Democracy – a farce?

We in India take pride in belonging to the biggest democracy! How cool is that!!! We’ve the power to choose the people who’ll ru(i)n our country, have the ‘baap’ of all powers - freedom of speech to express ourselves without any inhibitions and all the other privileged powers that come with belonging and living in a ‘democratic’ set-up.

We have a microscopic view of all the things that happen at macro level, we fight for injustice that happens at the National level (yes, we do that…thankfully!), always look at the bigger picture and debate over larger issues that may or may not affect us. No harm at all, in fact it only proves, we are sensitive, kind, caring, empathetic,compassionate, conscious, logical, brave, articulate, sensible citizens who have only good in the heart and well being in the mind for others. What then happens to the above attributes closer home?

Our homes are the screens where we get to see the real life pictures. On one hand we have a microscopic view of all the macro level happenings in our surrounding and on the other; we turn a blind eye to the things that are happening in our immediate vicinity of the four walls. Right from, “In our custom, the delivery of the first child happens at her in-law’s place”, there! The freedom to make a choice is snatched away from the first time to-be mother. “In our family, girls are not allowed to wear western outfits”, the girl who has a handpicked collection of denims, tees, tunics and dresses, pushes them away in the far end of the wardrobe.  The freedom to choose her clothing – gone! How about the boy who has artistic inclination but is pushed to understand machines only because his parents feel that’s what he should do! What happens to his freedom to choose his career – well, what’s that? “You might have been staying out late evenings in your parents’ house but now on wards you aren’t allowed to do so” The freedom to follow one’s lifestyle crushed under the foot! “Sita bai, you can’t take a leave today. Take the doctor’s appointment for some other day…why didn’t you ask me before making an appointment?” The freedom to make decisions, ignored!

How many such examples we have from our own homes? During family meals we listen to boastful guffaws of ‘How can the Government take such actions, we’ve our rights’, we listen to heated debates on National issues and sympathise with the underdog of the society. Don’t we all have underdogs living silently among us, day in and day out? Are they not a part of the democratic set up that we belong to? How do we get all charged up when things are happening elsewhere but feign ignorance when it’s happening around us.

I don’t claim to be an intellectual or a world changer but I'm confident that if each one of us practices democracy then we’ll have less debates and more happy family banters to listen to!