Sunday 7 December 2008

Mumbai Hostage


For 3 days Mumbai burnt and the world watched. A 100 million people in India could not change the destiny of the city. 214 people dead according to official counts and hundreds more injured. So what is different about this terror attack, what makes it bigger than any other before ? The fact that the targets were the destination of the rich and famous. So will it bring about a change in the system? Will the country and the security officials be more prepared and more alert hence forth? Or is India becoming a soft target for the terrorist. With ill-equipped police forces, vulnerable coasts and the huge population which only makes it easier to get lost in the crowd India is fast becoming a favourite destination for terrorists. The 2500 year old Jewish community of Mumbai which had never felt endangered in the past met with dire consequences during this attack.  
The attacks were followed by protest and marches from the Youth but will that change anything, I don't question the feelings or the emotions of the people who participated in that march but at the end the ball is always in the politicians court. 2 years back I participated in the march against reservation and Arjun Singh. The youth believed then that we could stop this politically motivated attempt to please the minorities. After a year our aspiration were squashed and the politicians might prevailed. All the protests were in vain. So will India forget this incident too and move on hoping for things to change but never really expecting anything to happen.
India's condition is like a lady caught in a bad marriage with an abusive husband. She hopes daily that he won't beat her and for sometime he doesn't and she think things have changed only to see herself being beaten black annd blue after some days. Not a word is spoken after the abuse and no action taken. All there is, is a hope for miracle. Sadly miracles don't happen anymore.
It's a sad feeling to think that a country with so much man-power can be held hostage by a mere 10 men with fire arms. And it's a worse feeling when I think that I am helpless and can do nothing to make my country a better and safer place. Who knows after a few days even I might forget this episode and move on, I am an Indian after all.

1 comment:

Amrita said...

yup.. complacency should be our middle name..