Another Wednesday….another terrorist activity….a few hundred more innocents killed.…and a few million more lost in damages….where do we go from here? It’s not the first time that Bombay has been subjected to such vicious attacks of terror. And as much as I hope not, truth be told, it won’t be the last time either. The previous such attack in the suburban trains took a similar toll of human life. Politicians and TV news channels have gone on record to say that this has been the worst terrorism incident in India. Some have said that this is India’s 9/11. How juvenile and trivial can they be! It seems now, even tragedies are being ranked. For the deceased and their family, it matters not a fig leaf what is the intensity of the incident. For them the day they lost one of their own, is a black day, ranking or no ranking. The gut wrenching images of the funeral of our martyrs are still vivid in our minds.
The reactions from the common man are predominantly and predictably that of anger and anguish. Understandably so, but should they not be tempered by some sane voice? Typical knee-jerk reactions are really not going to solve any issue here. It that was so, the Kashmir problem would have been solved long ago. Terrorism is a fact of life in the 21st century. The only difference being that’s it’s perpetrated by humans. And we as a nation have to deal with it just the way we deal with any other calamity. By getting systems in place which react lightning fast we can minimize the extent of the carnage. Ironically, the NSG, which was set up to protect our elected representatives have done a splendid job while those whom they protect have failed miserably doing theirs.
I have always thought that our media, ever since it was freed has been on hyper-active mode and this time was no different. Every channel gave its own “breaking news” which was conflicting with the other. Not to mention that the coverage gave vital inputs to the perpetrators of this ghastly carnage. Even as the hostages were freed, the reporters were clamoring for sound-bytes. Do TRP’s takes precedence over all sensibilities? I think each one of them needs a sensitivity pill and urgently.
As the dust settles on this black Friday and we finally see the end of what have been a traumatic sixty odd hours, we as Indians and Bombayites have to decide what we can do. Loads of pages have been written about the “resilience” of the Bombay-ite, and this time was no different. But this time you could sense fear along with the anger in the eyes of people. The much touted resilience factor has been dragged for too long and too much. For me a part of Bombay died in the 1993 blasts. Bombay as I remember growing up, has never been quite the same ever again. But it has become increasingly intolerant with every passing year. Much of the blame has to be shared by politicians who have their vote-bank to cater to. Frankly, we have had enough of local politicos using divisive tactics to drive wedges between us. The Bombay I grew up in, was so all encompassing. So forgiving and never asking anything back! Well, its time to ask now.
First of all! wow what emotions! You have really vented and hit the nail on the head. The unblemished image of Bombay as we grew up. Thinking we could go anywhere and do anything that we liked. But enter - riots, terrorism, politics, communalism, etc etc and what we have is people using a peace loving place full of hard working people and using it to fulfill their personal agenda without any care or fear how it might affect us. But remember 1962 and then 1970 (somewhere there) we had wars too and blackouts. But it was India, army was involved. This is different, its Mumbai (Bombay) vs ............., if Delhi helps us are we too be obligated now? Or is the common man to take up arms in self defense.
i suppose every bombay-ite feels the same way. just that the expression differs. and each one of us has to express what he/she feels in their own way. coz now we need to.
3 comments:
First of all! wow what emotions! You have really vented and hit the nail on the head. The unblemished image of Bombay as we grew up. Thinking we could go anywhere and do anything that we liked. But enter - riots, terrorism, politics, communalism, etc etc and what we have is people using a peace loving place full of hard working people and using it to fulfill their personal agenda without any care or fear how it might affect us. But remember 1962 and then 1970 (somewhere there) we had wars too and blackouts. But it was India, army was involved. This is different, its Mumbai (Bombay) vs ............., if Delhi helps us are we too be obligated now? Or is the common man to take up arms in self defense.
i suppose every bombay-ite feels the same way. just that the expression differs. and each one of us has to express what he/she feels in their own way. coz now we need to.
When Peace of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.
Sri Chinmoy Ghose
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