With the visuals of the final hour assault by the NSG at Taj, I start my day. Within a couple of minutes into the commentary one could see the fire beginning to engulf the ground floor and the first floor of what is undoubtedly one of the most majestic pieces of architecture facing the west coast. Guns shot reminds of the some bloody Hollywood war movie. But the location is not some forest in another country. War zone is closer home.
The corruption that plaques the police departments and other departments of the country leaves plenty of loopholes for the terrorists to take advantage from and carry out their heinous crimes. We will never get to know how many of these terrorists have moved in stolen vehicles, intercepted by the check posts but have bribed there way out. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. It is pretty well known fact that Dawood has very loyal connections in the Mumbai police department.
The corrupt officials have blood in their hands.
The ‘intelligentsia’ of this country, at least the ones visible on TV come in front of the camera to show off their articulation skills. And use fancy words and phrases to blame every body else and talk with an air that their assessment is the finest and most righteous.
Pathetic.
So what should you and I do? Are we in a position to change the status quo? Can we work out something that may change the pathetic state of the security system of this country? Because, if we don't fight this war in our indivdual capacity sooner or later, we will have blood in our hands too. It is all fine to stand together with lit candles and symbolically express our discontent, dissent, anger. But can we all stand as one to fight this menace with proper action.
For a start, we all have to vote. Question the government in any capacity possible. Make them accountable. We also have to be rebellious against corruption. Be vigilant on the roads and crowded places. Rent out homes only after proper verification. In our own capacity we can all do this and much more.
If you have more suggestions to fight terror please go ahead and mention them.
I will end this post with a placard that a young man was carrying in front of the TAJ, this evening. It is worth a mention:
With anger and disappointment setting in, I needed to hear a soothing voice. I called up mom. The conversation did settle me somewhat, but not enough to put the incident out of mind. Not enough to ignore it.
What we are witnessing is WAR. Make no mistake about it. Some experts will suggest the name guerrilla war. Most call it Terrorism. Islamist Terrorism or Hindu Terrorism really depends on which side you are standing. Some audaciously even call it fight for justice. Call what you like. But the fact remains that innocent lives are being lost on a regular basis. People from all walk of life, all religion, all caste and creed has been a victim and is precariously living their daily lives. Children are instructed not visit malls, eating joints and movie halls by their parents now. Will colleges become out of bounds too?
Why is this happening? What is the motive behind such attacks? I have wondered often; what makes young boys pick up gun and explosives and risk their precious lives. Don’t they value their life? They must have been the loving baby child of a doting couple, who might have had dreams that one day their child will grow up to make them proud. Ironic, isn’t it? What went wrong? What is the motivation to carry out such violent acts of terror?
We can keep discussing this with little result, and the truth is; these are irrelevant questions.
The real and only valid question before the country today is; who are they? And once that is known, appropriate action should follow.
It is now known to the administration that the terrorists who entered Mumbai came from Pakistan. Who are the masterminds, and which organization is behind it? The answers to which this country is waiting to hear, rather impatiently. The stategists and policy makers need to decide the line of action. But that is not my concern today. Our neighbour has been a rouge state from the time it came into existence. And like they have always done they will continue harming this country till good sense starts to have a meaning in that country. Instead, what troubles me today is that some people in India also have blood in their hands after this tragedy and after many that preceded it.
The porous coastal area is still porous. Dawood’s men used that route to enter the country with RDX, which they used them monstrously in the ’93 Bombay blasts. It’s been 15 years since that happened and today that route is still porous. Nothing has been done to fill that security loophole. In that period all major political party have had their Prime Minister. The ones that didn’t have were, in some time or the other, part of the government.
The political establishment has blood in their hands.
What we are witnessing is WAR. Make no mistake about it. Some experts will suggest the name guerrilla war. Most call it Terrorism. Islamist Terrorism or Hindu Terrorism really depends on which side you are standing. Some audaciously even call it fight for justice. Call what you like. But the fact remains that innocent lives are being lost on a regular basis. People from all walk of life, all religion, all caste and creed has been a victim and is precariously living their daily lives. Children are instructed not visit malls, eating joints and movie halls by their parents now. Will colleges become out of bounds too?
Why is this happening? What is the motive behind such attacks? I have wondered often; what makes young boys pick up gun and explosives and risk their precious lives. Don’t they value their life? They must have been the loving baby child of a doting couple, who might have had dreams that one day their child will grow up to make them proud. Ironic, isn’t it? What went wrong? What is the motivation to carry out such violent acts of terror?
We can keep discussing this with little result, and the truth is; these are irrelevant questions.
The real and only valid question before the country today is; who are they? And once that is known, appropriate action should follow.
It is now known to the administration that the terrorists who entered Mumbai came from Pakistan. Who are the masterminds, and which organization is behind it? The answers to which this country is waiting to hear, rather impatiently. The stategists and policy makers need to decide the line of action. But that is not my concern today. Our neighbour has been a rouge state from the time it came into existence. And like they have always done they will continue harming this country till good sense starts to have a meaning in that country. Instead, what troubles me today is that some people in India also have blood in their hands after this tragedy and after many that preceded it.
The porous coastal area is still porous. Dawood’s men used that route to enter the country with RDX, which they used them monstrously in the ’93 Bombay blasts. It’s been 15 years since that happened and today that route is still porous. Nothing has been done to fill that security loophole. In that period all major political party have had their Prime Minister. The ones that didn’t have were, in some time or the other, part of the government.
The political establishment has blood in their hands.
The corruption that plaques the police departments and other departments of the country leaves plenty of loopholes for the terrorists to take advantage from and carry out their heinous crimes. We will never get to know how many of these terrorists have moved in stolen vehicles, intercepted by the check posts but have bribed there way out. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. It is pretty well known fact that Dawood has very loyal connections in the Mumbai police department.
The corrupt officials have blood in their hands.
The ‘intelligentsia’ of this country, at least the ones visible on TV come in front of the camera to show off their articulation skills. And use fancy words and phrases to blame every body else and talk with an air that their assessment is the finest and most righteous.
Pathetic.
So what should you and I do? Are we in a position to change the status quo? Can we work out something that may change the pathetic state of the security system of this country? Because, if we don't fight this war in our indivdual capacity sooner or later, we will have blood in our hands too. It is all fine to stand together with lit candles and symbolically express our discontent, dissent, anger. But can we all stand as one to fight this menace with proper action.
For a start, we all have to vote. Question the government in any capacity possible. Make them accountable. We also have to be rebellious against corruption. Be vigilant on the roads and crowded places. Rent out homes only after proper verification. In our own capacity we can all do this and much more.
If you have more suggestions to fight terror please go ahead and mention them.
I will end this post with a placard that a young man was carrying in front of the TAJ, this evening. It is worth a mention:
Mr. Terrorist, I am ALIVE. What more can you do?
Mr. Politician, I am ALIVE despite you.
A terrorist has no face but a clear agenda. A politician has a face with a hidden agenda.
P.S. I wrote this piece last Saturday evening but becuase of unavoidable reason post it today.
Comments
the situation is really bad..and shocking...
I don't feel that this is a case of India's chickens coming home to roost. Lots of us in America would be appalled at hearing Reverend Jeremiah Wright say "God Damn India".
It really concerns me that such a low life is so close to our President-elect.
Agar humare desh ka har naujawan desh se related inn calculations par dhyan dene lagega .. toe desh ko Unnati ki aur jaane se koi {Politician} nahi rok sakta ...
Reverend Jeremiah Wright, may be at one point close to Obama, but today Obama has distant himself from him and rightly so. Also he is for India just a foreign and ignorant indivdual in matters of India. So his views are pointless and irrelevant. And the country treats it just that way.
@Pathak: I expect a proper counter or augumentative argument for this article. Common buddy, get sporty.
@DREAMZ: Thanks for the kind words. You are right, collective consience and collective action are fantastic tools of democracy.
The terrorists, politicians and police, everybody has blood on their hands.
By existing in a country where the state of affairs is such, we have blood on our hands.
People have been dying in many circumstances in this country. All of them man-made, because lives which could have been saved were lost due to bureaucratic apathy, vote bank politics.
I wonder if you were similarly outraged when the Bombay Riots took place or the Gujarat one. Just to make a rhetorical point.
I also wonder if you were similarly outraged when the serial blasts in Guwahati took away a lot of lives last Diwali.
The point I am making is that this has happened before to others and in peripheral areas, many times.
Why do we only get outraged when it gets closer home? And then why do we package it as enough is enough.
Honesty, I was outraged by all the incidents that you mentioned. Maybe you may exclude the Bombay riots for I was too young to be bothered of the ways of the world then.
Having said that, I admit that I was never outraged in the manner that I am now. For a reason I have a rather silly analogy: In the olden days Hindi movies, the male protaganist (I am avoiding the word 'hero' delibrately) took some quiet beating from the villain, before, he had it enough and found fresh strengh to fight back. This Mumbai incident was the tipping point of my tolerance. Tolerence for violence and injustice in not exactly a virtue, as you will agree.
Also, I found your post 'For Bombay' very refreshing among the stock of opinions expressed after the TAJ incident. But, I wish to hear more from you. What was your first reaction. And more: You are an expert on Pakistan (not to mention China) and in light of that I would like to know your opinion on the possibily of India attacking terror training camps in Pakistan. What good will come of it, if any?
Many thanks for such a nice article. I greatly appreciate the views that you have put across in the article and especially because this article has partially cleared the cloud of uncertainty and confusion in my mind whenever I tend to think about any plausible solution to the problems which my countrymen are facing today.
To whatever extent my thought process goes, I firmly believe, we are unknowingly and unwillingly trapped in a vicious circle. You pointed out what we need to do at an individual level to avoid the incidents happening such as Mumbai attacks or Bomb explosion that took place in various parts of the country across the year. Except the point of franchising our votes, all other measures appear to be precautionary rather than preventive. I think, franchising our vote should be made imperative and anyone not voting (except some unavoidable reasons) should be taken as an offense to the state. But for this to happen, I think it is equally important to keep an option in the ballot papers (nowadays in the voting machines) which corresponds to 'DO NOT LIKE TO VOTE ANYONE'. (All of you who would read this point made by me can independently develop an implication/outcome of this option)
After going through articles in various newspapers in India and abroad and the situation prevailing in my country, I believe its virtually impossible to curb the menace with just the precautionary measures. We need to look out for some preventive measures, something which goes to the root of so called terrorism and hits it very hard.
Yes, Ritwick my clear intention was to keep the issue from the perspective of a common man. And therefore the precautionary measures stated were the ones that an individual can take to combat terror. And they were not new. Almost all measures were spoken by the people of the country after the tragedy.
My understanding of international affairs, internal security, and war is poor to say the least and therefore I saw it fit to not make suggestions or comment on it. Also, I believe these issues should be left for the experts. And the precise reason why I believe India should not go to war with Pakistan just because there is a strong public opinion on it, but should go to war only if the experts of the country think it is a productive and preventive move to counter terror.