The Education Paradox

For a democracy to be as successful, evolved voter is of paramount importance. For the intellectual development of the voter, education is the tool. In India, as you get more and more educated and urbanized, you are less likely to vote. Look around and you will see that all IITs, IIMs and other top educational institutes are producing mind blowing professionals with an apathy towards voting right, which education should have ensured them to exercise.

This no way means that the young and the restless are apathetic towards the grim realities of the country. Its just that they prefer to use the voting day as a day to rest rather than spending it in long queues of voters at polling booths.

Plummeting voting numbers in metros is a case in the point. So at the end of the day, those who go to vote are the ones who are left behind in the drive for education, or rather, left un-evolved.

A better nation needs better democracy, which needs evolved voters. Education is the tool to produce evolved voters. Highly educated people do not go to vote. Democracy stays dependent on the uneducated voters. So nation doesn't develop.Paradox??

The people who understand the issues and can vote based on their judgement, instead of basing their vote on caste or money, do not go to vote. Those who go to vote are not thinking straight due to years of feeding of caste oriented hatred and misplaced allegiances in barter of liquor and money.

How do we improve the current political situation then? Those who should try and bring changes to the system stay away for paltry reasons such as time-constraints or responsibilities or the escapist excuse of disenchantment with the system. Who sets right, whatever is wrong?

The more pertinent question is what is the cure to this malaise? We will keep witnessing lower percentages of voter turnout in near future unless some sweeping changes are not put in place.The percentage may soon hit inferno, because the political scene is becoming worse day by day.

There has to be a way devised to give people an easy way to vote. The only way where the youth can become a voter is through online voting. Online voting is not a big deal, especially for us, with the IT capabilities that we possess. Superbly secure systems can be devised by any of our TCSs and Infys if government is ready to invest. Anybody listening??