Adverse conditions tend to awaken men’s wisdom; enabling them to rethink, reanalyze & reassess their choices or often times, the lack of it. But when situations are compelled to become adverse, this means there is an attempt to hinder change, maybe even prohibit it. When some prosper and some languish, can we truly call that development? Or what can we say about such state of affairs where violence & hooliganism replace secularism and harmony?

Governments reflect their people’s hope, their faith that while accessibility at all levels may remain a distant dream the possibility of it becoming real nevertheless thrives. And as the election season draws closer, we are reminded of the many promises that democracy unfolds for a people.

Ranging from economic empowerment to individual and communal safety to the harkening of a better future; we are reminded of our collective rights as citizens of a country. The lynching of Pehlu Khan in Behror, Alwar district, violence in the name of cow vigilantism, separatist ideas of communal disharmony, the oppressive dismissal of the Dalits that have come to the forefront successively one after the other has shrouded Rajasthan in a foggy haze. Democracy is overarching and inclusive, and it remains fulfilled only when the demands and needs of all the people are cumulatively addressed.

Uncertainty looms over any place where proportioned agenda operates under the guise of emotionally empowered issues. So while elections selectively happen in our country, the issues they address are powerfully universal across time and space. Separatist politics don’t resolve issues that are in need of urgent attention but it definitely disrupts whatever existing harmony or scope of development that may exist in a place.

Education, employment, civic amenities and the peaceful coexistence of the various castes, sub-castes and communities that make up the thread of India cannot be compromised for the sake of any reason; which is why elections are a beckoning call for our leaders to sharpen their efforts to reinforce India’s democratic identity.

Rather than encouraging youth to engage in muscle politics or plain hooliganism, perhaps it’s better to enable them to truly learn and enhance their intellect and take their country on a forward march. Simultaneously, it is important that those whom people trust to carry forth the promise of a better future for themselves and their progeny live up to the aspirations of these people.

In the state of Rajasthan, the Congress party has managed to contribute positively to the state’s journey towards empowerment sans the presence of volatile hostility on the part of the public. While critics may have a point or two in making a suggestion about the slow pace at which the state has grown, let us not forget to remember to take into account all the factors that are at play in deciding the “progress” of any place or its people.