The recent terror strike on Mumbai has affected each one of us in a very deep and personal way unlike the past. The spectacle of seeing terror holding fort of our lives for 59 long excruciating hours was nothing like the country has ever seen before. I will be honest, I have seen previous reports of bomb blasts and just treated it as a statistic, brushed it aside and thinking it will not happen to me.
But this time it was very different and I became to really feel the hurt and anger within. To see husbands, sons, mothers massacred senselessly by a group of psychotic youngsters ( I refuse to even call them misguided or brainwashed anymore) was too much to take.
I even began to contemplate that there should be a strong response to destroy all these people involved, enactment of tougher laws, extreme surveillance and exterminate the root of these evil even at the cost of some collateral damage including a few innocents losing their human rights. To be candid, I felt like a monster with a strong sense of rage bordering on ill-tolerance.
The thing which is very tempting, which a section of right wing politicians who shall choose to exploit the demonization of members of the minority community and paint them all with a single brush. Quite poignantly, I happen to see the movie 'Aamir' yesterday, it is about an educated Muslim middle class gentleman who rejects terrorism and prefers death risking his family's safety. All terrorism and unrest has its roots in class inequalities namely lack of education, poverty and access to a better future.
The nation today is outraged. But How do we achieve something constructive out of this collective rage as a nation is the question before us. The media and the people have gone on to bash the politicians and police. I hope that this does not fritter into a frivolous blame game and we get over this trauma over the weekend and start going on with life as usual. If that happens it will be most sad aspect of urban cynicism.
What India needs is that people show a strong sense of solidarity and keep pushing the establishment to take corrective action and ensure change takes place in the system, instead just being arm chair critics.
The focus areas for the government is choking the finances of these terror organizations, countries to collaborate and disassemble the training centres and bring people to justice. The operational aspects involve improving the intelligence networks, arming the forces adequately. Secondly the government must ensure that people have access to education, reduce unemployment and ensure all sections of society in this country succeed in the India growth story.
The title of this post is let us reclaim our humanity …. the reason I say so is that we should neither become too cynical and take inaction or swing to the other extreme and become bigots and set off a vicious cycle of hate and terror.
Seems a fairy tale doesn't it ?? Do you think this will happen over night in a short haul, not likely at all. The answer is NO. The politicians of India will listen to you only if you are part of a vote bank... so let us became a single VOTEBANK which will only vote for politicians who can bring this change in handling terrorism and ensuring security. Let this day not forgotten by all of us.
I completely agree with your comments, but here are my views that I wanted to vent out somewhere. Here are the list of the mistakes that have taken place and that should be avoided:
ReplyDelete1. Its high time the sleepy and lethargic government stops filling up their ever hungry stomachs with the money of public people. That is NOT what we pay our taxes for. We do not pay them these heavy taxes just to fill up their ever holed pockets.
2 If the terrorist had the blue prints of Taj and if they were moving around as if its their own home, then howcome same was not handed over to the NSG commandos?
3. The biggest point here is that this feat could have been achieved byt he NSG in case they had better ammunitions. We have lost our 2 commandos and it takes 24 years into the making of a single commando.
4. I believe that even the Indian Police is capable of achieving this just in case of absence of this bloody political intervention and better ammunitions. Worse is I felt when I read that the 'bullet proofs' that those guys were wearing is capable of just helping them protecting from pelting stones. What the hell do these politicians think? That the terrorists are gonna throw stones at the police?
5. Why the hell do the politicians feel the need to arrive at the 'crisis' site after everything is done? I mean damn!!!!!!! have some sense....all the police security has to be diverted to you guys even when all that you guys are nothing more than a filth on this earth and people wish here that it is you and your loved ones that die and not them.
6. How dare did the TV channels even broadcast the 'live' account of all this event? I mean just to increase their bloody TRPs? and some higher authority had to stop them from doing this? As if we are interested to see people and our jawans dying? Moreover there is no age limit to these news channels. What impact it would have had on the young minds? Is this some kinda video game the kids are watching?
7. Why are the ministers resigning now? Let them stay at their positions. They MUST coz they are answerable. They expect us to appreciate them? ohh no...we may not even spit in their faces!!!!!!!!
8. In the middle of all this all i saw was the way media and papers and politicians advertising themselves. Eg. Our correspondent is risking his life in reporting this, our photographer has got this 'exclusive' photograph and congress is there so this has happened and blah blah.
9. High time we STOP voting and not elect any government. Cos everyone is bloody the same but let the Indian Army take over. They are capable and are simply worth it.
Hats off to them and I really feel sad for those who laid their lives in this battle to save others. I salute you brave hearts, who are alive and dead. All your lives are important to us. We definitely know your worth. Pls wake up and take the position. We need you and not the people with fake promises. all that sounds banal to us now.
Let the soul of those who sacrificed their worthy lives rest in peace forever. And all my heart felt condolences to their families.
"All terrorism and unrest has its roots in class inequalities namely lack of education, poverty and access to a better future". I think you got it right in explaining the reason for terroism.
ReplyDeleteI always feel sorry for all those who have left their near and dear ones. Someone has to pay the price for the ineffeciency and lethargy in the system but 'for how long" is the next most important question that is going to haunt all.
Ganesh I liked your use of language!!
Keep writing
amen to that bro..............
ReplyDeletebut actually as frustrating as it seems from outside Mumbai, Mumbai is surprisingly least bothered and going on with its life as usual supporting RT and other vandals as always.
Mom Says "very good observation nicely put"
ReplyDelete