Mumbai Attacks (November 2008)

Mumbai is left "bleeding" and "shaken" following the attacks in the city on the 26th of November, 2008. As the figures say- 180 people are dead and around 300 people injured.

The outcome is pretty much obvious, people have become sentimental... there are candle light marches... most of us blame the politicians for not doing their job... and are infuriated by their actions/comments. The media is having its best time... making the most out of it- may be it isn't obvious to all that their TRP's have hit a jackpot.

Most notably, the clichéd "Spirit of Mumbai" has been done to death.

The masterminds behind these attacks are smart people- they knew that to provoke the people in Mumbai, they would need to target 5 star hotels, or to put it crudely, "page 3 hot spots". This, they may have realized now would have a far scathing impact in the minds of the "young, dynamic" Indians - India's generation 'next' than say, regular blasts in non glamorous locations like the ones in Assam which keep recurring. If maximum deaths were to be their prime agenda, they could have easily attacked places such as Orrissa, during the Jagannath festival. Or any other civilian location with lesser security and more people... n thus, more escape routes.

We may also note here that a lot of people including children died at CST and Leopold’s too... yet, the amount of coverage that these two locations got wrt the nature of the attacks and the profiles of the victims was appallingly low. If the Terrorist Masterminds were to simply scan the news coverage in the Indian media following the attacks, they would have realized that their operations at CST and Leopold’s were exercises in futility.

Certain thoughts that I'd like to put across...

*What was wrong in what RR Patil said? All he said was that an untoward incident like this can happen in such a big city like Mumbai ("Itne bade shahar me ekhada hadsa ho jata hai")- which is a sheer fact. But the juvenile fashion in which the people reacted (and the media gleefully capitalizing on this aspect by blowing this incident out of proportion) put so much pressure on him that he was forced to resign. Does one statement undo the tons of good work that he has done in the past? He is regarded as one the cleanest and most efficient ministers in Maharashtra, his achievements including the stringent actions against Matka bookies, illicit liquor distillation units and most notably, the demise of the transfer industry (obtaining positions lucrative positions through bribes) in the home department thus cleaning the police system to a great degree.

I guess we're more interested in hollow emotionally high, but intellectually bankrupt sound bytes voiced by the glitterati and gleefully aired by the media than trying to rationally analyze what went wrong.

*Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has come under severe attack due to his following comment- “Some women wearing lipstick and powder have taken to streets in Mumbai and are abusing politicians, thus spreading dissatisfaction against democracy. This is what terrorists are doing in Jammu and Kashmir.” This led to a barrage of protests from almost everywhere, the media again gleefully feasting on the crudeness of the way the remark was presented (choosing to highlight the lipstick part) than attempting to decipher and showcase the message that he was trying to put forth. The crux of Mr Naqvi's message was that instead of understanding that there is evidence of links of these terror attacks to certain rogue elements in Pakistan which ultimately meant a threat of international proportions (the whole world is affected by the threat of Al Qaeda's global jihad) and that the Government of India was trying its best to put pressure on Pakistan to eradicate these terror camps, people with absolutely zero knowledge of the reality, the requirements and facts of the situations and the difficulties the government faces are abusing and accusing the governance mechanism and politicians.

As I see it, the 'lipstick' comment was a sarcastic swipe at the 'Page3' womenfolk who are given maximum coverage in the aftermath of such tragedies in our media to 'analyze' what went wrong and air suggestions, as opposed to defense analysts and government officials who ideally should be given maximum coverage as they are more in tune with what went wrong and the facts of the situation and the fallacies/merits of the mechanism in place.

To be frank, I had similar sentiments such as Mr. Naqvi.

Of course the above two alleged 'insensitive' blunders are unpardonable for us Mumbaikars eh?. So what if we forgave our beloved Sanju Baba ? After all he is a man with a' golden heart ' who would fill you with love if you were to know him personally, and an angel who only possessed an AK-56 ( a weapon that is only used for 'mass killings' and can never be 'licensed ' for personal protection).And yes, of course the audio tapes and police cases incriminating him are doctored, right ?

There are other issues too which need immediate attention such as Vidarbha farmers committing suicide due to government apathy, the chaotic law and order situation in Bihar and the north eastern states, children dying of malnutrition and starvation ,female infanticide, illegal immigration, widespread poverty- issues that really blacken us and prove that we really are a third world nation but also issues that will never ever see candle light protests, widespread intense condemnation and such extensive media coverage and debates.

Guess what doesn't hit us, doesn't concern us…

I think it's time we start behaving as a mature , rational and just society .and focus on realities rather than behaving like emotionally high but intellectually bankrupt w**kers. It's time to eradicate hypocrisy and avoid shedding selective tears. An Indian life in Mizoram is as valuable as an Indian life at Malabar hill, Mumbai. An Indian life lost at CST was as valuable as an Israeli life lost at Chabad house (Nariman house).

Some positive points-

I am glad we Mumbaikars are not naive enough to target the Muslim Community as a whole and thankfully no communal tension so far. Rogue elements are rogue elements, their entire purpose is to de-stabilize the country on communal grounds. We should not fall for this trick; instead we should fight the menace together. No point in hating the general populace of Pakistan either, they have no control over their rogue elements just as we do not have over ours.

And the last but the best - RAM GOPAL VARMA at the Taj ? - NO COMMENTS !!!!