'Change We Need'

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”—Barack H. Obama

One man’s dream of a better future gave rise to a million hopes. One man’s ability to script his own destiny gave rise to a million supporters. One man’s proclamation that change would come gave rise to a million saying – ‘change we need.’

Senator Barack H. Obama scripted history by being elected as the first ever Afro-American president in the United States of America. A person who forthrightly said that his father would not have been served at a local restaurant in the US sixty years back, won by a tally of 365 electoral votes on the 4th of November, 2008 to take up one of the most difficult job in the world; ‘indeed change had arrived in America’.

When a fanatic’s call for jihad shook the world as we saw two mighty buildings collapse in front of our eyes, the people of America knew exactly what to do. They forgo their belief in the present system and overthrew the Government, they passed through a phase of massive upheaval in the society with grit and determination and as they say if ‘winter has arrived, then spring is not far off…’ waited for the hard times to pass by and the good times to return. They elected an African American, Muslim President to rule the country, at the time when fundamentalists seemed to strike at every juncture of their journey of restoring the lost dignity and pride of their nation.

What does one do when rashes appear on our skin? There are two possible outcomes; first, we keep on scratching and rubbing our dirty palms over those itchy spots on our skins. Or secondly, we visit a doctor and apply some soothing lotion over it, so that those rashes disappear in no time.

Terrorism and terror outfits in our country are rashes that are infecting our nation. And we, citizens of a nation considered being one of the strongest and the most powerful democracies of the world, are sitting and scratching away our rashes and spreading the infection even further. Passing the buck would not be a suitable option at the present situation, but, media is to be blamed as internal matters related to India’s governance are being blown out of proportion for no justifiable reason. We as a nation should revolutionize the way our Government has been functioning for the past 60 years. Powers of diplomacy should be strong enough to withstand the counter allegations made by our neighbours, and also help in overcoming ideas like wars or military infiltration as means to wriggle out of difficult yet tricky circumstances.

Just like the US, we need a change. We have seen enough of this media babbling about politicians and politicians stating that media has played a negative role in generating wrong ideology amongst their viewers. We have had enough of the derisory comments ridiculing heroes in public stating that they died in fake encounters. We want a change, we demand a change and it should come from each one of us. Rightly, at the time when the Pakistani Government is playing a part in the conspiracy of silence, our media is corresponding by playing the devil’s advocate in creating a fake war like hysteria in the country, a panic arousing situation in every household across the country. Honestly speaking, we are far away from the truth that actually prevails, we are far away from the fact, that even after 61 years of Independence we are a nation ripped apart by a tabooed society, a nation weak enough to withstand terror attacks every second month, a nation inadequately equipped to help our defense forces at times of crisis. There might be a number of contradictory comments, but at end of the day, we are a weak democracy, a reality too harsh to face.

Why do we allow religiously biased politicians the right to say that his experience was all that matters? Why do we allow them to violate the freedom of speech and expression in the first place? Why do we allow them to play dirty politics out of sensitive issues and why the hell do we allow them to disgrace our heroes?

We want a government which does not bring religion into politics and politics into religion!

We want a change, and we shouldn’t wait for it. Instead, we should walk up to the ‘house of change’ and drag it into our country. This unique ability lies with the likes of Sachin Pilots and Omar Abdullahs of this country.

It’s a sincere request, allow the youngsters a chance with power. Allow them to associate themselves with the new and uprising generation, allow them the privilege to for see the near future. Why do we always have an eighty year old holding on to a chair that can justly be left for a deserving forty year old? There are number of unanswered questions, which might take several hundred years for our leaders to answer. Give us the change we need, or else we will snatch away our change, our rights, in front of your very eyes, and you will not even dare to resist us. We need an Obama…to bring about the needed change, so tell me, which one of you is one?

I leave my question unanswered; a lot of introspection will do the trick… just as the tea company commercial… Jaago India, Jaago! I hope and pray at the same time, that we don’t need another 26/11 to awaken us!