60 long hours. Possibly the 60 longest hours for many. And a whole nation struck numb.
This seems to be the reality of the worst terror attacks of the century ever. Top cops have laid their lives, hundreds of innocent people have died, hundreds of families broken, children orphaned and millions right now feeling emotional and enraged.
Stories are frantically being filed on the web world about traumatic experiences of those who suffered and those who saw others suffer. News papers are filled with possible anecdotes of the survivors and those who spent long hours in anticipation of their probable end.
I am sitting in Bangalore and only being able to watch TV and read the papers to know whats happening to my own people in Mumbai. My younger brother lives in Colaba and frequents Leopold often. He is safe. I am happy but I am not relieved. My blood froze when the papers detailed out Sabina's last sms to her husband that read "they are in my bath room".
With no exaggeration, I had tears in my eyes when I read that one of the Taj interns was shot down by the terrorist who had been imposing as an intern at the hotel for the last few months. The words of this dying young boy to his family over the phone were "my friend has shot me".
My heart filled with pride not only when the brave men in uniform went into the clutches of death only to do their duty but also when an ordinary white collared Taj GM did his duty all the while his own family was burning to death.
There are and will be hundreds of spine chilling stories that will be the only remnants of this tragedy, which in itself is a tragedy. Yes, we need to KNOW what has happened but there is more we also need to FEEL about what has happened.
Getting emotional and praying for those who lost their lives and their worlds is weak. Lighting candles and maintaining 2 minutes silence if superficial. Praising Mumbai and its spirit for not having altered their course of life despite facing the most beastly attack on humanity is expected.
But is this all we are capable of doing? Is there nothing else we feel or are capable of feeling?
Like all others, I am not sure what I am supposed to feel when I hear on TV that there is unfinished dinner still on plates of dead diners in the ruins of Taj, that the floors are filled with blood and that they still cannot ascertain the number of casualties.
I am not sure how I am supposed to react when I realize that the brave Unnikrishnan was actually in the same school as I and that I was in 9th when he was the house captain and as a junior, I had looked up to him and hoped that one day even I would become the school captain too.
I don't know how to react to such piece of information but I do know that I feel something, something more than just sympathy and pity.
Look at these pictures (http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/11/mumbai_under_attack.html) and tell me if I am wrong in feeling anger. Tell me if I am wrong in feeling that we all need to do something about this. Tell me if I am wrong in realizing the futility of our own lives when we face something as abominable as this and yet are helpless?
This is as close as we can get to the feared clutches of terrorism and even if this does not move us in wanting to stand united against terrorism, then possibly nothing will.
And yes, that brings us to, what can we do? We - the educated, sensible, thinking individuals that comprise the minority of the society, we who have decided to live in sanitized environments, we who have so far been FEELING for various atrocious attacks being made on mankind but we who have so far done nothing.
What can we do? I think, to begin with, lets stop getting emotional and start thinking rational. Ask ourselves, do we deserve democracy? Do we deserve to be ruled by uneducated third rate gundas? Well, if no, then lets stand together and demand for a Military rule that is not governed by any party, any religion or any caste.
A Military rule might make our lives a bit less exciting and fun but it will at least make our lives safer. Military rule might impose strict rules and laws on the lives of the affluent, but it will make the lives of less fortunate safer. Don't we want that? Are we so selfish that we cannot see the pain and trauma that "they" go through?
The men in uniform have proven time and again that they are only ones worth trusting our lives with. Whether it be Kargil or Mumbai, the men in uniform have risked their lives for our peace. And men who can do that are men we should trust. Not our opportunistic politicians who leave no situation un-touched, how ever grave it might be.
I shudder to think that maybe LK Advani will be our next PM and its is SHAMEFUL for me to be ruled by a man who is solely responsible for Babri Masjid and its aftermath till date. It is SHAMEFUL for me to know that either I don't vote or vote mindlessly. It is SHAMEFUL for me to face the fact that despite all the progress, we the thinking individuals place such little thought in the matters of our country.
I want to do something about this. I want to be a part of making India safer for the 'aam junta'. I want Military Rule imposed for the next 1 year, because to my mind that seems to be the only solution.
About Me
- Apeksha
- I do not have a one-liner for myself and writing anything more than a line here would amount to vanity and/ or boredom. Best left unsaid, even though I've already said so much.
9 comments:
I totally agree with you. i would say if a home maker.. like me sitting at home and looking after my family... can think that its a time to start a movement nation wide.then there are thousands of young people in this country who can devote atleast some time to make this counrty a better place to live peacefully. but we can not do anything without the help of you [public] and media.
i request, all the people who are gonna read this blog that if you really wanna help our country. let's come together and contribute your time and strength to your nation.
I will keep my search on to connect to more and more people who think alike and determine to step forward in this movement.
Well put Apeksha. My question here is "What next?" What are we going to do now or tomorrow that will definitely change the way our citizens think? I'm not mentioning hope here because i feel that we've come beyond hoping things would get better.
This nation needs its people to stand up and take care of it. The question again being, How??
A task force of sorts by the "aam junta" is the need of the day. How are we going to address this? Are we calling out to like minded people to join us in making the people of our country more aware of their surroundings, take action themselves or go to the authorities, or are we looking at a united force storming together against terrorism? Either or neither, we need the support of our government to take this motion forward. Why? Because, not doing so would only result in us being branded as "Terrorists". Sad but true!
I am absolutely seething with anger about the event. I don't claim it as a tragical event, i only take it as an eye opener for us. We need to wake up and smell the roaring blood and bullets surrounding us. The fear in which every single citizen of this great country spends each passing day. We need an intelligent and non violent motion (according to the situation of course) which not only makes everyone alert and aware but also brave enough to take a stand against this bulls**t that we are fed in the name of "politics & leadership".
About Advani being elected as the next PM, i don't really see any sense in recycling the muck that we already have. We need fresh minds here, intelligent minds. People who stand up for justice, who are willing to walk through BS and live to see tomorrow (with a contingency plan in place). May i also add "well read" than "well educated"?
Hindustan is being belittled and berated by religious fanatics who just think of us as a playground for letting their brainwashed zombies play in.
Wake up India!! Stand up together.
Jai Hind
I am so happy that there are people (so what if just 2) that feel the same way. Yes bhabhi - now I agree we CAN do something. Ajay - thank you for your thoughts. I think we should start a forum of sorts to at least collect same minded people and then plan out something. Even if it just means taking our thoughts to the authorities every now and then, so be it - at least it will be a start.
I see that there is a widespread feeling of "its the time to do something and Yes we want to do something". Its great that the intent is there now.
I also think that people including myself, are not clear as to what we need to do. Change is required - yes. But can someone come up with concrete, logical steps which transcend communities, religions and races to unite everyone for a cause ? An Indian cause? If someone does that, it would then be a moral responsibility of the media to spread the word and our responsibility as citizen to question, convince and then follow that word.
So it boils down to : What is the task ahead? I pray the intellect, the enlightened come up with something soon. The media sends the message soon. And I get to follow it soon.
Absolutely concur with the idea of the military rule. Compromising a few liberties for a safer tomorrow is the best solution one could think of in face of such terror. I love my family. I love my relatives. It is so frightening to think of losing some one you love, to such cowardly attacks. This is not what we deserve. And this is certainly not why we were raised, educated and loved. We were taught the sole quality of being humane, the act of forgiveness , so early in our lives. The Indian education system ensures we are inculcated with the kindest of acts and politest of words. Then why are we the ones attacked? Are we wrong to assume that the Koran prohibits and condemns such acts of inhumanity? Are we wrong to assume that we are and will after all be neighbors and should therefore pull down our guards and have a simple hug-n-make-up routine to bring everything back to normal? When, I ask, will we finally feel safe in our own country? When, I ask, will I feel safe to walk back home everyday from work without carrying a knife in my pocket? When, I ask, will it all end? When....will all my questions be answered?
Bhabhi, Ajay, Shivi, Sweta - we all love our families and friends and we all Want to do something. I am glad we are putting our thoughts together - Military rule/ Malegaon blasts/ Not vote for communical parties in march are some of the options but all these need to be echoed by a large number of us for them to be heard. Lets make these options heard guys.
Apeksha,
I vote that we have a forum for like minded Indians at every city, state and every single geographic location in and outside this country to get together and discuss things of a more practical nature. Small things that make a difference in at least one Indian's attitude. Like i've said to many a friends before, a viral revolution is what will spread awareness on what needs to be done. Let me also point out that fighting terrorism doesn't just mean keeping vigil over our neighbourhoods, it also means knowing one's rights and standing up for them. When the Right To Information act was introduced or rather re-introduced, there was a lot of buzz and commotion on how each government has been squandering tax money and their foreign trips and yadda yadda yadda, i am yet to see a report on quarterly plans for the country or state and a followup on the same.
The RTI act is a real good opportunity for every single citizen (who's bothered about this country of course) to learn and understand his / her rights. Not only would this make a person more aware of their rights but also get them curious on what happens around them. This i belive is Step One towards making us a stronger nation. Politicians and Policies need to be questioned, debated, changed or rebuked if need be. The so called "Political Leaders" need to wisen up and pull their erm..socks up. (Just realised they wear dhotis, well nevermind)
After exhaustively having gone through what i wrote, you deserve to know my point in all this.
We need to spread the viral now, actually yesterday!! Talk to your friends, colleagues, acquaintances, so on and so forth. Make them aware of their rights (know your own first), get them to understand the meaning of living a civilised life. Of course, one also requires immense patience to do this. If someone doesn't see sense in what you're doing, don't bother. They'll come around when it becomes a "fad".
Here are a few links to get you started;
Right To Information - http://persmin.nic.in/RTI/welcomerti.htm
National Human Rights Commission - http://nhrc.nic.in/
Read on, for it is nothing but a way to break on through the darkness that surrounds us today.
Small edit to the previous comment.
"But can someone come up with concrete, logical steps which transcend communities, religions and races to unite everyone for a cause ? An Indian cause?"
Should we restrict ourselves by just calling it "An Indian cause?" How about a Humane cause? We are known world over for our hospitality and its about time we be good to ourselves, well now we shall be known for hospitality with certain clauses. The popular phrase of "Give respect, take respect i say" is what we need to be looking at. What are hospitality, clauses and respect doing here, one might ask. Well, i feel that we've been human doormats in letting everyone walk in, make a mess and laugh their way out. I don't like it and i for one have never stood around watching it happen. We are too easy in letting people push us over. For our own good, we fool ourselves in feeling. Make way tomorrow, here we come. Nice? Yes we will be. It is in our nature to be so. Smarter? That is exactly where we should be heading to.
My sincere apologies if i'm hijacking your post. I am not pointing out to anyone or their thoughts, just tapping out my thoughts on things i come across.
heh he..ya its probably right that we need to be under army rule & kick out all these &*!! ing politicians :)
been goin thro the articles posted out here..of coz we all feel a sense of outrage & i completely agree that instead of complaining & whining this should serve as a wake up call-time to KICK ASS!!& take some concrete action.NOW!
voting for the right ppl,for starters.
-& not these bloody jokers! im in a business [real estate] which puts me in touch regularly with many politicians,& im really tempted to jump in there n try to shake up a few things!:)
also another thing-with all due respect to Hemant Karkare,how did he expect to capture d terrorists,by taking off his helmet,bullet proof vest n then going after them with a .32 service revolver which can fire like 6 rounds or something/minute,when he was chasing guys with ak's that can do like 600 rounds/minute AND had grenades AND had RDX bombs,etc??
shows how under prepared & outclassed our police force was!
looking at a broader prespective-this is a verrrry complex situation,with no simple answers-not defending anybody but heck,the US & their idiotic 'war on terror' & so-called "laser guided bombs' have 'laser guided' their way to kill 1000's of innocent men,women n kids in Iraq,Afghanistan,& other Islamic countries-which i would also define as Terrorism!
also our saffron boys didnt exactly score too many brownie points in Gujarat,for example.
anyways its good to see some passionate appeals for action,lets keep fingers crossed,eyes n ears open-n guns cocked,if need be! :)
good luck guys n lets keep up d momentum
Rahul
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