Citizenship cannot be passive or obedient for that would be slavery. Citizens engage in the society as equals; slaves take orders; only the gods are allowed to sit and watch and audit the society. There is another category of citizenship which is somewhat derogatory but in different ways, in both its current and past connotations, namely the category of "idiots". Idiots were those who did not participate in the decision making bodies in ancient Greece. In other words they were those who shirked their responsibility of citizenship. The same thing can be said in other words: idiots are those who are unwilling to be vigilant and pay the price of liberty.
India is predominantly a slave country at a subconscious level, particularly many of us without modern education and awareness. We behave as directed, begging for favours from government employees, and often even voting enblock. Once educated beyond high school, most of us automatically convert into 'observers', a role reserved in other societies for gods. We refuse to vote, and may behave like Martians reporting our plight to some distant powers (some of us are highly paid reporters to the people of America, for instance). "Look at this mess!", we exclaim with our hands wide asunder and a godly grimace on our face.
Some of us, unfortunately, are forced by various regulations to remain slaves (this applies to all members of governmental services as well as many other institutions that feel 'purified" on successfully binding their own hands behind their backs). Among the few of us who remain citizens, most of us prefer to be idiots (used in its original connotation). Among the very few who remain true citizens in the end are people like Laloo Yadav and Raj Narain. We Indians are grateful, indeed, we must bow our heads with respect to such people for having taken their responsibility seriously in essentially a slave India, and steered us away from military and other dictatorships, despite the powerful urge in some quarters to convert India into a monarchy.
