I couldn't believe that it was happening; that it was real. In my country, in my city, on the same street where I used to work not so long ago, in the terrace restaurant I loved, on the railway platform I've waited at, in front of the cinema halls I've eaten popcorn at. It could've been me; I'm glad it wasn't me; but I'm sad & pained that it had to be some 155 (or more) others; probably just like me.
But sad as I was for the death of inocents, the thought that has bothered me the most is that these terrorists were 17 to 20 year olds.
When I was 20, I had dreams, I had little or no worries, I had a full life to look forward to. There was just so much living yet to come, early 20s is the time to hope & dream. And yet, here are 20-year olds who have so much misguided, misdirected anger within them that they believe in a cause which assures their death; which involves opening fire indiscriminately on men, women & children they don't know; which involves attacking sick people in a hospital; and actually believing that it is all for the greater good of their people & feeling no remorse for it.
No amount of brain-washing in a terrorist camp should be able to convince a 20-year old that this is worthwhile; that this is justified; and that there should be no remorse in killing. And yet, there are these 15 young kids who were convinced. And plenty more of them where they came from. Why? How? These weren't stupid young men; they were smart; they were determined, they were focussed.
I don't know why & how they were convinced, but they were. Figuring out the whys & hows probably is the solution to terrorism. I hope India doesn't launch the American brand of "war on terror"; it may be useful in appeasing the immediate anger in the public & keeping the Narendra Modi's of the world silent for a while; but I don't think killing terrorists will kill terrorism; there would in the end always be more terrorists born than killed. The problems are much, much deeper than that.
PS: I feel so grateful to the NSG commandos & all the other men & women in uniform who fought in the city these past 3 days!
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11 comments:
its all so futile. there is brainwashing, yes, but I suspect there is also retribution, bloodhsed in their childhood....thats the thing with violence. It is self nourishing and perpetuating.
i agree with ur article.
Yet i wonder,how can anyone just kill anybody for their fucking ideology....for any reason in the world..i am not going to kill anyone else ...unless of course he/she becomes source of danger for my own existance or my dear one....
i don't think India will ever react in the American way, in our entire history we have never attacked another country no matter what the provocation was, we have only defended what was ours. Sadly that is why we are targeted so much, cause they think we are a soft target.
Shakester,
True.
Fighter Jet,
Absolutely, these terrorists are villians in the whole story & by no means do I sympathise with them or agree with their ideology in any way. I only wonder, what made them this way. The answer to that question alone can help us fight back & stop terrorism at its roots.
Suramya,
I agree & disagree with you. India is a soft target for terrorists for many reasons -- the poor intelligence, the lack of safety & security measures in most places, the fact that one can get anything in Mumbai for the right price(from a fake passport to rdx)-- all these things make Mumbai an easier, softer target for these guys, as compared to say a NYC or London.
Having said that, it is naive to say that Indian atrocities in Kashmir; or the dirty Hindu vs Muslim politics played by the politicians in India; have not been a factor in the rising militancy. India's only response to the militancy in Kashmir has been the military response (not very different from the Israel Palestine situation); and this in the long run is not what will solve the problem; it can only escalate it.
I am sorry, but I don't think these young men or the people who organised them are particularly intelligent. Far from it! I think they all had a single brain cell rattling around in their heads with delusions of grandeur.
This particular attack I have to say is reeked of a group of no-hopers who craved some sort of sick cult status! Doesn't take much intelligence to throw a couple of grenades and shoot randomly at a bunch of innocent civilians! See this article titled the age of celebrity terrorism:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7755684.stm
I hope the Indians and Pakistanis don't fall for this stuff and actually urge their government to build a more lasting peace in the region.
To put things in perspective, name another secular, democratic country with so many unique and ancient cultures languages, and religions bound together in a single identity of being Indian while respecting the diversity of this meaning! Despite the wars and differences between India and Pakistan, people in the subcontinent should be proud of the fact that both recognise each other and continue to maintain diplomatic relations with each other, unlike for instance Israel and Palestine etc. These are the fruits of the labours of the founding fathers. People in this region should never ever forget that.
Just want to remind people that BJP popularity has been rising in the polls. This sick, moronic act is going to give them a free ride to power. I don't even know it the people who did this even knew who the prime minister of India was! Morons!
u realize that politicians have no performance appraisals and KRAs? Sivraj Patil resigned? wtf. How does it help? Should not he be on trail for genocide? more than a 1000 people have died under his watch and all he does is resign?
am waiting for the mud-slinging to start. the pakis must be having a good laugh....
Well, this Pakky is not laughing at all.
Its tragic what happened , and it could have been anyone of us.
I do not understand this mindless violence, and what good can come of it.
What did Pakistan get out of being independant? We are a joke with daily bombings and corrupt politicians.
Sigh... Dear God have "rehamm" on these misguided souls.
Radha - you've been tagged! :-)
Hey Radha, I saw your comment on my blog today, hadn't checked that blog in months, mostly spend time on my Mommy blog :) I'm very much in Singapore, going to good ol' B'bay for a few weeks, will be back here in Jan. We should meet up :)
BTW, The Mumbai attack was more like a war on Mumbai, very very sad :(
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