India has spoken, and how! It has chosen development over the noisy, short-sighted and sometimes downright pathetic rants of some selfish fools. These politicians will never realize what the people want.

This time around, young first time voters were quite large in number. The youth have a completely different mindset and perspective than what most political parties are used to. We have grown up watching our leaders throw chairs and chappals at each other and listened to those election promises over and over to the point of being clichéd. We are tired of divisive, religion, caste based and hate politics. Personally, all I would want is to study and do my job well, go home and spend some quality time with family and friends, go on a fun holiday, do something constructive…not waste my life fighting, swearing at or degrading other people over some petty issues.

UPA won by a thumping margin and although the full credit should go to the humble Dr. Manmohan Singh and the young Rahul Gandhi, the Congress should also thank it’s opponents. The first remark, ’125 saal ki budhiya’ showed the people that the Congress still had the most experience in the field. The second about ‘dynasty politics’, a reference to Milind Deora, Priya Dutt, Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia among others, put the spotlight on the new, educated breed of politicians that the Congress had.

Heartiest congratulations to the UPA for pulling off this win. And although they have achieved a majority, I hope the Congress rules responsibly and takes clear headed decisions. Alongwith economic reforms, they should look to uplift the population starting with the most economically challenged and downtrodden sections of our society and seek a positive change in their lifestyle. Here’s hoping for a true ‘India Shining’ 

We Indians stand united whenever there is a crisis or calamity. The response to recent Mumbai attacks is one such example where millions of Indians around stood in solidarity with the victims and pressurized the Government to act to prevent such heinous crimes in the future.

The common thread that weaves in and out of the any crisis is that the citizens of India have always stood up with or without the government support.  But we need able, upright and visionary leaders to steer the country to a developed nation free of hunger, disease ignorance and lack of opportunity. Unfortunately we cannot custom create our leaders but we as citizens of India through the power of voting have the ability to make or break these leaders.

For us, the proud citizens of India, 2009 is going to be a crucial election year. As you are aware, many of us (such as NRI’s and people on temporary move) , being registered voters of India are not able to caste votes due to geographical reasons. As per The Representation of the People Act-1950, voter can only cast his/her ballot in a constituency only if, he/she is “ordinarily residing” in the corresponding area for at least six months prior to the polling date. We are being denied our constitutional right to vote and the right to participate in Indian polity  due to our temporary residence. We feel that this needs amendments to allow ‘absentee voting’ in the largest democracy of the world. Non-resident Indians feel a strong urge to exercise vote and be a part of the democratic setup. We say “My Vote, My Voice”.

As a first step towards achieving this goal, an online petition has been prepared addressing concerned ministry. Please take sometime to read and sign the petition. Link to Petition http://www.PetitionOnline.com/abvindia/

Please spread the word and send it across concerned friends/organizations/mailing-lists or through networking sites like orkut and facebook. Questions, if any, contact us. we will be glad to answer. We sincerely look forward to a very eager and enthusiastic response. Let us say “Voting is my might birth right, I shall definitely have it!”

Voters without Borders