Ashwin Upadhyaya's Blog

Strange! I wrote the previous post about writing and since then, haven’t written. And then I read this manifesto by Chris Guillebeau: 279 days to overnight success. If you haven’t already read about Chris, I think you should read now. He is a world traveller and has visited 107 out of  the 197 countries. His goal: To visit every country in the world by April 7, 2013!!

I think, the most important points he mentions regarding writing a blog (In fact, applicable to many other activities too) :

• Decide on a clear publishing schedule
• Create a Compelling Story and Be Remarkable
• Clearly Answer the “Reason Why”

If a normal person would say the things that are said in this book, I would be slightly skeptical whether it would be possible. But from a person, who has visited 107 countries at the age of 31, it is completely believable.

When I worked at my previous company, my manager used to tell me “Be very careful when you put something in black and white”. The reasoning was that, things you write weigh heavily as compared to what you say. Write an autobiography and you will be judged about your every move thereafter. Nobody has the same beliefs all through their life. You change some beliefs as you learn the truth about certain things. However, once you put something in writing, it generally shows that you have subscribed to the view that you wrote. 10 years later, if you change that view, you may be perceived a hypocrite or an inconsistent person. Because of this fear, many refrain from writing or expressing a view on a subject.

So, should you or should you not write your thoughts? I have realized one thing. Writing your thoughts in public creates a kind of psychological state where you become committed to certain things you believe in. My sister, an art student started a blog where she uploads pictures of her drawings. Now she says that she has to draw more because of the blog. You might have seen a few blog posts elsewhere saying “Its been a while since I have updated my blog”; this is visible indication of the kind of pressure I am talking.

Think about it. You might want to consider starting a blog.

The great Indian elections are here again. My country has definitely changed a lot for sure. At least it is not like the pre-1990s when you had to ask permission from the government to set up a company. Democracy has also pretty much worked in this country. Although it got a rating of 7.8 out of 10 according to EIU and is considered a flawed democracy, it is still the 35th best democracy in the world. Although it still is divided on the lines of caste, religion and other affiliations, it somehow manages to hold itself together. Yet, in this largest functioning democracy, elections bring a mood of gloom, hatred and disillusionment rather than a mood of celebration. Probably, the choice of candidates available to the elector is the reason for this unpleasant mood. If that is the case, take heart. You can still embrace democracy and yet not kill your soul by voting for a wrong candidate.

49-O is a rule which can be used as a civil rights tool. The rule states:

Elector deciding not to vote — If an elector, after his electoral roll number has been duly entered in the register of voters in Form 17A and has put his signature or thumb impression thereon as required under sub-rule (1) of rule 49L, decided not to record his vote, a remark to this effect shall be made against the said entry in Form 17A by the presiding officer and the signature or thumb impression of the elector shall be obtained against such remark.

The rule doesn’t go any further than being just a civil rights tool. It will only mean that you have not opted to vote for anybody and is nothing more than that (There are hoax mails circulating which claim more than this and are all false). However, there is one way of making this rule a really powerful tool. By default, the number of people who exercise 49-O are not disclosed by the election commission. Yet, using the right to information act, you can obtain the information and publicize the issue. As a result, this can be a demonstration that you have performed your duty and yet do not subscribe to the country’s laws fully. Say for example, one thousand people in a constituency of one lakh decide not to vote. That is 1% of that constituency’s votes. The information if made public is pretty good news for the papers and tv channels. That is a start.

In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “the function of a civil resistance is to provoke response. To continue to provoke until they respond or they change the law”. In this case, until we have a system where unfit, undeserving or criminal candidates cannot contest the elections.

There are some who don’t believe in the power of their vote. Yes, you alone can’t change everything. All you can really do is to be true to yourself with the help of that one vote. Truth will take care of everything else.