So we had another terror attack - perhaps the maddest one this time, with terrorists going berserk in the city's landmark hotels (Taj and Oberoi) plus several other places in southern Mumbai.
How many terror attacks will it take for our wily politicians to do something about the security of innocent civilians?
As I watched the stupefied media coverage on TV (with anchors and reporters blabbering on and on without giving much information, filling airtime with nonsensical commentary), I realized that in a day or two everything will be back to "normal" - with normal people and normal politicians and normal media going back to their normal routines.
I don't have a .32 like Mr Bachchan (and don't support a US-style gun culture), but I must say that technology-driven surveillance and a trained police force are essential to avoid repeated terror attacks in India. I'm afraid people will start taking things with a pinch of salt like they do in the Middle East.
One of our biggest problems (besides scheming and self-serving politicos): rampant corruption amongst policemen across ranks. (Most of us are also guilty by taking the easy way out of a situation in our daily lives through greasing their palms.)
I acknowledge and honor the courage and honesty of those who laid down their lives in saving people. At the same time, I (and every other Indian citizen) must question the manner in which the attacks in Mumbai were carried out. Either we were extremely stupid or extremely corrupt - or a bit of both.
Terror's ugly face is irrevocably masked with the filth of corruption.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Don’t Mix Religion and Terror?
I was watching a free-for-all kind of debate on the Times Now channel about keeping religion and terrorism separate and about the aspects of getting political mileage out of the recent arrests in connection with Malegon blasts of September 29.
It was not so thought provoking as it was funny, though there were some flashes of seriousness.
As one might predict, the political spokespersons threw logic out of the window in favor of their affiliations with their respective parties. They took devious and convoluted stances, harking back to Gandhi’s murder and other historical figures – interpreting everything in a way so as to benefit the so-called ideology of their own clique.
In the commotion resulting from many people speaking at the same time, there were no strong opinions to be noted or taken away.
The point I wish to make is that politicians – irrespective of which party they belong to – live with the compulsion to be seen by their co-workers and higher ups as milking the maximum benefit out of every situation. Even if it’s at the cost of making fools of themselves as blabbering monkeys in front the camera.
I also wonder at the repeated failure of our politicians (and often news anchors) to debate about some controversial topic with a reasoned and seasoned voice and keeping things in the studio decent, logical and civilized (nobody seems to care about the viewers). Instead of hearing a voice that should come out of the mouth of a civilized, educated person discussing and debating something on facts and merits of the case, we get one brazenly and illogically blurting out as many words as the anchor would permit before he or she moves on to the next politico.
Now, regarding the issue at the core: most people, especially intelligentsia and the liberals, seem to contend that religion must be kept separate from terrorism.
I want to ask them: In the real world, is there no connection between religion and terrorism? (Even when many blasts have taken place as a matter of revenge against people following one religion by those practicing another?)
On a parallel note, Is business separate from politics? Is urbanization separate from the condition of villages? Is the process of putting dams across rivers separate from the issue of displacement and destitution? Is global warming separate from industrial progress?
Let’s deal with things as they are in the real world. Why fake it, guys?
It was not so thought provoking as it was funny, though there were some flashes of seriousness.
As one might predict, the political spokespersons threw logic out of the window in favor of their affiliations with their respective parties. They took devious and convoluted stances, harking back to Gandhi’s murder and other historical figures – interpreting everything in a way so as to benefit the so-called ideology of their own clique.
In the commotion resulting from many people speaking at the same time, there were no strong opinions to be noted or taken away.
The point I wish to make is that politicians – irrespective of which party they belong to – live with the compulsion to be seen by their co-workers and higher ups as milking the maximum benefit out of every situation. Even if it’s at the cost of making fools of themselves as blabbering monkeys in front the camera.
I also wonder at the repeated failure of our politicians (and often news anchors) to debate about some controversial topic with a reasoned and seasoned voice and keeping things in the studio decent, logical and civilized (nobody seems to care about the viewers). Instead of hearing a voice that should come out of the mouth of a civilized, educated person discussing and debating something on facts and merits of the case, we get one brazenly and illogically blurting out as many words as the anchor would permit before he or she moves on to the next politico.
Now, regarding the issue at the core: most people, especially intelligentsia and the liberals, seem to contend that religion must be kept separate from terrorism.
I want to ask them: In the real world, is there no connection between religion and terrorism? (Even when many blasts have taken place as a matter of revenge against people following one religion by those practicing another?)
On a parallel note, Is business separate from politics? Is urbanization separate from the condition of villages? Is the process of putting dams across rivers separate from the issue of displacement and destitution? Is global warming separate from industrial progress?
Let’s deal with things as they are in the real world. Why fake it, guys?
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