Lessons from the “Top Of The World”

In times of dipping voter turnout, a small village in Ladakh has a lesson for people living across the world who forgo their rights of vote in elections. In the elections that were held during the week in Jammu and Kashmir, Six voters that included a 70 year old registered their votes in a village called Samad. All these voters had to surmount a brutal weather and rough terrains to register their votes.

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These six voters went to the polling both at the Thugsey Gompa monastery, at a imposing 5,500 metres above sea level on Monday to exercise their franchise. In the context of electoral results the significance of these six voters is in almost NIL. The people of Ladakh have ensured that all the parties, both regional and national parties have a healthy fight in the election. Residents of Samad have a defined agenda for the winner of the polls. A school stands high on priorities. Senior citizens in Samad also want implementation of a long-promised pension scheme.

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All of these expectations reflect the kind of intervention needed to address the bigger crisis that is confronting India at large. All these six voters who braved Minus (-) 20 degrees weather and a tough landscape have championed for the cause of democracy in there own way and have set example for others.

Our future is passing us and we have choices to decide. And it is these choices that will decide the destiny of the nation. I hope our votes will help us change things.