Got this as a forward from a friend :
A random browse of Indian Political videos on youtube yielded this –
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=
Apparently this girl wants to make a difference to her community, her
village – by entering politics. That is a profound thought –
considering that we – supposed educated people – in the largest
democracy in the world – dont give a damn about politics. That is not
completely accurate. We DO give a damn about it, when we have to
complain about various things that are NOT right about politics or
overall state of affairs of the country.
Coming back to this girl – She has taken it upon herself to make a
difference to her village. And that is inspiring because
she is entering the bad bad world of politics, despite greatly lacking
resources, knowing the kind of dangers that await her. We need her. We
need more people like her. We need more like her to breathe new life into the
administration of India. We need more youth entering politics.
I am forwarding this, pledging my support to her campaign. I know very
well that she lacks the funding or the resources to match goons in the
field. But i am doing as much as i can, spreading her message through
the web and word of mouth. You can support/assist her in her campaign
in Amloh, Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab. Please do so if you stay anywhere
close by.
She is standing for the IYC (Indian Youth COngress) block level
elections. With support, she could possibly stand at the state level.
You never know.
Forward this message to people you know, coz you never know how far
this mail can reach, what kind of support she may get, how far she may
go. It is all in the power of the FORWARD button right there, on the
top corner of your mail console.
CHeers.
You need to correct the http address to “.com” rather than “.co”
I never-the-less found the video. I didn’t understand what she said, but she seems focused and articulate. I see from the comments under the video that she has inspired others. Can you give a sense of what she is saying for those of us that don’t speak her language? I hope she does well.
Thanks for pointing it out. Its corrected now.
Someone posted a translation here
(In response to the question why she wants to do things differently):
“There are many disturbers. We want good people to come forward and support us. I am so happy that I got hold of this form (Youth Congress Membership). I am filling this form and it’s one of the best things that happened in my life. I am so happy.
“Even when I was in the 10th grade, I wanted to engage in such activities related to community work and leadership. But I never expected it to happen this way – getting organized through this process – Youth membership etc.. This is a great support and encouragement to me.
“Before, I used to think that I will go to my in-laws after marriage and improve their village. Perhaps start as a Sarpanch (Panchayat head) and then MLA and MP etc. But the most important thing is to start at the village level, because that’s where the real improvement and progress are needed. Moreover, if the foundation (e.g. the village) remains weak, nothing else good will happen.
“The most important thing is to start at the bottom and try to improve the things at the basic level; then try something in a bigger role. Before, my dad was quite opposed to my ideas, but now he is encouraging and supporting me. But my mom is still quite scared. She thinks that I will be in a lot of trouble. She wouldn’t even let me complain to a newspaper man if doesn’t deliver the newspaper. She thinks that the guy will start cursing and swearing at me. She is totally opposed to my doing things in a different way.” … girl (interview)
(In response to a question from the interviewer that politics is a dirty business):
“Politics is not dirty but we people make it dirty. There are good plans and schemes, but they should be executed properly by us. And if we do not work properly and make those things happen, why blame others.
“You go to any village, there are well-established plans and schemes for it, but nobody in the village (panchayat and sarpanch included) tries to do any thing to turn those schemes into reality. There is hardly ever a meeting of panchayat (village governing body). Moreover, whatever money is allotted by Govt. to those schemes is eaten by a few who get hold of it in the village.
“Now look here, the entire village is being flooded by the rainwater and nobody has done anything so far to improve the situation. Money that was allotted for this project could have been spent to get rid of rainwater problem. But that didn’t happen. Now the ordinary people can’t put up with this nonsense (water clogging) so they go and sit in the gurudwara (Sikh temple) to stay dry and find relief. If someone had spent the allotted money wisely to get rid of this problem, people won’t have to go to gurudwara to find shelter. The same thing is happening with the village school – the roof leaks whenever there is a rain.
“Btw, not all politicians are bad and inefficient. For example, Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Bajpayee, Patil are good.” ….. girl (interview)
Democratic politics are about people participating in their own government.
As long as good people don’t participate in the democratic process, the state of the politics would not improve.
Hopefully the movement which inspired a common village girl like her to come ahead and participate will inspire many others, and make a change in the Indian political scene.
She sounds like an Indian Barack Obama! She is beginning with community organizing on the village level and then working up! 🙂 I hope she knows of the similarities and the possibilities!!!
She is great. Thank you very very much for the translation.