Call yourself an involved citizen? Try this before posting on Facebook

Facebook and other social networks are an excellent way to spread awareness about an issue

1. Register yourself as a voter so that you can cast your vote in the next civic/state/national elections. Often, the victory margins(especially in Mumbai civic elections) are wafer thin, and with elections increasingly becoming free of fear(even if not 'fair' due to monetary power..), individual votes do matter now. 
2. Register yourself to vote in the nearest graduate's constituency, for electing a person to the legislative council(if any)-these exist in Maharashtra and Karnataka besides others states. This registration is in addition to the above voter's registration, and needs filling out a simple Form18, besides submitting attested copies of your ID/residence and graduation proof. 
3. Be financially literate when it comes to public budgets of Centre and State, instead of just looking for revision in income tax slabs! Publications of the ICAI like that on state deficits(http://220.227.161.86/25953frbm-cpfga.rar) and that on the oil subsidy(http://220.227.161.86/25177publication_cpfga.rar) are eye openers for those who take the time to read them in detail
4. Join a political party and reward transparency/clean politics with your funding/support whether you like it or not, you participate in politics and your not casting a vote means interests opposed to yours win because in a democracy, only the 'crying baby'(those casting votes) 'gets milk'(government handouts etc). Therefore, join a party whose interests are most closely aligned to yours(there is NO shame in participating in the system) and the national interest. Parties like Loksatta are a good example, as while their electoral successes are limited, they are quite vociferous in Parliament and contribute constructively to political debate like that on the Lokpal Bill.
5. Subscribe to good quality critical media:-The Hindu-TOI ad-war in Chennai amused the whole nation but should have got us thinking. Should we pay more to read a Mint/Tehelka/Money Life/Hindu or read a TOI/ET/India Today just because it is 'inexpensive'? Why don't we read good book like Do we value our time/knowledge gained so little?
6. Know your duties:- The Constitution lists fundamental duties, but since they are non mandatory, they are glossed over in favour of 'mandatory' fundamental rights. Things like scientific temper(how many of us still go to astrologers..), respect for heritage/nature etc are listed in the fundamental duties list, but are rarely practiced. So next time, before demanding fundamental rights expansion like 'right to work' etc, think whether you practice the fundamental duties or not. 
7. Ignorance of rights is no excuse to pay a bribe:-With tools like RTI forcing governments to put out information on the web/public domain, and with a multitude of websites out there explaining the rights in plain english, there is little excuse for stuff like paying a bribe/'middleman fee' to claim a tax refund when that would come automatically in this online processing era. For more complicated issues, a RTI application does help as press reports show. 
8. Civic sense is essential, stuff like not breaking Q system, not causing trouble to your co passengers, avoiding speed money/bribes. Doing that weakens social capital, gives public servants a chance to ask for bribes.
9. And lastly, read/understand before you share:-I've lost count of the factually incorrect Facebook shares I've seen like the 'bring back XXbn blackmoney to India', 'Sonia Gandhi citizenship theory','Singapore public services being cheaper than India' etc. Do a basic Google if something is too good to be true, else you are equally responsible for perpetuating a lie. And even if we all support the Lokpal Bill, that is no excuse for avoiding reading the pros and cons of the debate instead of being seduced by the pros only.