Rise Up....

The human mind never ceases to amaze me. The idiosyncrasies and foibles of a few grams of grey and white matter have the latent ability to transform or destroy lives, to rewrite destiny.

Wednesday, 26th November 2008, was a day when this “latent ability” transformed itself into a heinous, gruesome and tragic ordeal for India. The terror attacks on Mumbai are not restricted by geography. These attacks are a culmination of what this great nation and its people have been nurturing over the years – a sense of lackadaisical complacency. The patented “chalta hain” attitude - that we Indians take great pride in – is the edifice of the issue.

The relentless pictures from Mumbai, at the Taj or the Trident display only a fragment of the problem. As citizens, we have acclimated ourselves to the belief that terrorism exists and that it cannot be abolished. As human beings, we’ve consoled ourselves with the illusion that ‘terror attacks strike others’. Some of us even believe that it could be one of us next. What really is fascinating, is that even though today as a country we’ve come to terms with terrorism and its’ inevitable existence, fluctuations at Dalaal Street give us more nightmares then a 26/11 ordeal.

Mumbai is my home. It’s a city where I’ve grown up. It’s a city that taught me to be who I am. Yet, I am appalled by what we celebrate as the spirit of Mumbai. There is no ‘spirit of Mumbai’. We are not fast healers. We’re just inert. We – the people of this metropolis – have pseudo-conditioned our selves to behave like a Helium / Neon / Argon / Krypton. We are content with our supposedly complete “octets” and hence no matter what element we’re exposed to, we don’t react! What we call the ‘fiber of the city’ is in effect, the harsh reality that I would like to highlight.

The 26th of November, A WEDNESDAY, is not a bollywood flick. A lot of us have transformed it into one. We’ve converted this ‘national tragedy’ in the words of Narendra Modi into a 2-day TV action-fest for which you don’t need a ticket. It’s become a sitcom that you channel-swap with your favorite TV show! For the hundreds of people who’ve actually lived through this ordeal life would never be the same. They’ve borne witness to the incredulous aberrations of the human mind.

The terrorists holed up inside these building were far outnumbered by the armed forces. Yet, the dexterity and tenacity and the uncouth finesse with which the terror strike was performed goes only to demonstrate the mammoth proportions that terrorism has assumed in the last few years. My belief is that terrorism and our inane inertness go hand in hand. If only the amount of unrest and speculation and thereafter reinforcement action that follows a stock market tumble is diverted to averting terrorism, there is no way that such attacks would ever be possible.

The images of “Warfield Mumbai” flashing on the television screens do not depict an attack on a city. They depict war against a nation and its people. A historical landmark, the Taj on flames should serve as a metaphor symbolizing the attack on humanity.

There is no government. There are no leaders. There is however a continuing farce. Our current political scenario is no better than a flag waving façade of the administrative wing.

Before this tragic calamity transforms into another political slugfest, it’s time for us the people of this country to make our voice heard and demand the kind of bold political initiatives that require real political valor.

Yesterday, the parents of Abhilash Krishnan – a young F&B executive in his 20s’ who died at the Taj attack – were quoted saying this, “We’ve heard enough of the television news to sense that the Indian government is heading in the direction of converting this tragedy into political propaganda with the prospect of similar terror attack occurring again and many more innocent lives are at stake. This is certainly not the way to go- not in our sons’ name at least.”