Bihar polls: Vaishali DM urges people to take part in 'festival of democracy' through her song

Amid the hustle and bustle of the assembly elections in Bihar, a young IAS officer stood out with her tuneful appeals to voters, whom she urged to take part in the 'festival of democracy' in large numbers.

Vaishali District Magistrate Varsha Singh has been urging voters in her district to step out and cast their valuable votes on the day of polling on Thursday through her song in the local Bajjika dialect.

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"Vaishali ki janta suniha hamro pukar, pahile kariha matdaan phir jalpan kariha (People of Vaishali, listen to my call, please cast your vote first, then have breakfast)," urged the IAS officer of the 2016 batch of Bihar cadre through the song composed by her.

Speaking to PTI, Singh said, "The voting percentage in Vaishali was around 58% in the last assembly polls. When I was transferred to Vaishali, I decided to motivate more people to take part in this election. It's a festival of democracy... people must understand the importance of their votes."

Motivating women

To encourage the voters to participate in the democratic system, Ms. Singh decided to motivate them, especially the women.

"One needed to strengthen their feeling of being part of a community and their ability to bring meaningful change through voter participation. I realised this could be done by singing in their local language... so I did it," the DM said.

"I do not have any formal training in singing, but I sing well. I have been appreciated for my initiative. I realised that encouraging people to cast their votes through songs in the local language energises voters. I am quite hopeful that the voting percentage will increase in Vaishali this time," she said.

She said that through her song, she has been telling people that their vote will strengthen democracy and no work is greater than voting on the day of polling.

"Gantantra ke kanani ke tu kari ha mazboot, tu matdaan karih," said a line in her song.

Earliest form of democracy

Speaking on the historical importance of Vaishali, Ms. Singh said that the region is known as the place where the earliest form of democracy originated in 600 BCE.

"Many references to Vaishali appear in ancient texts of both Jainism and Buddhism, which preserve valuable information about Vaishali and the other Maha Janapadas (great kingdoms) of ancient India.

"As per these texts, Vaishali was established as a republic by the 6th century BCE, even before the birth of Gautam Buddha in 563 BCE, making it the world's first republic with a duly elected assembly and an efficient administration. Vaishali holds special historical significance as the birthplace of Lord Mahavir, the last Jain Tirthankara. It is also the place where Gautam Buddha delivered his last sermon and announced his Parinirvana (final enlightenment)," Ms. Singh added.