Hi. Just to confirm the Film industry version,I read ur book. It was amazing. The movie is a complete copy barring a few instances of their lives. Anyway the FI never gives credit to writers, my very close friends hv already suffered this torture. Amir is just getting.. can’t get the words. Guess Taare Zameen Par had some showdown also. So it shows who is at fault. He i.e. AK is no more a perfectionist but a.. guess u may hv a better word. The conscience needs to be clear, his is not, but urs is!! So let them go to hell as long as u know wht is right!1 Take care!
Things like this are better said than done. However you have pointed out some good figures and a nice look ahead.
Dialogues on getting united and working together are very old. I am hearing such things since my childhood. Even Mahatma Gandhi failed to unite our country.
Our problem lies with our thinking approach. We have keept ourselves limited to either our community or at the max within our country. We never try to perceive the whole world as a united platform.
The fact says that each and everything happening around us in this world are somehow interlinked with each other. Even if all Indians unite even though we will have threats from terrorists or else global policies.
Thus if we really want a peaceful life then we all human beings will have to work together. Thus we should initiate to tie our relations with all the youth worldwide.
Really liked the way you have presented your thoughts. The article highlights the necessity to vote.. Hope at least people reading the article exercise their vote in the future.
Man,I don’t understand this math.Your 20 million will only make the runner-ups win the election.How’s that going to help.For winning elections you require the no. of votes equal to the winner plus one vote and today you have only that plus one[your vote].
I can suggest some more practical implementable ways to do it.
Use technology.First of all make a central website like-develop India-where all these sparks can come together and discuss things.Moreover that gives all of India a central place and theme to work on.Get media’s help.I am sure they’ll help us in this cause.TOI had some Lead India contest last year.Leaders were selected.I don’t now what happened of them but you can surely get top 100 on board from that list.They needn’t be necessarily physically present.They can be connected by chat etc. on website.
Money you will get.Deduct 100Rs every month from the pay of office goers.If 10 crore people give 100rs a month-it will be 1000 crore a month.More then enough to develop India.I am sure everyone will willingly give it,if they see the results.I don’t know the number of credit card holders in India but it should be huge.Open online money donation gateway on that website like ccAvenue where every credit card,debit card holder,bank account holder can donate money.I am sure you’ll get sufficient money.Get media’s help.
Work on 2 fronts.On one side choose 100 small areas to develop.List them on website.List everything that is going to be done in each of this 100 places.Then the 100 leaders selected can either develop those 100 areas one to one or maybe collectively or in groups.Keep all of India updated of everything happening in each place.Take media’s help if delay due to some govt. approval.Govt. will have no option but to tow in line due to media and people pressure.
On second front these 100 leaders should work on national issues like power,education.
After 6 months take the area number to 200,then more,then more.Keep updating everyone with what money was spent where,how,why delay,everything live-full accountability.
Sure, 20,000,000 can change fate of the country. But which of 1 billion these 20 millions are? Besides, what is extent of moral, ethical, knowledge difference in there in first and second candidates in each of these constituencies even if you actually locate these 20 million votes?
The issue is not these swing votes, but no-shows. It is those 30% educated no-shows that can make difference to the politics. The onus is on those.
I agree with you that India is full of islands of good thing people. And that these islands should come together to form a _critical mass_ required for every movement to be successful.
Nice thought provoking article at the begining of 2010. As it is possible for India to be a Super Power in Excel Sheets with certain assumptions similarly it is possible to change the Govt of country with the help of 20 millions people. I am sorry if I seem to be morbid at the begining of this new decade. Assuming that all these 20 million people unitedly vote in favour of those who are at the second number or in your words the next guys, no doubt they will be able to change the govt. But the million dollor question is wether this 2nd set of leaders will be better than the first in any single way.These 20 million or mere 3 per cent of registered voters or the population of two big metros or the theatrical viewership of a Bollywood blockbuster or a little more than the current penetration of networking sites will change the govt but not with those people who can make any difference in Indian Politics.
I think that 530 is the more managable number than 20 million. First we will have to find a set of 530 leaders who can think beyond beyond caste, religion,state,regions etc. Then we will have to bring them to the status of the next guy only than the magical figure of 20 million people will be able to give reins of power in the hands of these enlightned leaders who then will perform. A more herculean task than India being projected as a Super Power by 2025 or say 2050.
Let us set our priorities right. Will luv to hear your thoughts on this.
hi chetan!
i thought that the article was enlightening but became a bit boring with those figures. i have always liked your article bit i could not complete this one there were many other article in competition, so i jumped to the other article, inspite of my preference for u. had this article come out any other day , i m sure i would have gone through it , but it was sunday and there is so much to read that u need to leave out some. i am an avid fan of yours and wish u all the best.
Do we really need to organize ourselves into a votebank? We, the little sparks spread across the country actually control the system.We are everywhere be it the judiciary, media, bureaucracy or even politics.
The segment of the society which you want to involve is actually already at the center of action. When we feel threatened we come together at once mobilize all these institutions and get things done.
We come together for Jessica Lal, Priyadarshini Mattoo, Arushi or Ruchika because they belong to our small group. When policies are made for the upliftment of the other India like the mandal commission, we gang-up and bring health services to a standstill.
I have read many articles about how the urban centers are ignored because they don’t form a vote bank. If we were an ignored lot how did we become urban in the first place. Its a human tendency to play a victim however blessed you might be. I think its only fair for the rural India to have a bigger say in govt formation . This is their only way to put their ignored agendas across we have many.
Hi,
But as we can see each candidate is worse than the other.They compete in a variety of criminal activities.So what is the point.
I think the effort should be first to get clean guys to contest which will give us a choice.Most of the so called educated/non political contestants fade into oblivion.Much as it sounds cliched the system is rotten and it going to take a while.
Do we deserve the freedom that all these freedom fighters relentlessly fought for?Sets one thinking as all our elders talk about the “GOOD OLD DAYS” and most of it happens to be the pre independence days.Nothing very pleasant to remember after that isnt it?
India doesn’t have a firm base for economic development , though it has great capital . Agriculture sector as well as the service sector , has boomed in the past 20 years . However , a proportionate increase in terms of employment has not taken place .This affects the education of coming generations of those working in Agriculture sector indirectly . It then gives rise to illiteracy & corruption , that also affects their choice of leaders . Shockingly , difference in the no. of people working in Agriculture sector & service sector is also 20 million !
Not sure if you are really looking to be a script writer or Novelist. Your FPS was much closer to reality .. the rest seek more attention, drama , spotlight .. choice is yours .. “its better sometimes to deserve and not get it than not deserve and get it .. ” after all ppl know the truth !
Have been a big fan and read all yr books and loved them…etc now that we’re thru with the intros,i just read yr enlightening post in TOI, but can u think of anyone who can lead this movement to get 20 mill Indians thinking the same way…i’d happily dump everything and join someone who can…would luv to do my bit but dont think i hv it in me to lead something this big…would luv to follow though..!will appreciate yr thoughts.!
Hello sir,
Read your column in sunday times. You always write great column. I am an amateur to comment on t but I have a strong feeling that you don’t write about the people of rural India, your columns always seem to talk about people in big cities. I beg you to write about those poor people living in villages.
Saurabh
hi
20 million vote idea makes a lot of sense since the number is reachable but who to vote in elections is again a debate.
the idealogical difference in those 20 million will be a challenge.
if we believe party X is good for the nation and not party Y, it may not be true for all of those 20 million
and all those 20 million is not as educated, it may run into some 100,000s per constituency, and reachin them requires some serious money. all of them dont blog.
urs is a noble idea of unnification of the movers of a govt., but a big movement needs serious dedication and cash flow
-
abhinav singh
But, I’m afraid, after reading ur article on 10th January I started to have a hard feeling for u…
Very cleverly u’ve put ur “biased” idea of vote bank. If u r talking about the people goin out and vote then ur “20 million people” idea is not acceptable ‘coz evry single person eligible to vote should vote nt just 20 million or 40 million.
The point u want to make in ur article is making those 20 million people vote for the “the second guy” (or the “second best political party”) and evry1 knows who the second guy is. It’s very sad to know that a person of ur calibre is coming out in support of some party rather than talkin bout the progress in direct manner.
At the end of the article u’ve mentioned that the decision of that 2 million people will decide the fate of the country in 2020 because those 20 million people “stitched together” will decide the fate of the result in the next assembly election. It’s not about any particular political party here the agenda is the growth of the country and eliminating all the social weeds and whosoever does this is welcome not just “the second guy”.
The outcome of this assembly election and the previous one indicates that whatever “the 1st guy” is doing is welcomed by the nation
So u cannot ask people to vote for the “The Second Guy” ‘coz we want our nation to be lead by the “The First Guy” doesn’t matter who it is. “The First Guy” is the nations choice, that 300 million people who vote. Ask those 300 million to stitch their vote for one who is the best and make them “The First Guy”
Hi Chetan,
It was a wonderful article and wonderful thought .
Youve really worked hard on those facts and figures!
@ the voting,
Like there are people collecting data for the census,there should be people door to door collecting the votes.
or the non voters should be fined/taxed.
Nothings gonna work out unless compulsions like these are imposed on our people.
@ the ‘our’ cause factor
We cannot club all the issues into one issue and collectively work on it…so its good that there are diff groups working for diff causes.Only their numbers should inccrease substantially.
really a nice idea.To be honest I have never cast my vote as of today being eligible to vote for the last 2 general elections. But now I make sure I will cast my vote ..I think your 20 Million also includes mine..
Your article is a pefect way to tally the votes to be casted by every indian. It shows that really a single vote matters. If that 20M voters will think that their vote doesnt matter then their oppsosition will win. I really agrre with the artcle datas. if we consider our vote is most important then obviously the power will really works finally.
But here I want to add something that as of today most indians are working out of their own location mostly outside their states and you know as an intellectual everybody want to cast their votes to strenthen the right power but what happens as a part of a private sector they are not able to cast the vote in their working location. So here Government should take proper steps either they should declare the election days as National holiday to let everyone get the leave and will be able to cast their votes else the better way if the voting should be online, that every person can cast their votes regardless of the location they are working in. i think these votes will matter really in a huge ammount to choose a better power. even people working outside the country can cast their votes and these can matter the election of a true indian power.
CB,
Great thought!! Strongly agree w/it.
U know we belong to the country who believes in group action coz we as a individual don’t like to lead (best example: we are best in group game – Cricket).
So basically to add to what u have said, we need some kind of TARANHAAR (may b Obama or JP like leaders).
Chetan is not asking u 2 go out and vote. He’s asking u to go out and vote fr the “The second guy”(The second best political party). He wants those 20 million people to “Stitch Together” and switch their vote in the favor of the other guy.
Haven’t read any of your books although I heard very good reviews from my friends. But recently I came across your blog, and your speeches. It seemed as a clean and fresh way of enlightening young minds. After that, I got a chance to watch 3 Idiots. Though the film crew did not give proper credit to you, I truly felt that’s not a typical Bollywood story. As I did not read the book, I cannot comment anything on that issue. But, as in Hollywood..even our folks should grow up and give credits to the original author in almost every promotional activity. Anyways, you should be commended for your decent response.
When I watched the movie, and read your column Indian Institute of Idiots, I could related myself so much,.not that am an Idiot too but the education system which bored me came into my mind. I used to wonder, whether I was the only one who did not like the way they were thought… because none of my classmates protested that except me. But after the movie, I found some bunch of people who think like me.
Hi chetan, Article is thought provoking. But i dont think it’ll happen in our life time. Unless we have a common cause, people wont get together to fight against it. A little more than half a century ago, how India attained it’s independence? its not because of a single man’s protest. It was a collective effort. All Indians thought themselves first as an Indian than as tamilian, gujjar, kannadiga etc,to fight for a single cause. British succumbed to our pressure. Otherwise, who knows, still we would have been ruled by white only. likewise, unless some issue common to all fellow Indians breaks out in a big way, our so called scattered spark wont make a fireball to fight against evils in our society. I agree that all the short comings that you spoke out in article is common and more relevant to every single Indian. Let us hope that the things we envisage becomes true in near feature. Let the present politics gets a dramatic change with right mix of uncorrupted young mind with semi corrupted present so called intellectual senior politicians.
I know the post is out of context here but I could not stop reading Amir’s interview today Yesterday Maddy said whatever you did just for publicity, not sure if helps but you should not have surrendered while you are making request to forgive 3I team they are making it up as if you wanted all for publicity , now since you got it thats why you apologised I am sure thsi is total incorrect
It’s Business after all.. every business man does that. Publicity is a need to everyone who deserves Credit. It depends how we take it as. Since the release and new talks about 3 Idiots movie a year ago everyone was aware this is from 5 Point Some one. And hence Chetan already got publicity …!!
As mentioned,-’govt.offices are corrupt’, i think this makes a really important point. This is one of primary reasons that people lose interest in voting. Though its true that this cannot be an excuse! But still its a reason.. like, this year only i became eligible for voting and i feel so damn confused as whom to vote..since all the political parties are some way or the other ‘corrupt’! and somehow the present scenario of politics seems so very nasty!
I would Congragulate you on the success of 3 Idiots, have read the book and 3 Idiots movie is stunningly simliar to book. except for 20-30 %, rest all is a straight copied stuff from book. I would also give credit for movie makers for their wondefrul work, but the bottom line is , Its a CB stuff !!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
I have read all your books, I never used to read books earlier, you have made me read books. Looking forward to your next release.
hello sir,
i have read all your books u wrote so far n among tem 2 states n 5 point..were fantastic almost all books of urs simply rule..
so do keep writing such gr8 novels
waiting eagerly 4 ur next novel.!
Hi Chetan,
You are right – no questions. The country needs Policital and Govt administrative reforms. Without that, the benefits of the economic growth will never reach the poor. Consequently the gap between the richest and poorest will increase.
Apart from the voting, another important question is who to vote for!!!? The public does not have the enough credible information to make a right choice. A common man or a person who is not following day to day updates on elections does not know who is right candidate to vote for?
Chetan, just happened to read the blogs after sometime good recent artciles. Though I must say your previous blog ‘ Closing Remarks’ is in a bad taste. On one side you say you have moved on the other you go on and on. It is shameful that you continue to persist on an issue after saying you have moved on etc especially on something like this. We have heard you , we have heard others..now move on. I still maintain, you should have woken up earlier, if you were so particular you should have not gotten into it in the first place without wanting all that you want. I read an article where the sales of your book were up by 30%. Liar or not liar…you got what you wanted, what you deserved and a lot more. Please stop this campaign of maligning respectful people and yourself too. This entire espisode for a lot has left a bad taste.
Hi Chetan,
Hope you have been doing fine..! Some of the problems that you are trying to solve through your blogs your columns and other things are really structural problems and unfortunately while all your remedial steps suggested are well meaning, they cannot solve the problem. The problem is there are 1 Billion people worldwide who are hungry..not even 1 meal a day. The problem is our defense budget for 1 year has reached such proportions that it is enough to feed all the hungry people in India for 1 year. The problem is…all of us, not just Indians….all humanity is living in the most unintelligent, wasteful way that is unsustainable. Ok…so did I hear you say…what is the solution to all these already known issues?
I would leave that for you to research it yourself at the below link: http://www.thevenusproject.com
Its everywhere on FB, Youtube, everywhere…but no one will look into it…cos we are all programmed like robots and just want to keep doing the same things and keep expecting different results.
You have my email..if you have any questions I would be happy to answer them to the best of my ability!
You are good human being…congratulations for that!!
All the best!
Hey.. I think that uncorrupted, educated, youths should be encouraged to stand in the elections, automatically the number of voters will increase. The only reason, why peaple don’t give their votes is that “vote de to kisko de”…
This article is a good reason for many people like me in Software industry who know that we should vote but never turns up for voting.
Many like me treats the voting day as a holiday and would rather like to spend a day with their families than to stand in a long queue for voting.
After reading your article i know that my vote could be a part of change and could make a difference.
It is indeed an apt issue that you have raised at the start of the new year. And it is totally right when you say that all these agendas would be conveniently pushed to some other year.
But you know what, in a country like India where there are a million political parties and where most of them are equally corrupt, it is hard to expect us to be “developed” in a span of time. And the 20 million vote bank that you talk about, no doubt it is a tangible number. But then, think of it, you vote for one party, keeping one person in mind and ultimately the one who comes to power and makes all the decisions is somebody else altogether.. and there is not even the hope that the party will be in power for a considerable amount of time.
Forgetting all this, even if we do go ahead and vote, we are left in doubt as to whether we really made the good decision, since we are not even sure of whether they would actually do good for the country or end up misusing the power.
In countries like the US, there were good debates between Obama and McCain about various topics and people got an idea as to who is endorsing which view. Can we even hope for such things in our country?
Another basic problem that the country has is the hopeless attitude of ‘chalta hai’. We do talk about small countries like Japan and Malaysia developing so well after a major setback.. But India, will continue to be this way for a considerable time to come unless the attitude is changed to do something better for the collective good. But given the situation existing, it sounds too utopian.
I do appreciate your intentions to see something good come out of this country and your hopeful analysis of this whole thing. I keep reading your articles and especially enjoyed the article “Indian Institute of Idiots” where you had raised a valid point and also suggested practical ideas about what can be done to improve. But this one is a little too far fetched in my humble opinion. I am no great follower of politics and in fact get turned off when I see the games people play after being in such an authoritative and influential position. Just wanted to share this with you and hence my comments.
I agree with your points that you mention about most educated people not going out to vote thinking about Does my vote really matter? The fact of the matter is it is really difficult to choose one of the options that are available. I have heard about the 49-0-49 process but even to adapt that is really difficult. I would have loved to be in a constituency where I could know at least one of the candidates who would have impressed.
Any which ways, the next time I get a chance to vote, I would surely go out and vote, not worrying about if my vote makes a difference.
Tucholsky is quoted with the saying:
If elections would change anything, they would be forbidden.
(Tucholsky was one of the most important journalists of the Weimar Republic in Germany)
Hi. Just to confirm the Film industry version,I read ur book. It was amazing. The movie is a complete copy barring a few instances of their lives. Anyway the FI never gives credit to writers, my very close friends hv already suffered this torture. Amir is just getting.. can’t get the words. Guess Taare Zameen Par had some showdown also. So it shows who is at fault. He i.e. AK is no more a perfectionist but a.. guess u may hv a better word. The conscience needs to be clear, his is not, but urs is!! So let them go to hell as long as u know wht is right!1 Take care!
Dear Chetan
Things like this are better said than done. However you have pointed out some good figures and a nice look ahead.
Dialogues on getting united and working together are very old. I am hearing such things since my childhood. Even Mahatma Gandhi failed to unite our country.
Our problem lies with our thinking approach. We have keept ourselves limited to either our community or at the max within our country. We never try to perceive the whole world as a united platform.
The fact says that each and everything happening around us in this world are somehow interlinked with each other. Even if all Indians unite even though we will have threats from terrorists or else global policies.
Thus if we really want a peaceful life then we all human beings will have to work together. Thus we should initiate to tie our relations with all the youth worldwide.
Ankur
i am all smiles for the inclusion of an effective law for “intellectual property rights” as an requirement for being a developed nation. (lol)….
the kind humor in ur books i.e is to see humour in the most serious situation has stuck me probably..
its shows ur still hurt with the series of evens that have happened…
u have all my support…
Really liked the way you have presented your thoughts. The article highlights the necessity to vote.. Hope at least people reading the article exercise their vote in the future.
Man,I don’t understand this math.Your 20 million will only make the runner-ups win the election.How’s that going to help.For winning elections you require the no. of votes equal to the winner plus one vote and today you have only that plus one[your vote].
I can suggest some more practical implementable ways to do it.
Use technology.First of all make a central website like-develop India-where all these sparks can come together and discuss things.Moreover that gives all of India a central place and theme to work on.Get media’s help.I am sure they’ll help us in this cause.TOI had some Lead India contest last year.Leaders were selected.I don’t now what happened of them but you can surely get top 100 on board from that list.They needn’t be necessarily physically present.They can be connected by chat etc. on website.
Money you will get.Deduct 100Rs every month from the pay of office goers.If 10 crore people give 100rs a month-it will be 1000 crore a month.More then enough to develop India.I am sure everyone will willingly give it,if they see the results.I don’t know the number of credit card holders in India but it should be huge.Open online money donation gateway on that website like ccAvenue where every credit card,debit card holder,bank account holder can donate money.I am sure you’ll get sufficient money.Get media’s help.
Work on 2 fronts.On one side choose 100 small areas to develop.List them on website.List everything that is going to be done in each of this 100 places.Then the 100 leaders selected can either develop those 100 areas one to one or maybe collectively or in groups.Keep all of India updated of everything happening in each place.Take media’s help if delay due to some govt. approval.Govt. will have no option but to tow in line due to media and people pressure.
On second front these 100 leaders should work on national issues like power,education.
After 6 months take the area number to 200,then more,then more.Keep updating everyone with what money was spent where,how,why delay,everything live-full accountability.
Sure, 20,000,000 can change fate of the country. But which of 1 billion these 20 millions are? Besides, what is extent of moral, ethical, knowledge difference in there in first and second candidates in each of these constituencies even if you actually locate these 20 million votes?
The issue is not these swing votes, but no-shows. It is those 30% educated no-shows that can make difference to the politics. The onus is on those.
I agree with you that India is full of islands of good thing people. And that these islands should come together to form a _critical mass_ required for every movement to be successful.
i read your book one night at call center, its really awsom,
i suggest you to pls write a book on the dirty politics which is in india.
Dear Chetan,
Nice thought provoking article at the begining of 2010. As it is possible for India to be a Super Power in Excel Sheets with certain assumptions similarly it is possible to change the Govt of country with the help of 20 millions people. I am sorry if I seem to be morbid at the begining of this new decade. Assuming that all these 20 million people unitedly vote in favour of those who are at the second number or in your words the next guys, no doubt they will be able to change the govt. But the million dollor question is wether this 2nd set of leaders will be better than the first in any single way.These 20 million or mere 3 per cent of registered voters or the population of two big metros or the theatrical viewership of a Bollywood blockbuster or a little more than the current penetration of networking sites will change the govt but not with those people who can make any difference in Indian Politics.
I think that 530 is the more managable number than 20 million. First we will have to find a set of 530 leaders who can think beyond beyond caste, religion,state,regions etc. Then we will have to bring them to the status of the next guy only than the magical figure of 20 million people will be able to give reins of power in the hands of these enlightned leaders who then will perform. A more herculean task than India being projected as a Super Power by 2025 or say 2050.
Let us set our priorities right. Will luv to hear your thoughts on this.
Love n regards
Arun Tyagi
hi chetan!
i thought that the article was enlightening but became a bit boring with those figures. i have always liked your article bit i could not complete this one there were many other article in competition, so i jumped to the other article, inspite of my preference for u. had this article come out any other day , i m sure i would have gone through it , but it was sunday and there is so much to read that u need to leave out some. i am an avid fan of yours and wish u all the best.
Do we really need to organize ourselves into a votebank? We, the little sparks spread across the country actually control the system.We are everywhere be it the judiciary, media, bureaucracy or even politics.
The segment of the society which you want to involve is actually already at the center of action. When we feel threatened we come together at once mobilize all these institutions and get things done.
We come together for Jessica Lal, Priyadarshini Mattoo, Arushi or Ruchika because they belong to our small group. When policies are made for the upliftment of the other India like the mandal commission, we gang-up and bring health services to a standstill.
I have read many articles about how the urban centers are ignored because they don’t form a vote bank. If we were an ignored lot how did we become urban in the first place. Its a human tendency to play a victim however blessed you might be. I think its only fair for the rural India to have a bigger say in govt formation . This is their only way to put their ignored agendas across we have many.
Hi,
But as we can see each candidate is worse than the other.They compete in a variety of criminal activities.So what is the point.
I think the effort should be first to get clean guys to contest which will give us a choice.Most of the so called educated/non political contestants fade into oblivion.Much as it sounds cliched the system is rotten and it going to take a while.
Do we deserve the freedom that all these freedom fighters relentlessly fought for?Sets one thinking as all our elders talk about the “GOOD OLD DAYS” and most of it happens to be the pre independence days.Nothing very pleasant to remember after that isnt it?
India doesn’t have a firm base for economic development , though it has great capital . Agriculture sector as well as the service sector , has boomed in the past 20 years . However , a proportionate increase in terms of employment has not taken place .This affects the education of coming generations of those working in Agriculture sector indirectly . It then gives rise to illiteracy & corruption , that also affects their choice of leaders . Shockingly , difference in the no. of people working in Agriculture sector & service sector is also 20 million !
Great..posted at my Facebook profile
Not sure if you are really looking to be a script writer or Novelist. Your FPS was much closer to reality .. the rest seek more attention, drama , spotlight .. choice is yours .. “its better sometimes to deserve and not get it than not deserve and get it .. ” after all ppl know the truth !
Chetan,
Hi!
Have been a big fan and read all yr books and loved them…etc now that we’re thru with the intros,i just read yr enlightening post in TOI, but can u think of anyone who can lead this movement to get 20 mill Indians thinking the same way…i’d happily dump everything and join someone who can…would luv to do my bit but dont think i hv it in me to lead something this big…would luv to follow though..!will appreciate yr thoughts.!
Hey CB,
Loved it.. dont want to say more about this..just one thing for sure… u got me out of that 20M… hope u get many more…
Hi Chetan,
I loved the Sunday article, the statistics were enlightening
Happy new year to you too.
Cheers
Valerie
Hi,
‘The 20 million enlightened people vote.’
The question is Vote Whom?
Politicians,political parties-names may be vary,but all appear just the same(masked shataranj ke khiladi).
If all these enlightened people(that include thinking NRIs) start their own party,
then the enlighted people will feel that,they are voting for the right people.
It is true that time has come for ‘be the change’ than wait for the change.
Hence how about, these enlighted people hold their hands together for paragovernment,to get the things right for the country by the government?
Will this work?
Here,need to mention one thing,
‘Aman ki asha’ peace project is giving some hope.
Regards
CB,
Good thought…By we need real young leaders like more Rahul Ghandhis and more Shashi Taoots to lead us. Then its worh voting.
Roohi
Hello sir,
Read your column in sunday times. You always write great column. I am an amateur to comment on t but I have a strong feeling that you don’t write about the people of rural India, your columns always seem to talk about people in big cities. I beg you to write about those poor people living in villages.
Saurabh
i agrre wid chatan
hi
20 million vote idea makes a lot of sense since the number is reachable but who to vote in elections is again a debate.
the idealogical difference in those 20 million will be a challenge.
if we believe party X is good for the nation and not party Y, it may not be true for all of those 20 million
and all those 20 million is not as educated, it may run into some 100,000s per constituency, and reachin them requires some serious money. all of them dont blog.
urs is a noble idea of unnification of the movers of a govt., but a big movement needs serious dedication and cash flow
-
abhinav singh
Hi Chetan..
I’m big fan of ur novels.. Esp FPS…
But, I’m afraid, after reading ur article on 10th January I started to have a hard feeling for u…
Very cleverly u’ve put ur “biased” idea of vote bank. If u r talking about the people goin out and vote then ur “20 million people” idea is not acceptable ‘coz evry single person eligible to vote should vote nt just 20 million or 40 million.
The point u want to make in ur article is making those 20 million people vote for the “the second guy” (or the “second best political party”) and evry1 knows who the second guy is. It’s very sad to know that a person of ur calibre is coming out in support of some party rather than talkin bout the progress in direct manner.
At the end of the article u’ve mentioned that the decision of that 2 million people will decide the fate of the country in 2020 because those 20 million people “stitched together” will decide the fate of the result in the next assembly election. It’s not about any particular political party here the agenda is the growth of the country and eliminating all the social weeds and whosoever does this is welcome not just “the second guy”.
The outcome of this assembly election and the previous one indicates that whatever “the 1st guy” is doing is welcomed by the nation
So u cannot ask people to vote for the “The Second Guy” ‘coz we want our nation to be lead by the “The First Guy” doesn’t matter who it is. “The First Guy” is the nations choice, that 300 million people who vote. Ask those 300 million to stitch their vote for one who is the best and make them “The First Guy”
Hi Chetan,
It was a wonderful article and wonderful thought .
Youve really worked hard on those facts and figures!
@ the voting,
Like there are people collecting data for the census,there should be people door to door collecting the votes.
or the non voters should be fined/taxed.
Nothings gonna work out unless compulsions like these are imposed on our people.
@ the ‘our’ cause factor
We cannot club all the issues into one issue and collectively work on it…so its good that there are diff groups working for diff causes.Only their numbers should inccrease substantially.
Hi just read this article on Passion for Cinema talking of 3 iditos is adaptation of your book… and great analyis. though you would like to enter the debate…
http://passionforcinema.com/5-points-minus-3-idiots-30-reasons-on-what-to-do-when-adapting-a-book-into-a-film/
abhinav
Hi Chetan,
really a nice idea.To be honest I have never cast my vote as of today being eligible to vote for the last 2 general elections. But now I make sure I will cast my vote ..I think your 20 Million also includes mine..
Hi Chetan,
Your article is a pefect way to tally the votes to be casted by every indian. It shows that really a single vote matters. If that 20M voters will think that their vote doesnt matter then their oppsosition will win. I really agrre with the artcle datas. if we consider our vote is most important then obviously the power will really works finally.
But here I want to add something that as of today most indians are working out of their own location mostly outside their states and you know as an intellectual everybody want to cast their votes to strenthen the right power but what happens as a part of a private sector they are not able to cast the vote in their working location. So here Government should take proper steps either they should declare the election days as National holiday to let everyone get the leave and will be able to cast their votes else the better way if the voting should be online, that every person can cast their votes regardless of the location they are working in. i think these votes will matter really in a huge ammount to choose a better power. even people working outside the country can cast their votes and these can matter the election of a true indian power.
CB,
Great thought!! Strongly agree w/it.
U know we belong to the country who believes in group action coz we as a individual don’t like to lead (best example: we are best in group game – Cricket).
So basically to add to what u have said, we need some kind of TARANHAAR (may b Obama or JP like leaders).
Just to clarify frnds…
Chetan is not asking u 2 go out and vote. He’s asking u to go out and vote fr the “The second guy”(The second best political party). He wants those 20 million people to “Stitch Together” and switch their vote in the favor of the other guy.
Hi Chetan,
Haven’t read any of your books although I heard very good reviews from my friends. But recently I came across your blog, and your speeches. It seemed as a clean and fresh way of enlightening young minds. After that, I got a chance to watch 3 Idiots. Though the film crew did not give proper credit to you, I truly felt that’s not a typical Bollywood story. As I did not read the book, I cannot comment anything on that issue. But, as in Hollywood..even our folks should grow up and give credits to the original author in almost every promotional activity. Anyways, you should be commended for your decent response.
When I watched the movie, and read your column Indian Institute of Idiots, I could related myself so much,.not that am an Idiot too but the education system which bored me came into my mind. I used to wonder, whether I was the only one who did not like the way they were thought… because none of my classmates protested that except me. But after the movie, I found some bunch of people who think like me.
Keep writing good stuff for all of us Chetan.
Regards,
Jyostna
Hi chetan, Article is thought provoking. But i dont think it’ll happen in our life time. Unless we have a common cause, people wont get together to fight against it. A little more than half a century ago, how India attained it’s independence? its not because of a single man’s protest. It was a collective effort. All Indians thought themselves first as an Indian than as tamilian, gujjar, kannadiga etc,to fight for a single cause. British succumbed to our pressure. Otherwise, who knows, still we would have been ruled by white only. likewise, unless some issue common to all fellow Indians breaks out in a big way, our so called scattered spark wont make a fireball to fight against evils in our society. I agree that all the short comings that you spoke out in article is common and more relevant to every single Indian. Let us hope that the things we envisage becomes true in near feature. Let the present politics gets a dramatic change with right mix of uncorrupted young mind with semi corrupted present so called intellectual senior politicians.
Dear Chetan
I know the post is out of context here but I could not stop reading Amir’s interview today Yesterday Maddy said whatever you did just for publicity, not sure if helps but you should not have surrendered while you are making request to forgive 3I team they are making it up as if you wanted all for publicity , now since you got it thats why you apologised I am sure thsi is total incorrect
Best Regards
Praveen
I agree with your Chetan..! Being a responsible citizen everyone must VOTE. Applied to all who love India.
Who ACTUALLY love INDIA..
Not just say and sing..!!
It’s Business after all.. every business man does that. Publicity is a need to everyone who deserves Credit. It depends how we take it as. Since the release and new talks about 3 Idiots movie a year ago everyone was aware this is from 5 Point Some one. And hence Chetan already got publicity …!!
its a fantastic article on 3 idiots controversy. if you are a Gujarati and CB’s fan… must must read, buddys…
http://www.sandesh.com/sandesh_article.aspx?newsid=148897
Chetan,
Well Said.. Would love to see India becoming a superpower.. Waiting for those days!
Hari
As mentioned,-’govt.offices are corrupt’, i think this makes a really important point. This is one of primary reasons that people lose interest in voting. Though its true that this cannot be an excuse! But still its a reason.. like, this year only i became eligible for voting and i feel so damn confused as whom to vote..since all the political parties are some way or the other ‘corrupt’! and somehow the present scenario of politics seems so very nasty!
Heyy Chetan,
Read & Loved all your books.
Keep up the good work, ur next wonder is truly awaited by me.
Rgds
Lavi
hey chetan,
in every book of urs, u have somewher tried to give out a msg.this time y not on something regarding the current environmental crisis??
u touch a nerve with ur readers for sure.. a book on this issue would just be perfect.
do give a thinking.
Hi CB
I would Congragulate you on the success of 3 Idiots, have read the book and 3 Idiots movie is stunningly simliar to book. except for 20-30 %, rest all is a straight copied stuff from book. I would also give credit for movie makers for their wondefrul work, but the bottom line is , Its a CB stuff !!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
I have read all your books, I never used to read books earlier, you have made me read books. Looking forward to your next release.
Thank you
Anil
http://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/features/2010/chetan-bhagat-controversy-130110.html
hello sir,
i have read all your books u wrote so far n among tem 2 states n 5 point..were fantastic almost all books of urs simply rule..
so do keep writing such gr8 novels
waiting eagerly 4 ur next novel.!
Hi Chetan,
You are right – no questions. The country needs Policital and Govt administrative reforms. Without that, the benefits of the economic growth will never reach the poor. Consequently the gap between the richest and poorest will increase.
Apart from the voting, another important question is who to vote for!!!? The public does not have the enough credible information to make a right choice. A common man or a person who is not following day to day updates on elections does not know who is right candidate to vote for?
Regards,
Krishan
Chetan, just happened to read the blogs after sometime good recent artciles. Though I must say your previous blog ‘ Closing Remarks’ is in a bad taste. On one side you say you have moved on the other you go on and on. It is shameful that you continue to persist on an issue after saying you have moved on etc especially on something like this. We have heard you , we have heard others..now move on. I still maintain, you should have woken up earlier, if you were so particular you should have not gotten into it in the first place without wanting all that you want. I read an article where the sales of your book were up by 30%. Liar or not liar…you got what you wanted, what you deserved and a lot more. Please stop this campaign of maligning respectful people and yourself too. This entire espisode for a lot has left a bad taste.
Hi Chetan,
Hope you have been doing fine..! Some of the problems that you are trying to solve through your blogs your columns and other things are really structural problems and unfortunately while all your remedial steps suggested are well meaning, they cannot solve the problem. The problem is there are 1 Billion people worldwide who are hungry..not even 1 meal a day. The problem is our defense budget for 1 year has reached such proportions that it is enough to feed all the hungry people in India for 1 year. The problem is…all of us, not just Indians….all humanity is living in the most unintelligent, wasteful way that is unsustainable. Ok…so did I hear you say…what is the solution to all these already known issues?
I would leave that for you to research it yourself at the below link:
http://www.thevenusproject.com
Its everywhere on FB, Youtube, everywhere…but no one will look into it…cos we are all programmed like robots and just want to keep doing the same things and keep expecting different results.
You have my email..if you have any questions I would be happy to answer them to the best of my ability!
You are good human being…congratulations for that!!
All the best!
Hey.. I think that uncorrupted, educated, youths should be encouraged to stand in the elections, automatically the number of voters will increase. The only reason, why peaple don’t give their votes is that “vote de to kisko de”…
Hi Chetan ,
This article is a good reason for many people like me in Software industry who know that we should vote but never turns up for voting.
Many like me treats the voting day as a holiday and would rather like to spend a day with their families than to stand in a long queue for voting.
After reading your article i know that my vote could be a part of change and could make a difference.
Gaurav
Hey Chetan,
It is indeed an apt issue that you have raised at the start of the new year. And it is totally right when you say that all these agendas would be conveniently pushed to some other year.
But you know what, in a country like India where there are a million political parties and where most of them are equally corrupt, it is hard to expect us to be “developed” in a span of time. And the 20 million vote bank that you talk about, no doubt it is a tangible number. But then, think of it, you vote for one party, keeping one person in mind and ultimately the one who comes to power and makes all the decisions is somebody else altogether.. and there is not even the hope that the party will be in power for a considerable amount of time.
Forgetting all this, even if we do go ahead and vote, we are left in doubt as to whether we really made the good decision, since we are not even sure of whether they would actually do good for the country or end up misusing the power.
In countries like the US, there were good debates between Obama and McCain about various topics and people got an idea as to who is endorsing which view. Can we even hope for such things in our country?
Another basic problem that the country has is the hopeless attitude of ‘chalta hai’. We do talk about small countries like Japan and Malaysia developing so well after a major setback.. But India, will continue to be this way for a considerable time to come unless the attitude is changed to do something better for the collective good. But given the situation existing, it sounds too utopian.
I do appreciate your intentions to see something good come out of this country and your hopeful analysis of this whole thing. I keep reading your articles and especially enjoyed the article “Indian Institute of Idiots” where you had raised a valid point and also suggested practical ideas about what can be done to improve. But this one is a little too far fetched in my humble opinion. I am no great follower of politics and in fact get turned off when I see the games people play after being in such an authoritative and influential position. Just wanted to share this with you and hence my comments.
I agree with your points that you mention about most educated people not going out to vote thinking about Does my vote really matter? The fact of the matter is it is really difficult to choose one of the options that are available. I have heard about the 49-0-49 process but even to adapt that is really difficult. I would have loved to be in a constituency where I could know at least one of the candidates who would have impressed.
Any which ways, the next time I get a chance to vote, I would surely go out and vote, not worrying about if my vote makes a difference.
Thanks
Tucholsky is quoted with the saying:
If elections would change anything, they would be forbidden.
(Tucholsky was one of the most important journalists of the Weimar Republic in Germany)