All Talk and No Action Saturday, December 6, 2008


It's been more than a week since the terror attacks shook Mumbai...

I have refrained from writing on the subject till now since all I felt were raw emotions...and all that would have come out would have been some blabber and lots of obscenities.

Now that I have felt shock, disbelief, helplessness, frustration and anger, not forgetting the meaningful and endless chats with my Dad (he is my anchor while it comes to venting anger against "the system")... I am ready to pen down a few of my thoughts on the tragedy and it's aftermath...

  • I love Taj. It is a symbol of national pride for all Indians. We take our visitors to the Gateway of India and show off THE TAJ to all. While betting with friends, the takeaway prize often consists of a "treat" at the Taj. The common guy on the road wishes to take his family for a hearty meal at the Taj. My heart goes out to all the staff and their undying hospitality - safety of guests before self, politeness and sanity amidst murder and mayhem. I am sure this symbol of India's collective pride, the First 5 Star Hotel - By an Indian for all Indians - will stand up again - tall and mighty
  • I love, admire and respect all our armed forces - the Police, the NSG and even our Firemen. These men fought to save people whose names they did not know ! They gave away ther lives for a country plagued with "Chalta Hai" attitude. They fought and won against a well prepared, better equipped enemy for people and polity who paid homage to the armed forces only on Kargil Divas and Martyrs Day
  • We, the people, have unlimited power, IF only we were to realise it. No more "Chalta Hai", no more cynicism, no more blame games - we need to stand up and do all things that a citizen of a democracy is capable of. Remember Jessica Lal? It was public outcry against the system that led to a quasi national movement and brought the culprits to book. We have already seen the mass movements in Mumbai, Delhi, Banglore, Hyderabad, Chandigarh on December 3. Hope this spirit doesn't wither with time
  • Mere rolling of heads won't satisfy us anymore. Bring in POTA, give more power to our state police and other machinery
  • Stop being a soft state and making a mockery of our inherent "good". Stop chanting tunes of our resilience. We are not resilient. Why should we be??
  • Give more benefits to our armed and police forces. Survival in one of the most competitive and expensive cities of India is NOT a Joke ! How and why do we expect these people not to accept favours and bribes? Don't they have families to feed, children to send to schools? Does a meagre pay (worse than what a BPO employee gets) suffice for their existence? Aren't we corrupt as a nation? Then why blame our police, coastal guards for lapses?
  • Establish a central agency for Intelligence collection and dissemination. Inspite of IB & RAW, there is no way states share their intelligence inputs. Shouldn't Maharashtra know terrorists attacking Assam, Karnataka keep an eye for culprits attacking Gujarat?This is a national battle and not a state/religious/sectarian battle
  • I won't stop visiting malls, watching movies or going to hotels with family
  • I still love and respect my friends who happen to follow Islam. I won't fall prey to communal hatred and disharmony
  • During those three days filled with despair and hatred, while channel zapping, I came across a breather...A Journo on INDIA TV mentioned in his calm, re-assuring voice - "...amidst mayhem and innocent lives being snatched away, amidst such inhuman and evil doing, not all is lost.We do have some glimmer of hope, some respite, a sliver of happiness at the end of the tunnel...We at INDIA TV are the first to tell you that - THE TEST MATCHES WILL BE PLAYED !......."
  • I WILL NOT TOLERATE SUCH INSENSITIVE, BULLSHIT MEDIA DRAMA ANYMORE !
  • It is said that it took more than 2 lakh lives at Kalinga battle for Ashoka to realise his folly. This in turn led to the spread f Buddhism. I hope, this attack makes India a strong, self sufficient, no-nonense nation according respect to her Armed Forces and ensuring safety for the common man on the roads




5 comments:

Ye manzilen !! said...

Good thoughts....let your tribe multiple...

Anonymous said...

I hope and wish the same.Infact i think many mumbaikars will think the same way, and yes its nt just abt mumbai its abt the whole india. Bt emotions in mumbai will b more coz itsw more close to heart. This time whn i went to gateway on dec 3rd, i could c the change, in many youngsters. I can feel that its not the same like before, its the start of something big, very big...! Let this stay like that for making a better india

ARJuna said...

I agree with your opinions. And i sincerely hope that these sentiments are echoed by the youth all over India.
One thing i would like to mention here. Many of us consider the Brits and Americans to be lazy and cowards.
However whenevr there is an attack on their national integrity and national functioning eg. 9/11 in america and IRA bombings in the UK they are quick to respond and fight back.
While we who call ourselves resilient are actually the ones who are cowards and ignorant, we are ignorant of the risks, we are ignorant of what we can do against this menace and until now we were afraid to fight back, raise our voices.

All Talk and No Action said...

@ye manzilen - Thanks

@devil incarnate - I hope this discontentment and anger is streamlined into something real...something productive...something everlasting

@ARJuna - Yes...Indians need more spine I guess...
Similar thoughts have been expressed here

http://www.livemint.com/2008/12/03224725/A-political-awakening.html

Anonymous said...

Good thoughts. Lets hope the political awakening of the middle and upper class that we are witnessing now sustains and we see some positive change.