I have been reluctant to write even though I penned a few lines in my blog soon after I had heard the news.
The thoughts need to come out though as I feel like one of my own children has been badly wounded. Having lived more than half my life in Mumbai, that too in South Mumbai, this has hit home really hard. Yes, I have been around during bomb blasts two years ago and when there were some horrendous Hindu-Muslim riots, but this was way worse than barbaric. When the entire world is moving forward, there are those elements who want to push it to the medieval times.
The more I read, the sadder I got. Yes, the anger in terms of so many unanswered questions...
- Why didn't the government respond appropriately and promptly?
- Why isn't the government still not sending a strong message out?
- The immediate blame went to external elements; but knowing that these external elements are present, what did the government do to protect its people?
- My father always says in Marathi, "Hindustanaat mansaachi kimmat naahi amhi yevdhi aahot mhanun"; there is no value for human life in India - there are so many of us. this shows up time and time again - we are just numbers because of a country with a population of a billion
- Why does only Delhi have a commando force, given that so many cities were the victims of terrorist attacks in the past few months and the threat had been seen for the other large cities?
- The attacks happened at 9:45 p.m. The commandoes were only able to reach at 6:00 a.m. at each of the locations - I mean is this a joke or what?
- Narendra Modi attacks one of the top cops highly respected in all circles - Karkare - then offers his family compensation for his death which Karkare's wife rightfully refuses. What message are people here trying to convey?
- The BJP and Congress cannot work together - no strong message about condemning the terrorists; just the blame game. When will we ever learn?
All this is fine with me sitting 10,000 miles away... I really wish I was there doing something. Its the feeling of helplessness when - Can I do something, however little on my behalf.
Yes, my family is safe - my parents are fast asleep at 10 p.m.. My sister made it home in time; my sister-in-law made it home in time.
It helped that I had a five day weekend for Thanksgiving and that my children are older so they did their own thing while all I have done is follow the news on the internet - ndtv live and the various news websites and blogs - and CNN which had a good coverage. It made me sadder but I think I needed to do that since I was not physically present in Mumbai. Life has to go on and it will; I don't feel unsafe going to the city where I grew up and spending time walking the streets; yes, I would think twice about what I did with my kids but then I do that anyway. So many people have not been as fortunate as my family; so many parents have lost their children; so many children have lost their parents; so many poor folks at VT station - that was their home...
I thought of my favorite poem several times in the past few days - "Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high.......
Into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake". I wonder what Tagore would have said were he alive today
2 comments:
I recd this in my mailbox a few days back and was struck at how close the author hits home. It seems to be a sane voice amongst the hysteria of the "tony"crowd. not to be critical of their sentiments but .....
Our governments and systems have been corrupted by the willingness of those governed to break the law - and then buy their way to innocence. It takes two hands to clap. It takes two to be involved in corruption: the giver and the taker.
So, when I see some industrialists and businessmen on TV blaming the government and the politicians the question to be asked is: have you ever been a part of the "system" and been a partner to corruption?
Let’s take the example of this clamour to protect India’s coast line. In 1993, argue those on TV, boats were used to transport RDX that were used in the Bombay blasts. Yet - we are told by these indignant businessmen on the various TV channels - 15 years later there is nothing done to protect India’s coast line.
But India does have a law about its coastline. It says that there can be no construction within 500 metres of the sea. The law may not be a good law and it is disliked by many - but it is a law. Drive along the coast of western India and see how many homes and buildings are within this 500 metre zone? The ones that were constructed after the law came into force stand aloof because things have been "taken care of".
One you have injected a bag of cash into the system, why should the local policeman or local administrator or college clerk or tax officer restrict the cash-taking habit only to the bag of money that you have to offer?
When a college issues a fake identity card, it is because - somewhere in the system - there was a breakdown. Maybe some rich son’s kid wanted to go to a bar even before he reached the legal age limit. No problem, he works the system. He hears about how the father works the system every night at home over dinner. Of course, somewhere down the line a fake college identity card may be sold to a terrorist trying to blow up a hotel in South Bombay.
There are rules in Bombay about the time that bars and clubs must close. Like the coastal zone rule, it is disliked. But it is a law. Drive around at night in Bombay and you will see bars open till later than what the law states. Things have been taken care of. The law enforcer has been bought. If the enforcer can be paid to look the other way to keep a bar open beyond legal times, how much would it cost to look the other way as a van or truck winds its way down the roads of South Bombay? Is the enforcer going to ask: do you have Ak-47’s and grenades in there? Does the enforcer ask the bar owner: do you declare your earnings to the tax department or do you serve hooch or foreign liquor?
The Special Economic Zones and the large real estate development projects? Were they policies built on a transparent process? Or were these another way of those with good connections getting what they want?
And then we wonder why the Naxalites are gaining power.
Helping people break the law - or create laws that help a few - has become the major focus of many politicians and administrators in modern India: they get paid well for it.
Bribing the enforcers of law has become our birthright. We are Indian.
So, if you really want India to get on the right track: stop paying bribes
http://www.equitymaster.com/ht/detail.asp?date=12/2/2008&story=6
The full text is there in case u wish to go thru it
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