Lahar-Lahar: You may not be interested in politics, but politics is in you.

Many people, especially 40-50 year olds, employed people and people of our age also say to me, ‘Sir, I am not interested in politics.’ I say to him, ‘You are not interested in politics?’ Saying this is like someone saying, ‘I am not interested in pollution.’ Hey brother, whether you are interested in pollution or not, you are breathing the same air, living in the same environment, the same is mixed in your food and drinks. This is not a question of interest. In the same way, if you are not interested in politics, no problem, but politics is completely interested in you. She is changing your life every day. It is affecting your employment, your pocket, your freedom, your children’s future. Like pollution, politics also does not come knocking at your door. It gets into your breath, into your food, into your everyday life. Whether you like it or not, you can’t escape it. That’s why saying ‘I have nothing to do with politics’ seems a bit strange to me. I am not saying that every person should become a leader or contest elections, but you should know about the society in which you live, the country in which you spend your life, the world of which you are a part. It should be understood in which direction it is going – in the right direction or in the wrong direction. Don’t understand Indian politics only from the speeches of leaders, see it in the life around you. How are your roads, in which school do your children study, how is the hospital, how many employment opportunities are there, how safe is your freedom – all these are related to politics. Therefore, saying ‘I have nothing to do with politics’ is like turning a blind eye to one’s own life. In a democracy, politics should not be the master of the public but its accountable servant. Asking questions to any government is not a protest, it is a citizen’s right. In the end, politics will only be as informed as its citizens are. Then the decision is yours. What you think, what you do and what you can contribute as per your capacity – this is also your choice. Because if society goes in the wrong direction, it will affect you too. And if it goes in the right direction, you will still benefit from it. I always enjoy interacting with students. To be honest, I learn more from him than I speak. Especially from their questions. Good questions are a sign of the life of any society. People often say that students should stay away from politics. I ask- why? If politics decides your fees, decides the direction of your education, decides the future of your employment, then how can you remain oblivious to it? Yes, I would definitely say that student politics does not mean raising the flag of any party. That means asking questions, debating, understanding our society and learning to differentiate between right and wrong. University is not just a place to give degrees; That is the first school of democracy. If the questions become silent there, then understand that the future of the society will also become silent. In our times there were neither multiplexes nor malls. Going to watch a movie was a small festival in itself. Even a two rupee ticket had to be bought thoughtfully. But after the completion of the film, I used to wait most for the trailers. I used to think that for the price of one ticket, I also got glimpses of other films for free – what could be a bigger bonus than this! Today when I look at you young people, I feel that they are also the trailers of the coming India. The first glimpse of what India will be like tomorrow is visible in your thoughts, questions and dreams. This country can never be unbalanced. High and low waves keep coming, our boat definitely wavers, it cannot sink. India has seen many eras, but it kept going on. It is our good fortune that we are born in a democratic country. This democratic system cannot be compromised at any cost. I really think people in their twenties and thirties understand some things better than I do. Patriotism does not mean that you just keep raising slogans and do nothing for the country. No matter what anyone says, I know only one thing that an Indian cannot destroy himself. He will do only what is good for this country. We Indians have this quality that we have tolerance. Our specialty is that we have always given space to all types of ideologies and that is why our ‘intellectual muscle’ has developed, that is why we have produced better minds, that is why we have progressed, that is why we have democracy. (Editing and coordination- Arvind Mandloi)



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