And the saga continues without any hindrance.....

Yet another blast in the capital. And this time it was perhaps the most daring approach adopted by the terrorists with the time span between planting the bomb and detonating it being less than a minute. And despite such scenes becoming common now-a-days, our Home Minister, who is supposed to be responsible for the security in the nation finds it fit to say that “The terrorists are our Misguided Brothers”. Fine Mr. Patil. If that’s the stance you want to take, then when such a Brother points a gun at your head at point-blank range, tell him that “My Brother, you are misguided. Do not shoot me down. It is a sin.” And he will reply that “Yes sir, you are right. I am misguided. I will not shoot. Gandhiji Zindabad” and all of us will live on happily ever after.

Do we really expect such replies from the terrorists? With the nation facing such sensitive times, the statements made by the home minister are supposed to inspire a feeling of safety among the people but the statements made by the current person inspire a feeling of disgust. The statements made by Mr. Narendra Modi that “Terrorists should not be given any message. They must be executed. Strict laws are the need of the day” is absolutely justified. The fact that the intelligence information provided by him to the central government was cast aside just goes on to show that the government has not yet realized the extent of the threat that the nation faces and it still thinks that the information is in some way meant to topple off the government. Why doesn’t the government realize that it is high time you take national security seriously?

Anyway what CAN be expected of the present politicians? The mastermind behind the attack that threatened their OWN lives is alive and that too on the expense of the Indian taxpayer. When you are not strong enough to execute the man that planned to and came fatally close to killing you, certainly we expect nothing else from you let alone expecting anything more. I fail to understand what good will it do to let Afzal Guru live? What good is he capable of doing to our country? Is there a dearth of manpower in the nation that you have to keep such a person alive and hope that he can be reformed? The execution of Afzal Guru was expected to send shockwaves in the terrorists and inspire a feeling in them that they themselves can meet such a fate but the fact that such a long time span has gone by after he was sentenced to death as also the uncertainty over his ultimate fate reinforces the faith of the terrorists in the Indian Government as well as the Indian Judiciary. I guess that’s what makes them bold enough to carry on with their plans without the slightest concern for us. Who knows? Tomorrow they may hijack a flight and demand the release of Afzal Guru and all the hard work done by countless individuals will go down the drain. The policy that even if a hundred criminals are freed, one innocent person should not be harmed has taken quite a toll till date and by the time the alarm bells ring in the deaf ears of our so-called leaders, the saga will continue…

And we have yet another one…

What has our country come to? Why has it become so easy to bomb any city that comes to anyone’s mind? Why is it that we are seeing serial bombings in so many cities within such a short time span? Hardly are we seeing a fortnight without any major incident. Have we become so weak and vulnerable that we cannot prevent an attack of such a scale? Are the terrorists so sure of our apathy to action that they can attack New Delhi just weeks after the large scale bombing attempt at Ahmedabad failed? Is it the case that the next city is chosen at random after one city suffers the brunt or is it the case that this is all a part of a mega bombing plan and even if the bombing of one city fails, the network remains unaffected and the rest of the plan can be executed to near perfection? Why are these terrorists not afraid of the law anymore? Why do they take us for granted so easily? Is it their hard-heartedness or have we become too soft? Time and again, the need for stringent terror laws has been felt and time and again such laws have bitten the dust because the government is too scared to implement such laws and risk the loss of their vote bank. Time and again the non-existence of the concept of a national crime (or a federal offence in US terminology) has prevented the law enforcers from nabbing the guilty. When will we realize that unless we do something more than cursing the terrorists, the problem will remain the same or grow worse which is the more likely of the two.

                Do we still believe that the principles of truth and non-violence will be effective against cold blooded terrorists and that doing nothing and waiting for them to realize their mistakes will be sufficient to curb the menace? We find the mother of one of the suspects and she publicly asks her son to surrender. My question is: Did it work? Did he surrender? Merely days after that we saw the shootout taking the life of a very prodigal son of the nation. Is the intelligence system so ineffective that they cannot see the signs or is the government not ready to deal with them? We blame the terrorists. We even blame Pakistan. But what after that? After the blame game is over, what concrete steps do we take to ensure that such things do not happen again? India has witnessed a series of serial blasts and every time the terrorists have targeted another city before the shock of the previous city had worn down. Every time we get statements that everything possible is being done and that those behind these atrocities will be nabbed and every time the authorities get a tight slap in the face when the terrorists carry out the bombing in yet another city. TADA has not worked. POTA is not in effect. Are the anti-terror laws doomed to remain just some famous short forms or are they ever going to be implemented? The government says that in the absence of the laws that we currently have, the situation might have been worse but sir, the situation at present is not good either! It is good that the citizens are finally realizing that it boils down to then to be more vigilant and try to do what the government has so far failed miserably to do but the people too need support and the absence of action from the government is not helping! Wake up Indian Government!! Please wake up to this alarm or you may not be alive to hear the next because in this case, trespassers will not be prosecuted. They will be executed...

Nobody moved your cheese

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in China, do as the Chinese do. When in America, do as the Americans do. But when in Maharashtra, do whatever you want to do and if someone opposes, tell them to shut up and not to interfere. Is this what people want? Is this what they expect from the Maharashtrians? The Marathi community is by and large a tolerant mass and anyway the tolerance level is perhaps higher than any other state in India but is this to be taken for granted by anyone and everyone? Tolerance is born out of respect and respect is to be earned; not demanded. It would be a capital mistake to interpret the high tolerance levels for weakness and in case someone does so then that person should not make a hue and cry when the tolerance gives way to anger and tempers flare up.

What would be Jaya Bachchan if not for Mumbai and Maharashtra? What would be the Big B if not for Mumbai and Maharashtra? For decades, Mumbai has been the reason why the stars of Bollywood have ruled the minds of countless fans and after all this; you disregard the very city and its core essence? Try the same thing you did in Maharashtra anywhere else in the country and see the response you evoke. Just because Maharashtrians don’t say anything does not enable you to do whatever you please and escape unhurt. Anything beyond limit is dangerous and should be done away with. A few parts of the Marathi community had realized this long ago and had started to retaliate against the oppression they had to undergo in their own cities and slowly now, the entire community is starting to realize it. The comments by Jaya Bachchan in this regard are a reflection of bad taste. Of course the fact that Mr. Bachchan publicly apologized reflects the maturity that is demanded out of people who are trendsetters for a huge number of followers and it is highly commendable that instead of a private apology to the leaders or through the blog world, the Big B went public. Still, it would be better if actions speak for themselves and such bad scenes are not created. Others need to emulate the example and make it a point that while nurturing their own tastes in areas which are not yours, you must have a high regard for the community, customs and traditions of the original residents of the place and never should you take them for granted. The fact that they allow you to follow your customs in their places is to be taken as a privilege granted by them and not as an obligation that they have to fulfill. For years now, the Marathi people have been twisted and used as deemed fit for the personal interests and sometimes even without any personal interests. If after all this, the Marathi masses retaliate, they should not be asked to apologize for their retaliation but thanked for bringing others to their sense. The question as to how they can retaliate and how can they not respect others in this particular case is very similar to the question: “Who moved my cheese?” Well nobody moved your cheese gentlemen! It’s just that you ate it up all.