Never Before!

2019 is the greatest educational opportunity for us as a nation.

Never before have ideas been so accessible (through social media that’s now on our phones).

Never before have political parties tried to woo us at this scale (with films and advertising and billboards and ground connect).

Never before have we had capacity to raise questions on scale and have information to do our own research on issues.

This is awesome!

While the election may be in focus, it is only the tip of the iceberg.

Way below that is the deeper question of what is the consensus that is India? Where would we like to see it head? What is the nation we want to build for our future generations and therefore, who are the people best equipped to deliver it?

Political parties are forced to think about next 6 months ONLY. We as citizens can think about generations ahead of us! And that’s our role.

We must collectively act as a non-party political force that engages actively in playing political parties one against the other.

Right now we have what they want. Our votes.

This is the time to make them dance. To make them concede. To make them consider.

It is so easy to take a cynical posture and say it is not worth it. But it is. Starting with engaging with manifestos of parties to using 2019 as a conversation starter with your local communities and representatives, this is a great opportunity.

Let’s not get stuck in the binaries and on the surface. Let’s dig deeper — this is not only our privilege but also our responsibility as citizens of India.

2019 it is!