Post 26/11

The

The nation is in a state of mourning.

The shock-waves that stunned the country for 62 excruciating hours are now thawing into tearful farewells and heartrending wails, making us all aware, with every passing minute, of the terrible times we are living in and the juvenile sense of security we take to our beds every night.

Like in any great crisis, this one too has had its heroes – people who couldn’t care less about their own lives while saving others’. Some of them are being consigned to the flames as I write. Yet, before the fire in their pyres are out there will be legitimate queries from various quarters questioning the longevity of our outrage, the durability of this ire. And it is my personal belief that these people are not entirely wrong in suspecting our ability as a nation, as a polity and as a people to redress with a vengeance when wronged. History shows that we have always been a nation of the “Chalta hain” sluggards when it comes to prompt thinking and prompter action.

We bypass what is difficult; we overlook what is inconvenient.

The Sunday Hindustan Times had Vir Sanghvi in his Counterpoint column noting:

“Consider the US. Nobody blamed George Bush for 9/11. And for all his faults he was able to ensure that there would be no terrorist attack for the next eight years. Or think of England. The country was shocked by the 7/7 bombings. But politicians assured people that there would be no repeat and indeed, there’s been nothing since. Think of Indonesia. The Bali bombing has not been followed by any terrorist attack on that scale.

I can think of only three countries where terrorism reigns unchecked: Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.”

Just think of the other two countries in the same bracket and you will get the picture. Over the years we have become a generous recipient of terrorism exported by our neighbors (Pakistan being our ‘Most Favored Nation’ in trade is a valid excuse, maybe), an endless sink for all the toxic spawned in ‘their’ backyards and our tirelessness in this department still doesn’t seem to be remotely disturbed. If we are playing our “war of attrition” card here, I doubt if we are winning, in any possible way.

No one denies that given a chance our politicians would never tire of milking the terror cow dry. Be it terror of any “genre” – Hindu, Muslim, separatist, revolutionary and they cannot wait to throw their hats in. Add to this scene few well-timed elections and you get the entire circus running full-steam, not ahead by an inch but in circles.

The Media also plays its part well in the greater scheme of things. Some news channels, in their rush to grab the TRPs, did not even pay heed to a Home Ministry advisory while televising the Mumbai Siege “LIVE”. Perhaps their intuition had told them that the minister himself would need advisories on post-retirement pension schemes soon. But they ended up spreading the terror for the terrorists in their wake and that didn’t help the cause in anyway. Talking of media personalities, it is better if I don’t write at length my recent disillusionment regarding some of them. People who are supposed to have transformed the news-watching habits of the entire nation by their “fire-brand, no-nonsense brand of journalism” were seen thrusting mikes at the faces of dazed victims grappling with their new found lives after a horrid ordeal. And all that for “How do you feel?” .Stray bullets come at a premium too, it seems. All the respect which I had for their sensitivity to human trauma and their courage to fight for lost causes had instantly vanished.

“ Give a big man a great job and see how small he can be ” – I remember to have read somewhere.

The Big Question then is - If TERRORISM could ever have a perceivable end any time in the foreseeable future?

If “yes”, How?

A Federal Agency to counter terror can only be effective if it is kept isolated from the ever evolving political dynamics in our country or else it will end up getting mired in filing scams and disproportionate assets – an abiding legacy of our ministers. Also, in the first place, the installation of such an agency would require amendment of the Constitution which enlists Law and Order as a State responsibility. If this agency is to focus all its resources in handling terrorist activities it would need much teeth and meddling in its affairs would only negate the initial enthusiasm and rarify its real purpose. Tackling this new brand of urban terrorism will need extensive intelligence networking and enforcement of stricter laws. A few people at the top should be made accountable for the actions of the Agency.

The promise that this much-touted Agency holds, even in its days of inception, is immense and so will be the ignominy if it fails. But, we would want ‘the powers that be’ to do anything to try and avoid another 26^th November as we have just had.

Links" rediff.com, hindustantimes.com

Terror's Happy Hunting Ground

We, bloggers, write mostly when the dust has settled and the blood has dried on the sleeves. 

The news-channels go into their habitual mode of manic over-drive to televise "breaking news" of blood being  spilled and flesh being ripped "while they actually happen".

Our leaders call for "restraint" in "such times of crisis".

Police officials promise "prompt action" and "return to order".

Conflicting claims owning responsibility for the strikes surface.

And we rue the sorry state of our country while warming the sofas of our bedaubed drawing-rooms, letting out that occasional sigh of resigned helplessness over a cup of luke-warm tea before moving onto  some other channel with brighter things on offer. 

Days pass and we forget.

And that is precisely the most terrible curse that an overpopulated nation like ours face

 -  The Curse of Collective Forgetfulness. And the value of human life becomes gradually more trivialised. 

While Mumbai turns into a veritable battlefield and people all over the nation are left wondering "where next?"  a grotesque spectacle of terrorism unfolds before our very eyes.

No more RDX, no more detonations from a distance. Their war has now decidedly come down to "hand to hand combat". But, how can "terror" gain visibility if only the security forces are engaged. How can it strike fear and further its "noble cause" if the corpses don't pile up on the streets. No act of terror is complete without few innocents getting slaughtered, and so we have the count pegged at 100 and till reports last came in they were still counting. This time the casualties have nothing in common between them. Some were inside plush hotels, some on roads earning their daily wages, some in taxis and some waiting on railway platforms. The purveyors of death have made their disregard for social strata apparent with their bloody statement. 

" No class. No mercy. "

And we have taken note.

As NSG commandos storm their posts, bringing them down one by one, and defense analysts join the political bandwagon in dissecting their 'modus operandi' and 'objectives', it is time that we, as a nation wake up to the realization that its about time that our leaders put "petty politics" behind them to avenge this resounding slap on the face of our continued policy of tolerance. It does not matter if "they" were Hindus or Muslims, Deccan Mujahideens or Kashmiri Fidayeens; it does not matter if there was the usual "foreign hand" behind these attacks or something entirely indigenously orchestrated. Fire can only be fought with fire and there are no two ways about it.

Too many lives have been lost already and someone must sound the bugle now. If not, popular outrage might soon consume the last vestiges of whatever is considered 'civil' in our society and a protracted reign of violent vigilantism might soon ensue. Unlike the political and military posturing in the wake of the '2001 Parliament Attack' concrete action is the call of the hour. An Advani or a Gandhi visiting the blast-sites when the muzzles have all gone cold is not good enough now. If they want to send a message to the millions that they need not panic in their homes, that must show in their work, not words. It is needless to say that every Indian city now awaits its turn in the terror turn-table with bated breath, that every ordinary citizen now stations himself in a crowded market-place relying more on faith than the "IB information" that is always over-looked before the blasts and highlighted only after they occur unhindered. I admit that it is very convenient to play the blame-game sitting in the comfort of one's study, reading news-portals and venting righteous ire but these are only cultured reflections of the emotions of an exasperated majority, who, if given a chance, would put it with much more vehemence and scorn. 

It will be inappropriate right now to speculate on the possible political stances that might emerge in the coming days, ones which might already be underway in the corridors of power, but any more "politicising of terror" at the expense of innocent lives and we will have a "bigger, graver situation" on our hands. Soon.

Then, mere 'storming the gates' might not be of much help.

links: rediff.com

Murder of a Hope - The Light of Larkhana goes out

Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated in cold blood.

In one of the most shocking events ever in the history of the sub-continent the former Prime Minister of Pakistan was shot in the neck a few hours back while attending an election rally in the garrison town of Rawalpindi.

As violence erupts in the streets of Karachi and Peshawar following the news of her death the future of democracy in Pakistan gets bleaker by the hour. General Musharraf, who faces probing questions as to why the security of such a high-profile politician like Benazir was not taken up with utmost priority, having already survived a suicide-attack and repeated threats being made to her life by various Islamic militant organizations, will be hard-pressed to provide acceptable answers if any. With the suspension of the January 8^th elections looking imminent the ‘road to restoration of order’ in Pakistan seems beset with more unfortunate cataclysms than one had initially accounted for.

While Sindh mourns the death of a dear daughter, political analysts the world over see the attack as a consequence of the threat perception she embodied to the thriving ‘terror industry’ in provincial Punjab. She in her recent political rallies declared in no uncertain terms how she would do everything in her power to reign in terrorists operating from Pakistani soil. Given her charismatic persona and undeniable charm, coupled with the paucity of choice that an average Pakistani has while going to vote she seemed set to ensure a sizable number of seats for the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in the coming elections. Popular sentiment could have worked in swaying the scale either in her favor or Nawaz Sharif’s. Her tragic death has unjustly precluded such an electoral eventuality. The pre-emption of her premiership in such ghastly a manner must ring alarm bells in far-off Capitol Hill right now. If the global community (read USA) is in any measure earnest in wanting to tackle the scum of Islamic extremism it needs to answer the call of the hour with immediate effect. Mere issue of official condolences will not suffice in stemming the rot that USA’s major ally in its ‘War against Terror’ is reeling under at this moment. Benazir’s shocking assassination is a macabre indicator of how desperate the militant forces are in resisting the revival of people’s rule in Pakistan. The International community must ensure the installation of a democratic government instead of a Musharraf stooge climbing to power by rigging polls only to serve his high-handed master. If a call is not taken now it might be too late for Pakistan to recover and repair for her loses. Not only will that be a colossal tragedy for the 60 million Pakistanis but a turn for the worse for the future of South-Asia and the prospects of World Peace in general.


Peace be to her soul.


photos: google images