Few days back I saw a movie “A Wednesday”. The basic theme of the movie was that a common man, frustrated by the ineptness of the government, creates a bomb scare to get four terrorists, who are currently in Indian custody, released and goes ahead to kill them.
It made me think. (A tedious task although, but still . . ) I wondered at the plight of the common man. Is the Indian mass so helpless and so afraid that it has to take such a drastic step? Is our government so inept? Are we really that insecure? Though I earnestly wished a “no” as an answer to each of the questions, I couldn't help but say “yes” for all of them. My heart ached, but its true. When he leaves home every morning, the average Indian today doesn't know if he'll be back safely in the evening. I feel like a sitting duck and the terrorists can choose their target with élan, and have their shooting practise with all the worldly ease and hit me whenever and wherever they feel like. I feel that I'm out there naked, exposed, with no protection or shield whatsoever. This is probably where it hurts the most.
I have nothing against the terrorists. They are our enemies. True, they might also be enemies of humanity and mankind and peace and kindness and what not and what not. However, I do not care. It may sound rude, maybe also immoral, but I really don't care. For me they are enemies of my country; they are my enemies. That's all I care about; not a penny less maybe, not a pie more.
And what are we supposed to do with our enemies? My idea would be to terminate them, or at the least incapacitate them to the extent that they are unable to harm us. I expect the government to think the same way. However, sadly enough, I find the government completely wanting on this front. I do not see any concrete steps being taken to counter the terror machine. All I see in terms of counter measures is some silly rhetoric and an eyewash reshuffle of the ministry which was long overdue. There has been no measures whatsoever, whether defensive or offensive, that gives the average Indian population a feeling, however slight, that they are safer now than they were prior to the Mumbai attacks. I agree that terrorism today is a worldwide issue and many powerful countries are also feeling the heat. The reaction of these countries, although not completely conclusive, have always been strong enough to pass a message to the offenders that they mean business. Where is such a reaction from the Indian side? Yes, I fully agree that attacking another country is not a solution, but then neither is the pesky talk show that our country is currently busy in.
Before we could take some steps in relation to the Mumbai attacks other than shuffle the ministry and arrest Kasab, our new home minister is greeted with another blast in the new year! Well; welcome 2009!! Our friends have greeted us with a toast to tell us that nothing has changed this new year. We're still sitting ducks to them and they still rule, courtesy our inept and otiose government. If it takes you four years to decide on the fate of Afzal; what more do you expect? The US government believes that it can go ahead and kidnap somebody from foreign soil and try him/her under the US law whereas our government is busy bringing up a replacement of the existing Prevention of Terrorist Activities act which promises to be quite soft on the accused.
The terrorists have identified our vulnerability, however we have done nothing to prevent it. The incumbent government seems to be more responsible for the current situation than anybody else. You can't blame a thief for stealing from an unguarded house if you leave the doors open in the night. The job of a terrorist, however heinous, is to spread terror. If we can't stop them, it is our fault. If it our fault, we must step forward to rectify it. No I'm not calling for any 'A Wednesday' type stance. That is an extreme step and neither will it address the problem at hand. I'd suggest a few small things that can help us live in a less terror prone environment.
First we need to remove the existing government. It has completely failed us on the security front (not that it has performed exceptionally well in any other front, but that is not the issue here). If we are not secure enough, there is no point in having a strong economy or secular government or whatever else they promise us in the elections this year. We need to raise above our individual profits and requirements and think about the country as the whole. We need to tell the politicians, irrespective of the party they represent, (I know that the others are not much better than the current set in the ruling coalition) that the common man will not tolerate a government that fails them in issues as important as their security. You may argue that we've tried every possible option, but terrorism has been something which has been an integral part of our lives always. However can you remember any governments tenure which gave us so many major incidents in one go? You'd probably remember only two or three incidents outside the volatile Kashmir and the north east. However there has been more such incidents in the last year itself. Whatever you say, the current government has to take up the responsibility for this and has to go. Having a strong willed government at the centre is one of the most essential requirements in our fight against terror. So next election make it a point to vote and vote judiciously.
In-spite of all the accusation against the government, we need to understand that even we are on the err. No, I'm not talking about our moral responsibility in choosing an inept government. There are certain things we can do, (but more often than not we don't,) in helping the law enforcing machinery in securing our surroundings. We can keep our eyes open and report any incident that seems vaguely strange. An unclaimed baggage may be an explosive, an unknown vehicle in your community standing unattended might mean trouble. Any suspicious activity around us must be reported immediately. As a landlord we need to be careful while hiring tenants and need to have their complete details verified by the authorities. I know, we'll have to face a lot of hassles an harassment for the same, but I think it is worth it. So give it a try.
I know until all of us respond to the above points seriously, we can't say we are safe and secure, but even if one person implements this from today, our society is a bit more secure now than it was a day before. So lets pledge that we will strive to make our country a more secure zone from today onwards without requiring to barge in and kill the terrorists on our own. At least we can give it a try . .
