Greetings,
It's 26th of November... A day which redefined the extent terror could penetrate in India... The desi version of 9/11 World Trade Center attack... The carnage which shook the whole world and not just the nation. The massacre which left everyone in Mumbai open-jawed in astonishment.
Those 62 hours... Glued to the television set... Watching TimesNow (the only news channel I trust) and updating myself about any developments in any of the three affected sites.
I still remember the heated debate we had in our classroom the day school re-opened after a mini-vacation. While everyone tried to prove their points, there was one thing that was constantly on my mind, that everyone was trying to find faults, rather than appreciate the effort. It was then that I realized, we as Indians, have a habit to see the glass half empty and wonder who drank it, rather than seeing it half full.
Some people said, it was humanity at its worst, some claimed it to be a result of India's ill fate, some said it was the outcome of the enmity it has developed with the Muslim terror groups.
I say it was negligence. Negligence on the part of Indian authorities. Negligence on the part of the Indian Navy, the Coastal Guard, the Indian Surveillance authorities, the Indian Railway, and the Indian Government. The only authorities which were safe from humiliation were the authorities related to air.
Nevertheless, I won't fail to commend the effort made by the policemen, soldiers and commandos who went into the attacked structures and rescued those people who live-on to tell their painful stories. The analysts over the world have endorsed the process the Indian men engaged in operation took. It has been acclaimed and the world believes the process couldn't have been faster than it was done.
Little has changed since then. It was like the ripples in the lake and then everything was calm again. Metal detectors and CCTVs employed at almost every place, but, as of today, most of the people don't walk through those detectors and no one monitors the CCTVs! And this is just one of the hundred examples.
I just hate it when I realize that India didn't wake up to even this event. And, I have a conjecture, does India need something even more blitz? Or will even that end up as political blame-games and pending cases with the Indian judiciary?
May be such a attack was mandatory to open our eyes wide open... But, it seems, it hasn't gotten us off our drowsiness.
We still blame the government and our bureaucracy for their inefficiency, but, never look within ourselves. We still bribe them to get our work done. We still break the signal at midnight with no policeman around. We still don't openly and fearlessly oppose anything wrong. We still don't tell those sons of the babus' that they are the sons in their homes, and in the public, they are just another citizens with no special privileges. We still don't find it wrong to burn the hay to find a needle. We still throw garbage on the streets when we know that it's meant to be in the bins. We still don't get time from our daily sops to watch what's making the news around the world. We still just stand for solidarity and appreciation, but, don't go out and hold the hands of those who need us in support. We still have a strong viewpoint that nothing can change. We still have the same answer when asked as to why we are doing the above, "Everyone does it!"
And this is where this cognition takes me... Disappointment. Because a human who doesn't learn from mistakes is nothing but a blockhead.
I know one thing... I am no dunce... And, I won't give in to this... If no one else will, I will lead the change... No change is easy, but, I won't leave a stone unturned to make this change happen. I have a choice, let it happen or be a part of the change... And, I am sure where I want to belong.
Sayonara.
It's 26th of November... A day which redefined the extent terror could penetrate in India... The desi version of 9/11 World Trade Center attack... The carnage which shook the whole world and not just the nation. The massacre which left everyone in Mumbai open-jawed in astonishment.
Those 62 hours... Glued to the television set... Watching TimesNow (the only news channel I trust) and updating myself about any developments in any of the three affected sites.
I still remember the heated debate we had in our classroom the day school re-opened after a mini-vacation. While everyone tried to prove their points, there was one thing that was constantly on my mind, that everyone was trying to find faults, rather than appreciate the effort. It was then that I realized, we as Indians, have a habit to see the glass half empty and wonder who drank it, rather than seeing it half full.
Some people said, it was humanity at its worst, some claimed it to be a result of India's ill fate, some said it was the outcome of the enmity it has developed with the Muslim terror groups.
I say it was negligence. Negligence on the part of Indian authorities. Negligence on the part of the Indian Navy, the Coastal Guard, the Indian Surveillance authorities, the Indian Railway, and the Indian Government. The only authorities which were safe from humiliation were the authorities related to air.
Nevertheless, I won't fail to commend the effort made by the policemen, soldiers and commandos who went into the attacked structures and rescued those people who live-on to tell their painful stories. The analysts over the world have endorsed the process the Indian men engaged in operation took. It has been acclaimed and the world believes the process couldn't have been faster than it was done.
Little has changed since then. It was like the ripples in the lake and then everything was calm again. Metal detectors and CCTVs employed at almost every place, but, as of today, most of the people don't walk through those detectors and no one monitors the CCTVs! And this is just one of the hundred examples.
I just hate it when I realize that India didn't wake up to even this event. And, I have a conjecture, does India need something even more blitz? Or will even that end up as political blame-games and pending cases with the Indian judiciary?
May be such a attack was mandatory to open our eyes wide open... But, it seems, it hasn't gotten us off our drowsiness.
We still blame the government and our bureaucracy for their inefficiency, but, never look within ourselves. We still bribe them to get our work done. We still break the signal at midnight with no policeman around. We still don't openly and fearlessly oppose anything wrong. We still don't tell those sons of the babus' that they are the sons in their homes, and in the public, they are just another citizens with no special privileges. We still don't find it wrong to burn the hay to find a needle. We still throw garbage on the streets when we know that it's meant to be in the bins. We still don't get time from our daily sops to watch what's making the news around the world. We still just stand for solidarity and appreciation, but, don't go out and hold the hands of those who need us in support. We still have a strong viewpoint that nothing can change. We still have the same answer when asked as to why we are doing the above, "Everyone does it!"
And this is where this cognition takes me... Disappointment. Because a human who doesn't learn from mistakes is nothing but a blockhead.
I know one thing... I am no dunce... And, I won't give in to this... If no one else will, I will lead the change... No change is easy, but, I won't leave a stone unturned to make this change happen. I have a choice, let it happen or be a part of the change... And, I am sure where I want to belong.
Sayonara.
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