A Sikkimese with an Indian passport

The ‘Indian-ness’ factor apart,Sikkim actually has a lot that isn’t a part of mainstream India.

The population,as mentioned above,is in stark contrast to the 1.2 billion residents of India and also its geographical location and size makes Sikkim one of the most easy and lucrative states in the country to milk with minimum fuss and attention.

Public opinion is zero (it is muted to be precise) and it is the only state in the country that has a Chief Minister serving three terms and expecting the fourth too! Anti incumbency factor be damned.

India is a land of opinions. From politics to cricket,the global recession to the latest Bollywood couple,India has had and will always have an opinion on it. So much so that a number of economic developments had to be curbed or delayed due to the presence of too many pressure groups expressing their voices of disapproval.

Sikkim is quite a contrast in this aspect fuelling a crisis that has now reached a point where the citizens would much rather play dumb instead of getting themselves involved in the whole politics of a given issue. An insult to one’s thinking abilities one could say. A way of life is how a ‘Sikkimese’ would put it.

Putting it into perspective it can justly be said that it is the people who empowered the government with so much of whole-hearted trust that a gag was almost voluntarily accepted as a gift from the government. It isn’t the fault of a government. It is but human nature that ‘absolute power would corrupt absolutely’. It isn’t up to which government is ruling,it never was,its up to the citizens. If you give a shark too much of line,it most definitely will capsize your boat.

In the biggest global development of 2009,Americans voted for change. Not on the basis of colour,caste and creed but on basis of understanding the underlying tough situations that the country was and would be facing caused mainly due to the inabilities of the Bush administration. Sikkim isn’t as lucky,for even if the people want the change there isn’t anyone genuinely guaranteeing it with a clean white slate.

It’s the choice between disastrous equals and the unconvincing for Sikkim in this elections as always,for its going to take a while (hopefully and society willing,another election year) for the Sikkimese to actually be saying,genuinely “Change? Yes! We can”.