3rd Dec’2008. It was a day to show solidarity, it was a day to spew venom on the inept politicians, it was a day to show that we are united in our appeal against the injustice meted out to the common man…..
Tens of thousands poured onto The Gateway of India, shouting till the throats croaked, screaming till vocal chords gave up, displaying banners in all sizes & shapes, conveying one common message “Enough is Enough”.
Ironically, this is the same place, from where the last of the British troops left the Indian shores, in 1947, after the Independence. Today the youth of India is coming together to a new awakening. Is this a symbolic repetition of history???...only Time will tell.
Spurred by the cause, I also decided to join in & along with my colleague, Chris, took a local train (surprisingly empty by Mumbai standards at this rush hour) from Andheri to Churchgate. The crowd there was spilling over & almost every individual was headed to Gateway of India…..in cabs, in cars, on bikes, or on foot….. just one destination…..it was like a movement….every face showed solidarity & compassion for each other, but taut with anger against the politicians,...... against their inaction till now.
It was not exactly a rally……it was not well defined, people were on their own in various groups ranging from two & threes to tens to twentys to hundreds, waving various placards, posters, banners,…….some shouting ‘Vande Mataram’, others shouting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, still others shouting ‘Attack Pakistan', some singing the National Anthem, with candles lit in their hands. While different groups took up different topics, the intensity, the emotion & the sentiments were the same. We have had enough of outstanding promises from the Govt, but they have remained outstanding till now. So no more words… we need to see action…..decisive action. More than one lakh people (some quoted a larger figure), crammed up in that area, the din was deafening….. but the determination writ clear on the faces……
Some of the popular views expressed were :
1)Lets not pay our taxes till we see action from the Govt. ( I don’t know if that could be implemented & monitored with success)
2)Avoid voting / boycott voting in the forthcoming elections. (Again I don’t think it’s a good idea…. It does not serve the purpose that we are seeking)
3)Attack Pakistan immediately. (Very patriotic & of course the most vociferous of the sentiments. However, I have doubts on its really happening, as neither India nor Pakistan can afford a full fledged war in these times. Hitting out on terrorist camps in Pakistan sounds more doable, as long as we can gather solid international support. Here we can pressurize the Pakistan Govt to provide support as well, …..they would have very little choice otherwise)
4)There were placards lambasting the likes of Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi, VilasRao Deshmukh, RR Patil, the Kerala CM, Ram Gopal Verma, Congress, BJP etc .
Mingling in the crowd, I felt a lump in my throat….this same place was like a war zone just a few days back….. so many lives snuffed out….just like that…. It all feels so horrific & unreal.
Like many others, I felt my eyes go wet & emotions choked…… but for sure the heart screamed with never say die optimism….
"We shall overcome, we shall overcome, we shall overcome someday,
O deep in my heart I do believe, we shall overcome some day……" the crowd singing in the background was indeed symbolic.
I, along with millions of my fellow countrymen believe, we shall overcome this crisis….& soon.
Jai Hind !!!!
Oh to find the one you love....
5 years ago
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2 comments:
Dear bips
even i was there at Gateway of India that day....it never looked as if something hd happened there except for the crowd singing,shouting the patriotic songs n slogans....till n when we r going to sit at home and only talk... nothing is going to happen...all of us have to come out with our pants up n take an action....enough is really enough...yes i do agree that Abdul Kalam shd come back as our president but before that Sonia should go back to Italy....till n when this lady is here nothing is going to happen......yes if we all are very strong on overcoming this situation...then we shall overcome..but again as i said before ACTION......is the only solution....
I think it is time that we understand that Terrorism has a religion called Islam. The Islam followed by them might be different but still the root for all the terror is based in Islam. The sooner we realise that the faster we would be able to act upon the problem collectively.
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