to even my eleven-year-old brother, everyone’s engrossed in having a political debate of their own. Everyone today has a say on which leader is right and which is wrong; who’s corrupt and who’s clean; whom they think will uplift the country, and whom they think will worsen it.
All of this culminated co-incidentally with AAP’s entry into politics. And I hold them responsible for invoking the inner opinionated freaks in all of us. Again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But just as a precautionary measure, I’ve seen relationships break up because the girl and the guy had opposing political views.
And how did this all come about?
The answer is quite simple, actually. Corruption.
The reason why everyone today has such strong views is because of the fact that every person, big or small, has been affected by this disease. I call it a disease because it is infectious and viral. It doesn’t take much time to spread, and there seemingly isn’t any remedy.
Even my brother has experienced cases where he had to bribe someone in power to get his work done. Thus, herein lies the basic reason - the disease’s endemic nature has caused widespread outcry. Experiencing the problem first-hand is not a problem; just try walking into one of our very own government offices.
Thus, when AAP was formally formed, this wave of opinions rose suddenly. You were either with the AAP, or against it; no two ways about it.
But, the AAP has had a very positive impact, in my opinion. By every distinct individual having their own political identity, it has encouraged voters to come out and vote. The effects were seen the most in Delhi at their recent state elections, where there was a total of 66% turn-up, and improvement from the previous 60%, and quite a big improvement from the 56% it had recorded at the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
To outline this article as a whole, a football junkie like me is also sucked into the pandemonium that is Indian Politics, and where all the world’s the Parliament, and we’re our own representatives. And where I’d prefer not to be Rakhi Sawant.
And how did this all come about?
The answer is quite simple, actually. Corruption.
The reason why everyone today has such strong views is because of the fact that every person, big or small, has been affected by this disease. I call it a disease because it is infectious and viral. It doesn’t take much time to spread, and there seemingly isn’t any remedy.
Even my brother has experienced cases where he had to bribe someone in power to get his work done. Thus, herein lies the basic reason - the disease’s endemic nature has caused widespread outcry. Experiencing the problem first-hand is not a problem; just try walking into one of our very own government offices.
Thus, when AAP was formally formed, this wave of opinions rose suddenly. You were either with the AAP, or against it; no two ways about it.
But, the AAP has had a very positive impact, in my opinion. By every distinct individual having their own political identity, it has encouraged voters to come out and vote. The effects were seen the most in Delhi at their recent state elections, where there was a total of 66% turn-up, and improvement from the previous 60%, and quite a big improvement from the 56% it had recorded at the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
To outline this article as a whole, a football junkie like me is also sucked into the pandemonium that is Indian Politics, and where all the world’s the Parliament, and we’re our own representatives. And where I’d prefer not to be Rakhi Sawant.
-Shashwat Mohanty, Guest Writer.