Everyone says vote for Taj Mahal!!

Picture courtesy Kiran Kumar PY, my school buddy

From past few weeks all across India you can hear only one slogan "Vote fot Taj". This is to make Taj Mahal listed in New 7 Wonders of the World. The "Taj" campain hit India by all possible means, be it meetings, advertisements, hoardings, pamphlets, Hot air balloons to body art, exhibitions, stunts and what not. Not to forget emails, Orkut Scrapes and SMS's.

As far as I know there are two ways to vote. One is via Internet and one is via mobile phone. When media and people are giving Patriotic statements to vote for Taj, why is that the mobile phone operators are charging Rs. 3 to Rs 6 for a single SMS to vote for Taj? Where the cost of normal SMS is 50 paisa or 1 rupee.

Isn't this equation supposed to be reverse? i.e., when we are patriotic and want more people to participate in something which will make entire India proud, shouldn’t the cost of voting be less than the normal or at least equal? So who is making profit here on patriotic sentiment? obviously the mobile operators. Also as I know the Government also not doing anything in this part. I cannot blame the Government in this regard because, it itself has lot of problems to be dealt with. At least some initiative would have been good.

Strikingly smaller countries are doing their best to have their name in the New 7 Wonders of the World. Brazil's President Lula de Silva used a radio address to tell people how to vote for Rio's statue of Christ the Redeemer. The government of Peru has opened computer terminals in public plazas to encourage people to vote for the ancient city of Machu Pichu.

According to BBC:

"India has around 170 million mobile phone users and one person in every 50 has access to a personal computer.

But lacklustre voting over the past few months has seen the Taj Mahal get just enough votes to get at the bottom of the top 10 list.

Although some private television channels are now calling upon people to vote, most people are yet to hear about the campaign.

A special composition by ace musician AR Rahman, 'India Unites for the Taj', to drum up support for the monument has come a little too late in the day.

And worst of all, many say, the Indian government remains completely aloof from the campaign."

I am not sure what this means to the country but I am not going to take chances with the National Pride. So, I casted my vote both via internet and mobile phone. So people if you have not voted, vote today by clicking here or send an SMS to 4567 with TAJ in the text.

Do not forget, today is the last date to vote. The New 7 Wonders of the World will be announced during the Official Declaration ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal on Saturday, July 7, 2007 - 07.07.07.

P.S: If you are voting via internet please check your email and confirm your vote by clicking on the link and providing the information requested. As soon as you do this, your vote will be counted.