Understanding importance of voting

Democracy is the spine of our society and is the soul of our very existence as social beings. As it makes us accountable to our very own future it is important to understand especially for the first time voters. In his opening remarks at the Mera Pehla Vote Desh Ke Liye session, Dr V K Krishna touched upon how we as Indians have gotten so deep into the influence of western cultures and ideas that we are forgetting our heritage. Dr L Jyothish Kumar of Youth 4 India inspired the students by discussing how India as a nation is the front-runner in various aspects involving economic development. Professor GS Murthy, who highlighted the importance of ancient scriptures of Vedas and the Upanishads, emphasized on how our values are the role of values in determining our character. Sri Balakrishnan Shetty, an ex-civil servant, highlighted the importance of a civil servant in the value building of a nation. He shared his experiences of being an ambassador to Sweden and Latvia. He explained the preamble of our constitution and what it means to new voters. Captain Madhu Sudhan advised the students to align themselves to their goals and then start working towards it. Making a start by taking risks and by doing so being an entrepreneur by learning to think out of the box is necessary according to him. Sri Ananda Mathews suggested that humans are designed to be happy, yet often sad. He suggested replacing negative thoughts with positive actions like seva towards others and the nation. He explained that exercising the right to vote can help achieve seva towards others, which is synchronous with our nation's happiness. He spoke about marching each day to be a better citizen, investing in others happiness to harvest one’s own. The participants took a pledge involving the core values and benefits of voting and a promise to play one's part in nation development. IRA PESU in collaboration with Youth 4 Nation presented Mera Pehla Vote Desh Ke Liye! on March 6, 2024 at RR campus.