Mumbai : Seize fire or Cease fire !!!!

Stunned into silence, numbed by the pain, muted by the carnage, Mumbai is struggling to breathe back to life. A bunch of 20 odd youngsters (horribly misled) create mayhem in the heart of the business capital of the country. So macabre has been the design, & so blatant has been the attack that it has left everyone dumb……..the city of Mumbai is under seize!!!!..........and not for the first time.
Its scary to envisage a situation, where, we are all living in constant fear of a terror attack lurking around. Anything can happen…. Death is stalking each one of us, every day, in the dark shape of terror…the source unknown…the magnitude only imagined, till it takes shape in reality. And every time, our so called protectors are caught unaware, our security system is caught napping, our defenses are caught with their pants down, literally.

Why did we have to lose so many soldiers & policemen in this dreaded attack?? When the terrorists are able to walk in freely through all our surveillance systems, laden with AK 47 & other modern weaponry, we were trying to show resistance with simple revolvers, basic rifles & poor bullet proof jackets, hanging loosely over the body. These terrorists look professionals…trained to take on the best of the defense systems, & we appeared taking them quite lightly till the matters got out of control.
And as a rearguard action, we see the army, the police, the NSG struggling to get situation under control, to bring out the hostages to safety, to nab or neutralize the terrorists at large, to sanitize the target areas. However, our top drawer politicians are busy gathering brownie points….shameful & despicable would be too polite a word to describe all this.

The PM comes out with an address to the nation almost 20 hours after the carnage has begun, a stupid, boring, rhetoric which is read out from a piece of paper, possibly drafted out by someone else for a politically correct statement. The Home minister (better known for his ironed dress & rehearsed statements) says in a sleepy voice that “We are sad about the incident. Our police is taking steps to control the situation”. Control, my foot !!!….You feel like rushing onto him & shaking him to life & action. How we wish, there was a someone who could make iron statements, instead of ironed clothes,….take strong & decisive steps towards controlling the situation. Some words of praise for our worthy Home Minister from the US intelligence on a TV channel. “ You have a totally incompetent home minister, and why he isn't removed is beyond me, he really doesn't know how to get the bureaucracy organized to have some sort of coordinated planning." The Chief Minister takes his own sweet time to return from a tour down south & makes statements as if its just a trivia. These are the people on whose shoulders rest our safety !!!!
The opposition is no better. One would have expected that in such critical times, they would keep political agenda & differences aside, show solidarity & visit the terror stricken area along with the PM to oversee & suggest corrective measures. But instead, Mr Advani ji (someone I had high regards for even till recently) reaches Mumbai along with Jaswant Singh & immediately is out to say that the Govt has failed, the Intelligence has failed, etc, etc. We all are tired of listening to the same old words. Can there be some decisive action.

“Enough is Enough”, screamed Shobha De on NDTV, when questioned by Barkha Dutt..She voiced the sentiments of the Mumbaikars….she told how & what we all think of our spineless PM & his useless rhetoric, and the other politicians in line. There was no mincing of words.
I salute you Shobha De, for being so vocal, so passionately in love with this city. It takes courage to say that the first thought that crossed your mind was the safety of our own kin, your family….selfish alright, but blatant truth. It takes courage to speak of your tryst with Taj, how you got courted & later married at the Taj. Your plans to get your daughter married at the same place, ten days from now, come what may. “Burnt, but not bowed”. I sincerely wish it all comes true…..because it is Love that will emerge stronger & take us out of all this mindless chaos & destruction. How I wish people like you come up as leaders for the cause of our Nation. You have our full support.
There was also the fiery Suhel Seth, along with Alec Padamse & Farooq Shaikh, on Times Now, who tore down on the Centre for being so inept & unorganized. It was heartening to see such characters coming out in the open to speak on our behalf. The angst, the despair, the pain was so evident, so much from the heart. They all implored the channels to start some sort of a campaign against these spineless politicians. I felt Arnab Goswami also spoke from his heart & said clearly that they were tired with all this.

Which brings me to question the media on their true character & social responsibility. A couple of so called worthy channels, a few days ago displayed the symbol OM along with saffron flag against the backdrop of the Malegaon blast news, using the word SECULAR & speaking about Hindu Terrorism.... Would they now have similar courage to show a green flag with cresent moon & star now to describe Islamic Terrorism???? Talk of freedom of press & freedom of speech!!!

In the end, let us all bow down to the brave soldiers, who laid down their lives to protect us, to smoke out the terrorists. They ensured that we live to see another day. As a mark of respect for the departed souls, I implore upon all who read this to come forward generously & share the grief of the devastated families. Let us make every effort to reinstate the families in the mainstream. Whether it is money, or social support, whatever it takes, let us all contribute. The children should not feel insecure, the women should not feel helpless, the elders should not feel homeless. It is our responsibility to take care of them. We need to send the message that we are one family. And in our family, everyone has a right to rise & shine.
Jai Hind.