I'm an Indian citizen living in Manhattan and I never thought I would write a blog. The Mumbai attacks have hit home and in an attempt to shape opinion on what happens now, I have decided to share my thoughts.
The Mumbai terror attack has finally ended after 60+ hrs. Now comes the clean-up and essentially piecing together how this happened. However in my opinion the most important question to come out of this will be Where do we go from here? What will be our Identity? What will be our reaction?
We as a nation have known terrorism for last 2 decades. What sets this apart from all past attacks is that these terrorists had the audacity to walk in and take hostages. They had planned this for at least 6 months, had apparently checked into the Taj beforehand, and knew the hotel in and out. From what I gather from the news media, the guys set-up a control room at the Taj and Nariman house and had food and ammunition to make this last. Where was the Intelligence in all this?
What just happened has made me angry. The act itself was dastardly and warrants anger, but I’m equally if not more upset by the inability of our intelligence to see this coming. I’m not upset with the NSG, in fact I am proud of the NSG commandos who put their lives at stake and brought this situation under control. I salute them. No, I blame the system, The Politicians for not investing in our law enforcement. It’s crazy to think that only 10 guys could hold out for this long. Speaking of politicians, I just read that the Maharashtra State Deputy Chief Minister on Saturday kicked off a row when he said "such small incidents happen" with reference to terror attacks in Mumbai. What an idiot. If we have leaders like this, god save us all.
The one thing the attacked showed is that the police are woefully ill-prepared. The first thing we need to do is to shore up our intelligence and our police. Provide them with the tools and capabilities to avoid this in the future and review our system of sharing intelligence. This is not going to happen overnight but the leaders need to assure the people by committing to security and the safety of its citizen. This is first and foremost.
Terrorism is a global phenomenon but what happened in Mumbai, I think is regional. The issue at hand is complicated.
Within the first 24 hrs of the attack, reports were out there that these terrorists originated from Pakistan. Our Prime Minister who I respect went and addressed the nation and pointed the finger at our neighbors vowing to take action. He did not call out Pakistan, but you don’t need a degree to figure out who he was talking about. I am not sure that was the right call. I would have liked him to have condemned the violence and publicly called upon the leadership in Pakistan to assist India in going after these terrorist cells. By calling out Pakistan publicly, we have possibly channeled people’s anger for the attacks against Pakistan and possibly sparked Hindu Muslim riots in Mumbai itself ( i hope for everyones sake this does not happen) . This comment has put Pakistan on the defensive, the media and news anchors in both countries and now the people are blaming each other. Sound familiar?
This is exactly the thing that is going to feed terrorism. The terrorist cells want to create tension and use this as a ground to recruit and brainwash young kinds into senseless acts of violence. Let’s not give them what they want.
Cooler heads need to prevail and India must take a more pragmatic approach. We need to understand what drives such sensless violence? We have an opportunity to do that.
We have 1 terrorist in custody. Not sure he can provide all the answers, but lets figure out the underlying issues. Is it Kashmir, Is it Muslims in India feeling left out economically and socially in India’s emergence as the next economic bastion. Is it the failure of us as citizens who let our politicians spark Hindu Muslim conflict for political gain which has added to the resentment of the Muslim community? Is it Pakistan?
Pakistan is in disarray marked by years of political infighting and corruption. The weak government there has resulted in it becoming the haven for terrorist cells. India’s future economic advancement is directly connected with the stability of Pakistan. Don’t forget Pakistan and India were one before 1947. We fought for independence together. Calling out Pakistan will only alienate the people against India which in turn may cause them to elect a government that is anti India. Pakistan has nuclear weapons and it’s in our and the worlds best interest to make sure these weapons don’t fall in the wrong hands. It’s imperative we work with Pakistan to make it politically and economically stronger. The success of India in the region is dependent on its policies and how it impacts Pakistan. Hopefully our leaders understand this and address our strategy and identity as a nation.
We are a nation of diverse religions and if we are to progress, we need to care for all citizens at home and across the border. That starts with us as individuals to elect strong leaders else we could be looking at a weaker government like Pakistan here at home and a more fragmented people.
The true character of a nation/people is during trying times. As the world’s largest democracy this is our opportunity to show the world our strength. Let’s come together and rebuild the Taj, the Oberoi and Nariman house. Let’s stay calm, not fall into a lull and miss this opportunity to define ourselves.
Please feel free to comment. I look forward to the feedback.
