US Elections: Lessons for India

The world’s celebration on the US presidential elections finale is over… but one question that lingers on my mind is, “Can we Indians learn something from this and transform India?” Of and on, I and so many other expressionists have cribbed about the mediocre polity plauging India that it is high time we draw a few lessons from such experiences.

Some of the striking outcomes of the US presidential elections have been:
1. Race, creed, religion, ethnicity are no longer the factors amongst voters
2. Character, education, persuasiveness and far-sightedness of the candidates seems to rule over the voters’ minds
3. Age is another important decisive factor with voters going for the youth instead of the grey-haired
4. Voters seem to have more faith in people who have come up in life through struggles but have still shown their grit to fulfil their dreams

The lessons for India are equally simple…. we need to weed away the religion-caste divisions and rise above that. Unlike the order of the day where the average age of a politician is in the mid-40s, it is high time we start encouraging and supporting the young political entrants. More importantly, it is not just the age which should decide their candidature but the assets they bring to the table in terms of their character, education, communication skills and more importantly their independent thoughts to work for a common good.

Hope we Indians get to see a major political revolution back home… with the rise of some dynamic, intellectual and young politicians rising to the helm to get back India on the track of growth and prosperity. Amen!