Appeal

Dear all,

At the very outset, I would like to state that I have no political affiliations. I do not belong to any political party. I do not belong to any organization. In fact, I am one of those Indians who have completely lost faith in the political system of India to such an extent that we do not even vote. Yes, I have never ever even voted in any election.(Of course, I am not proud of it.) In fact, I do not even have a voter ID!


Then who am I? I am just one among many millions of common people of Assam who is fed up with the corruption in the state. It is not that I do not care about the situation in my country. It's just that I had given up.

Then, why am I suddenly showing so much attention? Tough question! But let me try to explain it.There is no ONE specific moment. I guess it has been a build up over the years...right from encountering the worsening Delhi traffic in the name of Common Wealth Games to the floods that affect my father's village EVERY year.  For years, we have been taken for a ride by one political party after another. The politicians have looted us to such an extent that today Assam is one of the poorest states in India, while the politicians of Assam are probably some of the richest people in Assam. And, for years, we have been complaining about corruption and saying "Why doesn't someone do something?" We waited and waited and waited. But, that miraculous "someone" did not come to our rescue. In fact, every time a common man such as a Manjunath, an Akhil Gogoi or a Satyendra Dubey emerges, the opposing forces drown his voice. It is then that I realised that we- ALL of us -will have to be that "someone" who will have to do "something". Afterall, it will be more difficult to drown the voices of a million people. The common man will now have to do something 'uncommon'. Now, a time has come when millions of common citizens like me are ready to stand up and say "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH." If we do not do that now, the next generation will never forgive us. Here, I quote from the Bhagvad Gita - " The one who tolerates injustice is as guilty as the one who does injustice." We have decided to not take part in this injustice anymore. We are raising our voice against corruption in our beloved motherland, Assam.

I had created created the page "Supporting Akhil Gogoi" on Facebook in May 2010, while I was at home, away from work, recovering from a surgery. I had created the page to only inform some of my friends about how Mr. Akhil Gogoi is utilizing RTI (Right to Information) Act in Assam to expose scandals and misuse of tax-payers' money by corrupt politicians and bureaucrats. Now, of course, this page is no longer just mine. It has now become a place where a lot of like-minded people like me raise our voices against corruption. This is the place from where we, the educated youth of Assam, have decided to stand by our motherland. But raising our voice is not enough. Some action also has to be taken. But not just some emotional knee-jerk reaction to the current events. We will have to carry this forward. This is just the beginning.

On Sunday, August 8, at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, a lot of us will be gathering to participate in a peaceful silent candlelight vigil or a "mouno xuko xobha" to mourn the death of honesty among Assam politicians. THIS WILL BE A NON-POLITICAL GATHERING. WE WILL BE PROTESTING ONLY AND ONLY AGAINST CORRUPTION AMONG POLITICIANS IN ASSAM. We do not care who the ruling party is , as long as they work for the common people in a selfless manner. In our gathering, there will be no speeches and no "naaras (slogans)". Afterall, we are just a bunch of common people; we are not doing this to get votes!

I have always strongly believed that the media can act as an effective catalyst to any positive social cause. It has the power and the authority to do so. And, that's why I am writing to you. I request you to help us spread the word about this candlelight vigil. I request you to help us send a message to corrupt politicians that we are not going to be cheated anymore. India is a democracy. If we, the common people, have the right to vote people to power, we also have the right to keep the politicians in check.


I also want to send out an appeal to each person of Assam. On August 8, at 7pm, wherever you are - whether in Assam or outside Assam, join us. Let Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Jorhat, Guwahati, Hyderabad, London, New York, etc. have simultaneous similar gatherings. We need people in each city who can take this forward in their respective cities. For once, we have to make our voices heard. All of us together will have to send out a strong message to the corrupt politicians and bureaucrats - "It's NOT "okay" to be corrupt. "Everyone is corrupt" is not a valid justification. Stop insulting our intelligence. Stop testing our patience!"

Anticipating your support and thanking you in advance,

Regards,

Aryama Dutta Saikia

(a frustrated 'common man' who has decided to stop complaining and do something)