Now a days, everything that we do in our daily life has got an internet solution. Most of these things can now be done at the click of a mouse. Just a few years back, all these things involved manual work that consumed lot of time, patience and problems. Just to enlist some of those things, they included “booking a rail/bus ticket”, “paying electricity and other utility bills”, “doing money transfer”, “shopping”, “booking a movie ticket or that for a sports match”, etc. The list is endless. However, there is one thing that probably has been forgotten that should be made online by now. I am talking of online voting.
Nobody is giving much thought to this election process. The government has probably forgotten that it is this election that still enables India to depict proudly its status of being the largest democracy. It is a genuine concern because the polling rates have fallen rapidly. Now a days, there seems to be just 50-60% polling in the urban cities. The literate population is turning away from using their ballot.
The main cause for this decline is that most of us are always on the move and are hardly present in our native land at the time of election. Most of the eligible students study in schools/colleges outside their native place. Also, many end up in jobs in places away from their home-town. It is but natural for them not to go to their native just for voting.
Not only that, people tend to give more priority to their personal life and hence don’t feel voting as an activity worth enough to go to the voting booth and cast their vote. They would rather spend time with their family or meet some relative or get some urgent household work done. They cannot be blamed for not using that time to vote. Today’s life has become such demanding and competing that one has to spend each and every bit of time for his/her personal activity.
To add to all of these, there are still others who do not have a registered voter’s card, as getting one is a government process that usually gets delayed by a long time.
Hence, by looking at all these, the only viable solution is in making this voting process online. Today we see so many polls on internet like “Best Company “, “Most innovative company”, “Best Actor”, “Best Youth Icon”, etc. We do not have a separate polling booth for these polls. All these surveys are mostly done online that takes up hardly 10-15 minutes of our time. Similarly, if our voting gets online as well, it would enable many migrants to vote. It would make the voting job as a comfortable and time-saving activity. This would certainly increase voting participation in the urban sections of people.
I have come across the NGO “EFG” that is trying to spread the voting awareness among people by organizing seminars, rallies, etc. It is a very noble effort by these people, who are really conscious of the decline in voting interests. They are doing their bit and now it is government‘s turn to do something that is very much needed and along with launching “e-voting”, start promoting voting in cities.
Only when all of India participate in election, can our nation be truly called as a democratic nation.
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2 comments:
E-voting is a good idea but it pre-requisites mass access to the internet (like in US or Canada)..but with the internet penetration in India barely touching 5% is it worth the effort?
Instead cant we invest the effort and energy in spreading awarenes especially among the masses and the middle classes and make them value their vote and make them cast their votes instead of voting their castes?
Before we proceed to evoting in India, lots needs to be done to sensitize both the citizenery as well as the politicians. One good idea would be to make voting atleast a Fundamental Duty in the Indian Constitution. Second most potent tool could be a provision for negative voting on the ballots.A decision on a PIL in this regard is pending with the Supreme Court of India. Hope they get sensitized too. Then we can proceed for addressing the cost aspects that deters a citizen like ease of voting. Lastly in my opinion the cost can be minimized and is being minimized but until wwe appreciate the benefits that come along with democratic values, not much enthusiasm can be expected.
Please visit www.efg.co.in for more.
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