How equal are we.........?

Ironical as it may sound, but the terror attacks in Mumbai, have actually united this city and also the country to some extent, like never before. People are speaking in the same language; people are asking the same questions; people are showing solidarity; people, irrespective of class, creed, religion, economic status, are coming together and voicing their opinion. After a long time, we are witnessing a sense of oneness in this diversity, which is the strength of this dynamic country.

 

Adversity does bring out the best in us. And in an increasingly interconnected world, the woes of one nation are no longer, hers alone. These attacks have made no discrimination. The terrorists have ruthlessly murdered people. They have killed without mercy, reason or distinction. The line between the haves and the have-nots was blurred.

 

But let’s pause for a minute and think. Think about the double standards that we, as a society have so deeply entrenched within our psyche, that only a catastrophe is able to remove the blinkers that we have put on. A pavement dweller is overrun by a car of a moneyed class young man. A case is filed, litigation ensues and at the end of it, the criminal is scot free. A young woman is shot in cold blood for ignoring the overtures of a MP’s son. Nobody bats a eye-lid.

Hundreds died in a natural calamity because the same government didn’t take any precautionary measures to evacuate the people on time. We shrugged our shoulders. The same jawans and commandoes, who guard our borders, face the enemy from close quarters, risk their lives and win wars, are hailed as heroes, but only just. Nobody speaks about police reforms and the pittance that our security personnel earn as salaries, for putting their lives in the line of fire and ensuring our safety then. But when a terror attack happens in the heart of our city, the very same people are lauded for the efforts, they get glorified by the media, and rightly so, and the Government gets cornered into initiating (or at least talking about) police reforms.

 

Why, pray why, do we need a terror attack, to awaken our souls? Why are we selective in assessing all the wrong doings in the society, unless we are subjected to the same? Why is our righteous self come to fore, only if there is trouble in our own backyard?

 

I think the time is ripe for some soul-searching , even as we go about collecting the pieces of our lives, and rising together, to face the sinister side of humanity , among other things.

The end of a beginning….

As I sit down to pen the thoughts that are raging inside me about the terrorist attack on Mumbai, I am at a complete loss for words. How can one express the multitude of emotions that all of Mumbai was feeling, as those savages mercilessly kept on killing, innocent, unarmed and hapless people? How can one articulate the level of disgust at an administration, which is only adept at issuing banal statements, which further scar our souls?

 

Are nouns like anger, fear, hatred, disillusionment, frustration et al, enough to describe my true feelings? I don’t think so. And, like me, most of the mumbaikars, are reliving those horrendous moments, daily, even as we go through our everyday motions.

 

It only took a group of 10 odd jehadees, who were armed and trained for combat, to hold the financial nerve centre of India, at ransom. In hindsight, it looks almost trivial to think that, even with the most sophisticated weaponry and a consummate military training, these savages could carry out this heinous mission.

 

The images of people running for cover, bodies covered in blood, strewn all over the place, shattered glasses, empty canisters, tell only part of the story. Our dented spirit, the loss of life and our scarred souls, though not visible to the naked eye, hold the true essence of the fall-out of this ghastly act.

 

Mumbai has always been on the terrorist-radar and been attacked before. Be it the train blasts or bomb blasts of 1993. But each time when the people of this city were faced with adversity, the fabled spirit of this dynamic city came to fore. We bounced back. Only to be cruelly getting knocked over again. We started to take our first step to regain our basic rights of being free citizens of the second largest democracy of the world. Only to be reminded, that a spineless political class, which clamors for power without responsibility and accountability in this country, is inept to protect even our basic rights.

 

 

Conspiracy theories are doing rounds now. There is malicious exchange amongst us all, as we try to search for somebody to provide us reliable answers to some of the questions raging in our minds. How long will we continue to be sitting ducks to such attacks? How long will we suffer because of a callous, inefficient and opportunistic political class? How long before we see some concrete remedial measures being taken to counter terrorism? How long before we feel safe in our own homes, streets, cities, states and our very own country? How long before we see these so-called elected representatives of the country deliver on their shallow promises?

 

Its time we stood up for ourselves. Its time we start demanding what is rightfully ours. Its time we do away with our chalta-hai attitude. Its time, when we, as the people of this country, stand united and speak in ONE voice. Its time we make our political class, irrespective of their so-called ideology, squirm. ITS TIME WE TELL THE WORLD THAT WE WILL NOT BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED ANYMORE!

 

 

Keep the fire burning, till every corrupt bone of this country , is reduced to ashes……