10 Reasons Why Arvind Kejriwal Should Be Successful in Politics

Arvind Kejriwal, National Convenor of AAP

It's been more than four months since Arvind Kejriwal launched the Aam Admi Party (AAP) and more than six months since he announced of it. Lot of speculations have been published and telecast in the media about his political future. While we cannot just ignore the comments from the experts and the current situation in politics where a lot of money is required to contest elections, we cannot even deny the call of our hearts. Here is why my heart says why this anti-corruption crusader should be successful as a political leader:

1. Arvind Kejriwal has been fighting against corruption and trying to introduce a system that will be able abolish corruption. He is advocating of creation of a system that will cleanse the political environment once and forever.
2. Arvind Kejriwal advocates of making our leaders more accountable. He has also inspired people to ask questions to their leaders. Accountability will definitely keep the leaders from wrong-doings.
3. Arvind Kejriwal has brought back the sense of patriotism in Indians. He wants Indians to demonstrate a fighting spirit and not to surrender to the wrong-doings or evil-intentions of the political leaders.
4. Arvind Kejriwal thinks that Indians are first class people with third class governance. He blames the governance of the country for its pitiable condition and not the people.
5. Arvind Kejriwal demands decentralization of the decision making process. He wants people to decide what they want and the government to deliver accordingly rather than the latter assuming of what people want.
6. In his search of freedom from corruption, Arvind Kejriwal never gave in to the odds he faced. He continued his fight even when his ideal Anna Hazare and his other comrades including Kiran Bedi parted ways with him. This shows his strength and his strong-belief and determination about what he is doing. He has practiced what Ravindranath Tagore said: Jodi Tor Dak Shune Keu Na Ase Tobe Ekla Cholo Re (If no one responds to your call, then go your own way alone).
7. Arvind Kejriwal believes in the principle “Be the change you want to see in the world”. He is honest himself, he has chosen honest people in his party, and he is challenging the other political parties to dare follow the same ideology.
8. Arvind Kejriwal is against people who come to politics for the facilities such as car, bungalow, and other privileges that the politicians get. He urges the aspirants to come to politics for serving the society and to sacrifice these privileges.
9. Arvind Kejriwal is an ordinary man. He doesn’t have any political background. If he becomes successful, he can inspire many ordinary but honest people to come and join politics, who otherwise thought it’s a dirty field. Therefore, politics is not going to be a playground of the goons, corrupt, rich, or the descendants of other politicians only.
10. Above all, Arvind Kejriwal is fearless and has penetrated fearlessness in millions of people. His success will be a celebration of being fearless and standing against all odds in life.

Who is Guilty? The Woman, the Driver, or the Boy?

A beautiful woman – in her 20s, adorned with adequate jewelry perfectly matching her gracious sari – was talking to her friends in a local train. She seemed to be highly educated. While picking the last piece of the potato chips from the packet she was holding in her left hand, she mentioned that her house was getting renovated for Diwali (the festival of lights) celebrations. At the last word of her statement, she threw the wrapper out of the train through the window.

An auto-rickshaw driver asked my co-passenger to not to leave the biscuit wrappers inside the rickshaw. The passenger put the wrapper in his bag with an intention to throw it into a dustbin when he gets down. The driver then asked me whether I wanted to get down at the next stop and then he spit the betel nut, which he was chewing for a long time, to his right on the road.

On the bus stop, an educated boy asked me when the bus was supposed to arrive. He had his face neatly shaved and had also applied some perfume. I told him that even I was waiting for the bus for last half an hour. In disappointment, he casually kicked one empty soft drink can that had fallen out of the nearby dustbin. The can ended up finding itself on the middle of the otherwise spotless road.

Many-a-times, it seems we live in a time of selfishness when we care very much about our own impression but not that of the society, when anything told to us about the world outside that of ourselves merely seems cacophony to us. That might be the reason why the woman didn’t want the entire city but only her house to be clean for the festival, the auto-rickshaw driver didn’t want the roads to be as clean as his own vehicle, and the handsome, presentable boy didn’t want the road to look as good and presentable as he looked.

Cursing these three people while walking home, I started to search for a chocolate in my pocket. Luckily, I found one, which I unwrapped and put in my mouth. My eyes were wandering to find a dustbin where I can put the wrapper. I didn’t find any in the vicinity. Hence, I started walking while holding the wrapper in my hand with an intention to throw it wherever I find a dustbin. I had already walked for 200 meters and hadn’t found a single dustbin on the road though the road was full of garbage lying here and there. Suddenly, my hand hit my body and the wrapper I was holding fell down on the road. Did I consider picking it up again? No. How does it matter? One more wrapper on the ugly road wouldn’t make a difference to its appearance, I thought. And then, I moved on.

As I reached home, I realized that those three individuals were not at fault completely. They were merely reacting naturally to the conditions they were put into. The woman didn’t find a single dustbin in the train, the auto-rickshaw driver found the road worth spitting, and the boy thought the road would be a better place for the can than where he was standing. Everything in its present shape or condition is prepared to face its own destiny. Even a street dog looks for a pole to address the nature’s call. People who spit on the dirty roads don’t behave in the same way with the posh malls they visit. Therefore, it is time to desperately demand for infrastructure that deserve better behavior from the society; at the same time let’s encourage the society to respect whatever the little we have and not to make it uglier. And as they say, we need to be the change we want to see in the world.