Musings Of An Angry Indian

26^th November, 2008. This date will remain etched in the mind of every Indian now. The terror attacks which hit Mumbai have left a scar in the mind of every Indian. For three days, we saw terror in its most naked form revealed in the city of dreams. With 20 attacks, 183 dead and over 300 injured, India saw its version of 9/11 in Mumbai. The terror drama finally ended with ‘Operation Cyclone’ ending at Taj Mahal Hotel. The images which we saw on TV was simply heart-rending. It was a bloody game of AK-47s, grenades and death! The Mumbai police, NSG commandos and army fought to the teeth with the terrorists who took hostages at the Taj and Oberoi hotels. And every moment brought more gruesome news of death and misery with it. Surely, now the time has come when merely sitting and watching events unfold will not result in anything for us. It is now the time to just act.

As an Indian who hails from a terror-hit area of the country, I can relate very easily to this sort of incidents. Bomb blasts, gun battles and hostage situations are a rather common thing in our Assam. At this stage, I finally feel that we Assamese are no longer alone in our feelings as terror affected individuals in this country. Today, the rest of India as Assam has finally tasted what bitter fruit terrorism is! The terrorists who did the Mumbai attacks have shown that when it comes to bloodshed terrorism knows no mercy. They were trained professionals who were sent on a suicide mission to show India what the fear of death really is! The total lack of security and alertness on the part of the authorities and the government has only showed how vulnerable we are as a nation to these types of attacks. Yesterday as we saw on the news about the mission at Taj end up, I realized that we as a nation have faced the worst humiliation in the form of this attack. The attacks on the Parliament and Akshardham Temple a few years back are nothing compared to this. And this not something which we should sideline to any particular community. I am sure that among those killed and injured, there will be some Muslims as well. Their grief and sufferings will not be any different from the Hindus affected in this attack. Today what I see is a sort of unity among all people which I have not seen last since the Kargil War. Mumbai has come together to help all the ones in distress. And behind them are also the prayers of millions of Indians like us. Time and again, we Indians have stood together through the shockwaves that have hit our country. We have always proved that when it comes to our country, we are just one nation! No matter what our religion might be. No matter what our caste or community might be. We have always shown that we are the best example of unity in diversity.

Today, as I see the reactions of our politicians to this incident, I’m fueled up with anger. The Home Minister of Maharashtra, R.R. Patil has described this as a small incident which happens in a big city like Mumbai. Just how callous can anybody get than this! An incident which has shook the entire nation and made all the Indians feel humiliated has been described in this manner by the Home Minister of Maharashtra. I don’t know how to put it but all I want now is to have a revolver and gun down all these filthy political dogs! I’m rather glad that Shivraj Patil has resigned from his Home Ministership in the Centre. But now to see P. Chidambaram in his place is another awkward sight for me! It has shown that the Congress party has no strong leaders to fall back on! And when democracy is ruled by such spineless leaders, such acts of terror are bound to happen. I just wonder where will our relationship with Pakistan head to now. Considering that all the terrorists were Pakistani nationals, many including me, feel that we should attack the terror camps that are breeding in Pakistan. But then again I’m forced to think that both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers. And a war would mean more devastations than anyone can imagine at this moment. As Pakistan is committing hara-kiri in sending its ISI chief to India, we are now more than sure of the role of the Pakistani army and ISI in training these terrorists. Denial is a game that Pakistan has always played in its activities towards India. But then now we also should give up hopes of securing a good neighbor in the form of Pakistan. The very basis of the foundation of Pakistan was hatred towards India. And in this we should stop being the good Samaritan towards an ungrateful neighbor. I just pray that now we Indians wake up to the grim reality we are facing.

As I write this piece, I am seething with great anger from within. As a self-respecting Indian, I have every right to feel this way. We have already seen enough death and destruction. And we know that more might be coming our way. But we must stand strong because if we do, believe me we will become the super-power we aspire to be some day. This is a very rough phase for India. Nothing is going smoothly as of now. But I have great faith in myself and my fellow Indians. And I believe we shall overcome and win afterall. So I will end this piece with a prayer in my heart for the deceased and hope for my country to come out of this crisis as soon as possible. Vande Mataram.