The Importance of Elections

Read the following article on Rediff today. Swapan Dasgupta compares the conditions in India in January and August. The article is well written and describes the current position of India in the World Order quite accurately. The stark difference between the positive outlook then and the dejection today is surprising. However, Swapan says that every nation gets it's comeuppance. That we were guilty of "irrational exuberance". But were we? The low rate of inflation in January was not a result artificial fiscal measures by the RBI. The GDP growth rate of 8% plus was not a juggling of numbers. The network of highways connecting major cities of India was not a empty dream but actual tar on the earth. Why then this sudden turnabout? The answer is that between January and August India got itself a new set of rulers. They replaced set of leaders who actually showed some results with people who have failed them many times before. I will not say that the NDA government was the answer to all our problems. They had their high points and low points. But they were leaders who placed the good of the country before personal gain at least a majority of times. The NDA was a government who asked ministers charged with corruption to resign rather than make them Railway ministers. The truth is that people deserve the leaders they get. Within a mere 57 years of winning our independence from Britain, we install another foreigner as out leader. To add insult to injury, Sonia plants a hard slap on India's face by installing a puppet prime-minister to keep the seat warm for her progeny. I have no doubts about Manmohan Singh's integrity and capability, but the fact remains that he cannot take one step without the express permission and blessings of 'Madam'. In fact he cannot even get elected to any House of the Parliament without support from some political party. Add to that the people who are supporting this government. On one hand we have the communists who oppose PSU disinvestment in the rest of the country but are actively shutting down PSUs in West Bengal. On the other hand we have Laloo, who builds a totally useless Railway factory in his constituency and builds bridges connecting it to his sasural.
All this brings me to the whole point of this rant, the importance of elections. Indians need to take national and state elections a little more seriously. The recent national elections were fought primarily on regional issues. This is not only wrong but also seriously detrimental to national welfare. If our attitude towards our nation is one of indifference how will the world take us seriously? When our attitude towards elections is one of apathy, we have ourselves to blame when leaders with proven ineptitude and corruption records rule us.