Questioning the government frequently doesn’t make you the opposition or anti-national. It makes you a good and caring citizen.
Well, it’s our job to ensure that the party we voted to power carries out their job. As citizens, our agenda must be to constantly remind the Government to reverse the state of affairs, so every Indian can live a fulfilled and contented life. Here are 7 reasons we need to question the government always-
1- It is OK
The government is a body formed after WE, the voters, have elected it. And as someone who gave them the power to govern, WE have the complete right to question and demand answers from our representatives and the government at large. Constant and consistent questions will make the government work harder so that they can provide the right answers to us, in the hope that we re-elect them. This is the beauty of democracy.
2- It is patriotic
The government is formed by humans like us and to err is human.
The government consists of human beings. To err is human. Sometimes the government does things that go against the constitutional, social and moral foundations of our country but it might not realise its mistake. Asking questions doesn’t necessarily mean criticism/doesn’t necessarily make us opp…automatically make us the opposition. It means we care about our country and are curious. It’s patriotic!
3- It is our duty
It is our duty, as citizens of India to question everything. We should look into matters such as law, rules & regulations, policies etc that affect us. Without questions, there can be no democracy. The government is likely to take us for granted if we never question them. To not question our government would make it take us for granted.
“Dissent is the highest form of patriotism” -Thomas Jefferson
4- It upgrades the government
If we refuse to question the government we put an end to the scope for it to improve. It is imperative for a democracy to benefit from a multiplicity of viewpoints. People in power should welcome criticism to improve their self. Why break the mirror which shows your ugly face when all you need is to improve?
5- It increases accountability
When we keep questioning the government regardless of the political party it belongs to, we minimise corruption, bad governance, one man decisions, nepotism, dictator tendency by increasing its accountability. Many countries have fallen under dictatorial regimes just because the electorate chose not to question the rising dictators. Playing the role of a critic sometimes makes you a hero…a ‘hero’ as it might save a nation from many upcoming problems generated from bad governance.
6- It enhances governments effectiveness
We can disagree with our government’s view of things and say so. That way hopefully our government will know and change the way it functions for good. Patriotism does not mean us to be blinded. In a true democracy, we can say what we think without the fear of being called unpatriotic.
7- We can love our country without having to love our government
It’s no more impossible than being in love with someone but still being able to tell them how they have hurt us. We can love the country we live in and support it but offer constructive criticism to the government. It is pointless to say that we are either 100% for it or 100% against it. Nothing will ever be 100% perfect, but we can still support those things and offer ways to improve.
