It's been more than a week since the events that unfolded in the Maximum city shook the country. The tardiness in my response is regretted. Simply put, it's taken me the whole of these past 11 days to absorb the event in its entirety, the ramifications and the road ahead. The kind of enclosed world in which I currently reside, in my first year in college, obviously did not hasten my response. The wave of emotions that swept me with each passing moment made it especially difficult to gather my thoughts. Briefing anyone on the events that occurred isn't my purpose, for anyone with a radio or television in this country probably caught 72 hours of uninterrupted coverage and is tired of being reminded of the horrific scenes splashed across the front page of every newspaper.
It seems every time the city of my birth makes news, it does so for all the wrong reasons. A month and a half ago, it was an arrogant, gutless Raj Thackeray who drew deep wedges into the cosmopolitan fabric of Mumbai in a bid to garner political mileage. The frighteningly ruthless terror attacks only compounded the sense of misery I feel every time I reminisce about the city I grew up in, and the state it is in now.
The anger in the air is palpable. An urge to set things right with our democracy can be felt in the hearts of every mind. As citizens, while remembering the sacrifices of our valiant NSGs and policemen and giving them the honour due to them, our duty remains to utilize this as an opportunity to unite inspite of our petty differences in caste,creed,religion or ideology. The need for reform at every level is evident even to the layman. From the chaiwala around the corner, to our favourite filmstar, to the cash-rich CEO, everyone has his own set of ideas ; his own demands of the government on what must be done. The fierce passion that this attack has produced in the minds of our people should be channeled in constructive ways. Questions must be raised of the government in power. The media cannot be our only voice in a working democracy.
The ideals of democracy, rather than withering away, should be re-inforced by this attack. The government, should at every level, maintain its composure in relation to foreign affairs. Though the tendency remains to exercise the military option against our fair-weather friend across the border, the offer must never be placed on the table. A conflict between the only two nuclear-armed states of the sub-continent will beget only more violence, hatred and bloodshed which will benefit no-one other than the vile dogs perpetrating it from their hideouts along the Afghan-Pak border and in camps in POK. The democracy of Pakistan, freshly restored, is still a fledgeling in relation to ours, and hence must be pressured diplomatically rather than placed at gunpoint. It is common knowledge that the government of Pakistan is not the sole power centre in the country. Let us not doubt the will of the Pakistani people to nurture better relations with us. While I agree with the suspension of trade talks and CBM proposals until concrete action is taken by the government of Pakistan to aid in the investigation and arrest of the persons responsible for the attack, allowing the peace process in itself to die out should never be considered. The stability,safety and security of the region depends too heavily on the peaceful resolution of all outstanding issues between our two nations.
At the domestic front, the single most important that must be ingrained into the mind of every politician in this country, be they of the BJP,BSP,INC,Left or any other goddamn school of ideology, is ACCOUNTABILITY. Considering that nearly 1000 Indians have become victims of terror in 2008 alone, why doesn't it come as a shock that the name "SHIVRAJ PATIL" was still associated with the post of Home Minister ? Did he, during his tenure, do anything besides blame intelligence failures for every attack and after a few weeks, conveniently forget about the very "loopholes" he claimed existed ? Why did the message take that long to reach home : "You're a lame duck with no ideas. Kindly raise your useless bottom off of the Minister's chair!" ? Why is Narendra Modi not put in his place by the public of Gujarat, for defiling the name of the now late Hemant Karkare when it suited his political agenda? Where is the gutless coward who claims to represent the "Marathi Manoos", terrorizes North Indians and seeks bail the very day he's arrested for his so-called "heroics"? Why does that vile scum choose to remain silent?
Our anger should not be directed towards our democracy or towards the political class as a whole : it should be channeled against those politicians who remain ineffective in power, spread hate among the masses, or simply are past the expiry date to the extent where changing their own medical insurance plan seems their most RADICAL new idea. We need new blood, new ideas, and fresh commitment on the part of our leaders. We need to let our own concerns and issues, and vision for the future for this country be known through the ballot as well as through a general movement towards greater political awareness. Modernisation of our forces, better pay-checks to our men, greater security for ordinary citizens, and not merely for VVIPs, diplomatic efforts to stamp out bases across the border, sincere efforts to check radical elements within our own nation. Though we may admit it or not, our own society is proving to be a breeding ground for disillusionment and frustration among minority communities upon which terrorism thrives. The youth of this country, given the same commitment as that being shown by the drug-addicted, gun-toting bastards who held Mumbai hostage for 3 days, can bring about a sea change in our democracy. As an individual, my first priority is to register to vote. I plan to try that as soon as the December holidays approach, possibly resorting to online registration at Jaagore.com . Having just turned 18, voting in the present elections might not be possible, but I certainly will vote in every one of the elections that follow. Furthermore, in the future, whenever memorials are held for this event, or protest marches are organized on a large scale in my city, I'd be among the first to sign up. If I ever get to do so, I'd even like to organize such events and gatherings : any way in which I felt I could, I'd speak up for myself. I don't mean to preach or lecture, that others may develop a slightly heightened sense of respect for me than they do at present. I speak from the heart, just as nearly 1 lakh citizens did on a dark November night by lighting candles to serve as beacons of hope in a dark time. I don't care if these ideas sound pathetic and insignificant in the broader scale of things, but they would mean a lot to me as an individual. Unless we take collective responsibility for our failures, our tag of being a "thriving, living democracy" will never truly bear any meaning. Power rests with the people, to delegate it to whoever they chose.
It is a time for peace, unity, solidarity and a renewed commitment to learn from our lapses and reform ourselves and our government to meet the challenges of being a constant terror target. The events of 26/11 may either prove a watershed in the history of our still-growing democracy and our battle against the forces of extremism, or merely another link in a chain of events that will lead to the disintegration of our nation and its decline to a new definition of anarcy.
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