Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Heartfelt.......

With everyone having condemned the terrorist attack in Mumbai and a whole nation united in grief there is nothing much I can add. The days when we did not have TV was perhaps better. Riots in 1979 brought life in our Steel city to a stand still. There were reports of a bus load of Muslim women being burnt alive and we did feel helpless. There were rumors of the minority community retaliating. But the visual media had not made its way into our drawing rooms and the papparazi style hounding for by news channels following the Mumbai blasts was thankfully missing. Reading newspaper reports or listening to news on radio is certainly not the same as watching it over and over again in every news channel.

I agree that sensible reporting helps us get news updates. But I am not sure if this is done anymore. I recount a conversation we had in college-

A: ‘The muslim community has refused to let the dead terrorists be interred in India. They will have nothing to do with them. Islam does not endorse bloodshed.’

B: ‘Do you believe them? I don’t.’

C: ‘Why not? Everyone from a particular community cannot be labeled a terrorist. It was a muslim tea supplier who led the NSG commandos to the different areas of Nariman House.’

B: ‘Whatever you say. My mind refuses to trust them.’

A: ‘What about the Hindu fanatics who burnt an evangelist and his two sons in Orissa? Would you want to trust them?

C: ‘Fanatics and fundamentalists have perverted minds and belong to a class of their own irrespective of their religious affiliation. Their acts can never be justified.’

I was glad that very few supported B. But then it is a handful of fanatics and fundamentalists that take on the world threatening to destroy it.

I have given an account of what a frenzied mob can do to an innocent boy in an earlier post. I was witness to the incident and I still feel guilty for not being able to do anything to help.

Are we being fair? Is the over enthusiastic news reporting doing more harm than good?

Again consider the question of Pakistan’s involvement in training terrorists. It is evident that the government there is not able to handle the issue with an iron hand. But could an attack of this level be planned and executed without help from our own people? Traitors from our own country who can do anything for money? Should not our own government have a system in place to identify and punish them? For all we know a good number of them may be holding key posts in government offices or may be spoilt brats of the rich and mighty. Why do we blame the executors of terrorist acts? The masterminds direct them from the safety of their offices thousands of miles away. Why don’t they send their own children as suicide bombers for a change? And would these politicians who claim that such incidents keep happening all the time in big cities or that they were ‘mantris’ not ‘santris’ (sentries) say the same thing if their kith and kin were victims? Who doesn’t remember the Khandhar incident when a dreaded terrorist was released in exchange for a minister’s daughter?

My mind is confused. I try to think of solutions. None come to my mind. No one is born a terrorist. What makes him one? How far is religious fanaticism responsible for the situation? Would it help if Imams, Shankaracharyas and other religious leaders come forward with messages of religious tolerance and universal brotherhood? We cannot let this continue. Let us all ponder over all possible solutions to save the world and ourselves.

18 comments:

WhatsInAName said...

HHGmom
I am confused, scared, disgusted, angry... I am a bundle of mixed emotions right now. But yes, a handful of fanatics/ fundamentalists are enough to cause these kind of damages emotionally, socially, economically. I also read on rediff today that if such acts of terrorism is not stopped right away, a biological warfare is imminent within next 5 years!
We have to do something. I get scared to see some of the anti-muslim and anti-Pak comments on the net.
Yes, life was surely better earlier without the news channels! Half of the problems are due to the over-hype created by media. The first thing is they need to act in a more responsible way!
And yes, religious leaders appealing to their followers might help too.

Prats said...

It is a very sad time for all of us...and yes, the blame game should stop, and we should start acting on what want should happen...by staying in one place and pointing fingers we'll never achieve anything...
Hopefully action will start soon

starry said...

I am also very sad and confused, so many questions crowd my mind but I have few answers.I personally don't think every muslim should be labeled terrorist, there are bad apples in every religion, I think the religious leaders can help in educating people and teaching them that violence just begats violence.

aMus said...

fanaticism can be ugly...i do hope our kids see a better world...

i'm fed up og people passing teh buck elsewhere..sit together identify and act...

getting together and being a collective voice is something we have to aim at...

sounds good when I write it like that...will it be done?
:(

rajk said...

Thank you...we need to keep our sanity in all this.

Vishesh said...

true...

lol,i have written so many posts and comments on this one..I am not able to do it all over again...

but yes we just can't brand people like that...

Raghu said...

let me know if you find an answer to this. i am really clueless and 'opinion-less' on this.

something which is practical and effective in stopping such heinous incidents in future.

Preethi said...

wrote a post along the same lines.. what is the solution really?? beats me!

Tys on Ice said...

thing is , if the idea behind terrorism is to strike terror into people, then these guys are winning...like many iam angry...how does one fight something shadowy as this? something that like the hydra will grow its head back each time you chop it off...to me, this shows humanity at its worst....theres no winning in this...innocents has to pay the price for someones perverted ideals...to me, the solution lies in starting at the grass root levels....from our children....everything arnd is a a reflection of ourselves...this hatred and seperateness has to go...we need to first unlearn the prejuidecies that we carry and then teach our children our common heritage...even tolerance is in reality seperateness, dont u think?

Renu said...

I think we should try to develop all areas of our country, as poverty and hunger cant mnake good moral keeper in any society.
Its only poor underprivileged people who are brain washed into terrorism by vested interests, and then helped by some traitors among us they create this destruction.For long term we must think of education and development for everybody.

Jaya said...

This is going to be a long battle changing the mindset of people. We need to fight fanatism irrespective of religion. Plus people need to be uplifted and educated all over the world. Did you know Kasab was given 1 lakh rupees to carry out this?

If you are refering to Mufti Mohamed Sayeed's daughter getting released, it was much before Kandhahar incident, which occured in 2000.

Hip Grandma said...

Hi all,I am glad that so many of us feel anguished at the way terrorists are holding the world for a ransom.With so many attacks being successfully carried out, one tends to become indifferent and laid back.We should not let it happen.an 'eye for eye' attitude also will not help.Difficult as it may sound it is up to each individual to distinguish the act from its executor and remain level headed in these troubled times.
Joy, thanks for pointing out.I had indeed confused the Khanhar hijacing of an Indian Airlines aircraft with Mufti Mohommad's daughters abduction. I realized my mistake 2 days back and was about to acknowledge it when your comment was published.I remembered the dialogue in Mani Rathnam's Roja and if I am not mistaken Roja was released before the Khandhar episode. Both were unfortunate incidents and it is easy to pass judgement when your own are safe.

Mana said...

A bad toolsman always blames his tools. Likewise, each time someone or the other is blamed...and ministers 've no other choice than resigning!

Artnavy said...

your last para says its all

no one is born a terrorist= how do they become one?

Artnavy said...

you have been awarded

Renu said...

u have been tagged:)

White Magpie said...

shankaracharya's and everyone else will take a long time because all this hatred is not something caused overnight. Destroying the hatred will also take an equal amount of time. Sometimes we need allopathy to kill and then homeopathy to heal..likewise this time too..

upma said...

I sometimes wonder, if some poeple (read terrorist)can give their life because of some fanatic flooding their mind for such a damage, why don't we have groups/people who can give their life and kill these ministers/fanatics/fundamentalists ?

I am very much impressed with "Wednesday" movie and wish we have real people like him.

The very thought of our kids living in such a bad world shivers my bone. We have created enough problems like global warming, sweet water shortage, corruption and what not for our coming generation. I wonder How difficult/unsafe would be their life ?

I wish this new year brings a peacful life away from all these, but I know somewhere from inside each year is gonna be bad from the previous one