Missing the Great Indian Elections

I have been away from Chennai now for about 5 months. One of the things i miss most about home is the great Indian Political Tamasha as it is known according to NDTV... What can be more interesting than watching Indian elections live. Whether it is the Lalus and Amar Singhs of the world stepping over each other for the catchy sound byte that would Rock Indian News Channels for a while, or the Arun Jaitleys and Abhishek Manu Singhvi who perenially sit in TV studios justifying their parties actions, Or the Pranoy Roys and Rajdeeps of the world who do the predictions and Opinion Polls and the ultimate tamasha of the Election day when the dhols and Melas surrounding the winners and haunted offices about the losers.

The great indian democracy, many people say is the most dynamic and lauded as one of the best, but what intrigues me is that i believe the exact opposite. Yes there is freedom, But is there too much freedom? Yes there are rights, But aren't there too many that is missing? Are they enough Duties? I am not sure.

As a 62 year old Democracy, why are elections held more on caste than ever before. Why aren't the most important issues concerning the voter today; education, development and livelihood but caste, religion and violence. It certainly is the bane of our democracy that we still fight over trivial issues and neglect the big ones. One such parameter that has been continually neglected is Education. We as Indians outside the country are lauded for our being an intellectual - knowledge based system. The system as such isnt bad, but where is the implementation? why arent we asking these questions?

The problem is that It is not the political class that is to blame? who are these politicians, they are promoted by us. It is the educated class that needs to set an example to the rest of country. Consider this. This is one thought that has always come to my mind which i plan to help do.

What if One contituency in the country, decides to set things right, say the most urban, educated constituency. What if all the voters choose their candidate? ( Read the words - All voters in the constituency-vote). That would be the start. More importantly people choose based on not caste but on the merit of the candidate. The politicians in the area realise that they are under scrutiny and their performance definitely goes up. Also a constant tab on their performance is kept by the really watchful media and self help groups. This is how a democracy needs to function. Is it possible?

Is it possible that this model can be replicated acorss the other constituencies?? What can we do to increase particupation of youth in the political system? These are questions we need to find answer and move out country towards better development... any pointers?