The King of The Ballot...The Blogger?

You blog with passion, you express your views on thoughts you feel need to be pondered upon and when you meet like minded bloggers, it is a flow of ideas exchanged. That is the essence a Blogger’s Meet that brings out. A blend of thoughts, old and new, across barriers of age and profession. It is this blend that makes up the fabric of diversity in a country with a billion plus population. At the Billion Ideas Blogger’s Meet 2014, organized by the Indian National Congress, ideas came to the fore, with the hope of initiatives to be taken. My first formal event as a host that I was proud to be part of on Sunday in early March. 

With this thought outlining the reason behind the Congress choosing to hold a Bloggers Meet for the first time in three cities including Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata, a party manifesto could just dominate around thirty ideas placed forward by the blogger’s community. Why bloggers one may ask? But why not? Asks the Congress party. After all, it the social media platform where the ideas of a thousand individuals voice the script of a changing India.

Four themes ranged from pertinent issues like what would you do to ensure transparency in governance at all levels, retaining inclusiveness and secular fabric of India, innovation by the youth and empowering women at the household. Why these themes? Because these are the issues that dominate the thought process of many minds and question the political mind of the voter before the dance of democracy directs him to the ballot to cast his vote. Will it be the lotus, the hand, the broom or a giddy mix of federal cocktail?

While the outcome of casting the vote is a mystery, the Congress is making all efforts to include the ideas of the common man and ensure inclusiveness of the people of the country. At a time when people have almost lost faith towards the dream of a transparent and able government ruling at the Centre, the Congress is doing it’s best to dispel perception of a corrupt and poorly governing party dominated by the ideology of dynasty politics. It is the people after all that decide whom they want to see as their leaders and for individualistic reasons.

When it came to addressing issues like empowering women at the household, interesting answers came to the fore. Citing the example of former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav putting his Rabri Devi in the spotlight in Bihar’s political game, one blogger who is also a journalist in Kolkata was of the view that it should be the voice of the woman who is not in the shadow of the man.  Let me not forget to add another interesting answer from this group of women speaking up for empowerment. Why silence the voice of a rape victim? Instead silence the voice of her rapists by putting them behind bars while offering the victim a job in an NGO empowering others like herself. It was the example of the Park Street rape victim as she came to be known. Suzette Jordan was raped on the 5^th of February 2012 in Kolkata. She was bold enough to reveal her identity later, giving herself a name apart from the synonym that defined her existence post the incident. Why can’t other rape victims be bold like her, to come out and reveal their identities and earn a living just like everyone else does in society?    

The youth comprising of college goers, some apprehensive to express their views, turned out to be a release of issues like reservation in educational institutions that plagued them. Why reservation? They ask? Why not choose merit over reservation? Some even asked what the point of the meet was and would it really make a difference to voice their view on the social media platform. It was then that the Chief Guest from the Congress digital media cell in Delhi, Ranajit Mukherjee assured the youth that their views would not go unheard, encouraging them to be active on the social media platform. A drop in the ocean after all does create ripples.

But it was surprising not to hear concerns raised by the youth over unemployment that troubles many a mind, a promise BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi makes in his speeches, to ensure are no longer the youth’s troubles. Is it that these youth who attended the Blogger’s Meet 2014 are unaware of the problems others like them are facing getting jobs in the country? But issues are relative. What maybe an issue for one, may not be an issue for prime importance to another. But the question that didn’t seem to be addressed to the fullest, was how the youth would use their potential for innovation. It wasen’t until the end that one of them said she and her friends would express themselves on social networking sites and make a difference in their own way.

There was an interesting point by one of the youngsters though, who was part of the group deliberating on how to ensure inclusiveness and secular fabric of the Nation. She started by talking about gaming creating an impact in India now, in many ways.  Initially it seemed like she was going off topic, until what she said made me marvel at what ideas the youth can come up with. And that to me is harnessing the potential of the youth for innovation. She said why not make games which depict securlarism? A simple, yet effective way to connect with the youth, communicating to them in a language they understand-Gaming. In an age where cartoons and toys of ‘Chota Bheem’ and mythological themes dominate the world of animation in India, video games or games on mobile phones and tablets with secular themes could well be on it’s way to becoming a big hit.

When I drafted the note that followed the theme of how to ensure transparency of governance at all levels, the first thought that came into my mind was the term corruption, keeping Arvind Kejriwal and the broom symbol of the Aam Aadmi party as the biggest talking point amongst the masses as elections draw close. But I was wrong. From ideas about providing security for Right To Information applicants who are often threatened and some even killed, to some blogger saying why not have notices in technologically challenged villages about the progress of the Government on issues they supposedly are working on?

If these are ideas that come from the common man, then why are these ideas not being pondered over seriously by the Aam Aadmi Party that portrays itself as a mascot of the masses? Why is it that the Congress is taking the initiative of inclusive politics? As they say in advertising, the customer is the king, the Congress through this initiative of hosting A Billion Ideas Blogger’s Meet for the first time is making the masses feel like the king alike advertising, the political way. If Congress in all it’s seriousness is making way for the potential voter to be the King of Congress’s manifesto, the people possibly will slowly start to look at the Congress in a different light. Not one of a corrupt party, but perhaps also one of a party that admits to mistakes and drawbacks with the will to look ahead and not behind. But it is the day of the results of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections that will determine the masses thought process that culminate into votes for each party fighting the aggressive political battle. 

  

A billion ideas, a billion dreams, a billion hopes, a billion stories to be weaved. It is these billion stories that together usher in the progress, in a Nation of a billion plus population. Hence it is each initiative that could make a big difference in the smallest of ways. The Blogger’s Meet could just be the platform with the exchange of ideas that could make a big difference in the smallest of ways by making it’s way in the Congress party’s manifesto.