I had more motivation than breaking Palash’s track record of maximum consecutive posts to write this piece. Having followed the Mumbai terror strike for the past five days now, I am beginning to get a disillusioned with the establishment. If a terror strike is being planned for two months, shouldn’t we have had some intelligence reports about it before the actual event, which not only took everyone by surprise but took amazingly long to get a concerted response.
Then the deputy CM of Maharashtra calls it a small incident in a large city. This is only followed by the most insensitive behaviour and comments from the Kerala CM, not to mention the comments on women with lipstick can’t be taken seriously if they protest.
It really is true then - people get the politicians they deserve. These are the people we voted into power and these are the people who managed to hold on to power because the thinking public abstains from voting. When will we rise as one, stop categorising people by their dress or origins and make ourselves heard for what we believe in?
To quote Bob Dylan:
How many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they’re forever banned?…
How many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?…
How many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesn’t see?…
Monday, 1. December 2008
“the thinking public abstains from voting”
Rethink guyz and DO it.
Not using this right makes you as irresponsible as anybody you blame for failing to provide for your basic needs.
Monday, 1. December 2008
What you’ve stated is very true, Romila. The intelligence reports are believed to have been sent to the Home Ministry which did its job by sending a memo to the PMO’s office where it probably found its way into the dust bin. Of course, if the threat had been about Priyanka Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi, there would definitely have been immediate action.
You are right about the Kerala CM, Romila, he has shown the insensitivity and hypocrisy that underlies most demonstrations of politicians when ‘grieving’ for those who fought and died for the country’s security.
The public outrage is healthy because I think that finally we have woken up to the fact that India-Pakistan dispute is no longer a phrase we read about in the newspapers or the bone of contention between heads of state. We kept away from horrifying accounts of terrorism because we liked to believe we cannot be touched but that’s not true anymore and we know it now.
The issue of Pakistan sponsored terrorism is no longer about two warring countries but now it is about us, who we are, why we believe in certain democratic principles and why we cannot let terrorists frighten us or destroy our country. We need to be more conscious about security at a micro level, like it is with the people of Israel. We need to have NSG commandos placed at strategic points to safeguard the country coz statistics say that over 1,000 valuable NSG commandos are ‘underused’ to provide security for politicians and VVIPs of this country. These are the people who dont get out of their homes or cars without ten men guarding their lives. Guess who has the most NSG commandos at his beck and call……..dearest Amar Singh, that’s whom our commandos are risking (wasting is a more apt word) their lives for.
The Mumbai attacks taught us more lessons than any other incident. It taught us that it is now time to reassert our right to live without fear in our country. How do we do that?
We need to stand up and question our leaders. Every media channel shows young people from different walks of life questioning the leaders who rule us. We need to put aside regional and divisive issues behind us so that we can emerge strong as a nation.
I am not sure i agree with Ankit about voting. It’s like choosing between two devils, who is the better one, either way, you get cheated unless of course, we have young, motivated visionaries who step in to the political establishment. Take the Center, you have the Congress or the BJP. We all know neither can make a difference because all they do is juggle leaders, not policies. The political establishment in India is too busy playing the numbers game and making crores out of it, they dont have time to worry about the really serious issues that affect the ordinary man. This time, they have underestimated the power of the masses. We have all reached a boiling point. I think that the people of India are at the brink of a near-revolution for better and more responsible leadership. As more and more questions are emerging, it is now up to us to find the answers.
Monday, 1. December 2008
Yes Swapna. That is exactly what I was trying to get at. We need to rise as one. Why is it that only people with dubious reputations and intentions get into politics. A country should be run by people who care about the nation and its people, those who see the larger picture - the one outside their bank accounts. It is time each of us felt responsible to do our bit. There is no “small” things to do - each act will leave its impact, each drop will fill the oceans. Forget about the idiots who govern us today - IT IS TIME FOR A REVOLUTION.
Tuesday, 2. December 2008
Are nt we turning romantic here?
Wednesday, 3. December 2008
One can find solutions to problems. You cannot find a solution, if the problem is not known or not understood. What are the demands of these terrorists? What do they seek? Is there a central leadership that a nation or a force can speak with and begin a dialogue? Answers to all these questions is not known…. There are too many terrorist outfits, all having different agendas, all created with a different purpose in mind.. Terrorism will reach its tipping point and will get solved with time.. its a directionless movement… It cannot be stopped by any political leadership.
Wednesday, 3. December 2008
Harish, these young misled boys are pawns controlled by somewhere else. They seek to spread hatred, fear and they dont have any agenda per se. Illegal activities, mafias and gangsters thrive and flourish by the name of terror. I think their objective to shake up the entire nation aftermath Bombay has been executed, quite well.
The iron is hot, and as GW Bush says time to strike and smoke em out of their holes!
Friday, 5. December 2008
Ankit - seriously, there is nothing romantic about a revolution. It takes immense courage, conviction and sacrifice considering the turbulent times we live in now. I agree with Romila that it is time for a revolution.
I also agree with Harish’s statement that there are lots of problems that need to be known and understood before we can find solutions but I do feel responsible political leadership can make a huge difference. I think political leaders need to segregate diplomatic strategies from their anti-terrorist strategies. They need to involve people at some level for information gathering or security alerting. Terrorism can be checked if we stand united, to some extent.
What angers me is that our political establishment is so cocooned from the suffering, the pain and the agony that they make such ridiculous statements. They are totally out of sync with rest of the country.
Palash, you have pointed out these ‘boys’ are misled. It is so true and sad. A survivor of the attack on NDTV said that she is so traumatized by the faces of the terrorists whom she saw that she can’t sleep at night. In fact, the worst thing according to her is that they were her age and they were killing people like flies. I think our politicians need to understand and feel how deeply this siege has changed our lives.
Just one question that has plagued me all the time during the last one week - who is the president of this country, does such a position still exist or did Sonia Gandhi do away with it altogether? Where is India’s so called ’supreme commander of the defence forces’?
Friday, 5. December 2008
Yes Swapna, I too was amazed to see the pics of the terrorists. They looked like college students we see on the streets everyday. How does one reach a state where the cold blooded planning and killing stops impinging on our sensibilities to the extent that one can just walk in as though one is taking a stroll and end up killing 200 people and injuring double that?
Monday, 8. December 2008
True, Romila, its a frightening thought indeed.
Tuesday, 1. December 2009
Greetings Loving your site a lot! I My sister told me about your page. Cool!