For long, long enough after the terror attack (I apologize for a lack of better word - for it was worse than just a terror attack), I have been thinking "To Write or Not to Write" - Shakespeare I apologize. Is it the right time, or should I say, is it the write time? Like the rest of Mumbaikars, I went into total depression, was glued to the television and even if I went to work, my mind was unresponsive to official matters.
My first reaction was: FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE. KILL THESE BA$TARDS.
While surfing the net I came across similar volatile reactions. A classic one doing the rounds is "Forgiving terrorists is left to GOD. But fixing their appointment with GOD is our responsibility".
More:
"Terror stands no chance against our Commandos."
"East or West, India is best."
"These terrorists are no match for our commandos. Jai Hind"!
"Let us kill these terrorists."
"What are our politicians doing?"
Now last one, is pertinent. A lot of messages across the net spoke about the inadequacies of our politicians. The government, the ministers (PM, Defence, Chief Minister, opposition leaders etc) were all abused. But is this a knee-jerk reaction? Are we going to forget things once the wound heals on the exterior. The answer, I guess, is yes.
Is asking for the head of the present government going to resolve issues? No! Then what is the solution? And wherein lies the problem? I think the problem lies in the lack of political will. Not this government, not the previous government and not the next government I am referring to, but the system in general.
My biggest fear is not for now but for tomorrow. For the next 15 years, we will see a series of mindless arrests in which a lot of innocent people will be put behind bars and some will even be hanged. If this government continues then it will make a point about how it brought justice to the criminals and if some other jokers come to power, their main intention will be to prove that they did what the previous government could not achieve.
And all along, we will be playing along with them and succumbing to knee-jerk reactions.
Ladies and gentlemen, our real test lies now. We have the power of the net. Long after the furore settles down, we must continue to demand a safe society for ourselves. Keep writing blogs, keep asking for a saner, safer society. Kabhi to koi sunega.
For us common folks, our main enemy is not the terrorist but an apathetic system which watches shamelessly while brave soldiers and innocent bystanders die in the crossfire between the terrorist and the system. Jai Hind does not mean anything if uttered only as a knee-jerk reaction.
Life is not a movie, it is not A Wednesday. No common man will plant a bomb. You don't need to. You just need to keep voicing your opinion, continuously, long after the storm has subsided. It won't take long for another storm to engulf us.
JAI HIND!!
