Lok Sabha elections 2024: Drawing a blank to create awareness about voting

Khandesh College of Management and Engineering students participating in the tabular rasa drive on Monday

Tambda rassa? No. It is tabula rasa! Election officials in Jalgaon district have been using the concept of tabula rasa, which can be traced back to the writings of Aristotle, to promote the importance of voting in elections. Armed with a stack of blank A4 sheets, mid-day on Monday visited a drive at a local college where students had fun while learning about elections.

The idea
Tabula rasa or blank slate in Latin refers to the notion that when born humans, entire lack built-in mental content, and that later perceptions or sensory experiences are the sources of all knowledge. The concept was first developed by the 4th century BCE Greek philosopher Aristotle and refined and expanded upon by subsequent thinkers, including Ibn Sina, René Descartes and Sigmund Freud, through the ages.

How is it being used?
Ayush Prasad, Jalgaon district collector, said that as part of the process, students are handed a sheet of paper and asked to do whatever comes to their mind with it. "They may pen down their thoughts, draw, vent their feelings, scribble or even crumple the paper. The basic idea is to make use of the paper with freedom as per their thought process and wishes. We give them a few minutes. Once this is done, the sheets are collected and they are told this is exactly what happens inside the election booth in those few seconds when you are alone with the EVM. You can express your wish, use the EVM and cast your vote. It is just like a blank paper and the freedom that one has inside is booth is the essence of our democracy. It is for this freedom that we had our fight for independence, which we achieved in 1947. This is what students and first-time voters are told!"

Election awareness
Jalgaon's election officials have been visiting colleges and educational institutions to spread awareness about the importance of voting to boost the vote count of the district. "The average sarkari messages are mundane and hence we are using such creativity to rope in first-time voters and the electorate in general," Prasad said. mid-day visited a tabula rasa drive at Khandesh College of Management and Engineering along with district election officials armed with a set of blank A4 sheets. First-year engineering students had fun while learning.

Jalgaon district collector Ayush Prasad at his office on May 6. Pics/Ashish Raje

Dr Atul Ingale, professor at the college and PhD in English literature, co-ordinating with the election officials, explained the concept to students, "We have got some tambda rassa for you!" The words clicked and the chaotic students were attentive. Well, tambda rassa has nothing to do with Latin or the concept in discussion but it is one of the most popular and spiciest dishes from Maharashtra. The name of the dish is derived from the way it looks, as in Marathi, tambda means copper, which is almost red while tassa refers to curry.

After explaining the concept in brief, officials spread around and asked the students to use the blank sheets and there was an overflow of creativity. Being students, some wrote explanatory notes about the importance of elections in democracy while a girl listed why voting for the right leader is important as Parliamentary elections come once in five years. Another student listed points like inflation and rising prices, abolishing GST, free rations and paper leaks. One student drew an image of the inking of the finger.

Most of the distributed papers were used to express something or the other and the session ended with an explanation of election processes. "This practice involves students in the process and reaches across faster than the regular typical modes of communication. Everyone was enthusiastic. We will know how well the system has clicked with the youth only after the voting day," an election official said.

Vote count stats
In 2019, there was a 56.12 per cent turnout in Jalgaon and 61.40 per cent in Raver, lower than the numbers of 2014, when it was 58 per cent in the former Lok Sabha constituency and 63.48 per cent in the latter. The administration this time hopes to get to the root of the cause and increase the vote count in 2024.

56.12
Percentage voter turnout in Jalgaon