The buzz word is Change!

Would you step out of your house today without a glimmer of fear today? Would you walk across the street without a care? Would you vacation with complete abandon or admire the beauty of India with a light heart? If your answer is no to all this, I ask you how much longer? Are we prepared to life in constant fear? Are we prepared to let the terrorists rule our lives and our earth?

So then how can we change this? How can we sweep our Indian political system clean.. for that seems to be the root cause of most of the mishaps that occur in our country.. Every morning as you turn on the news channel in India you hear about some act of terror in some part of the country.. then why aren't those acts openly condemned or spoken about by our politicians.. they are brushed away as yet another act of terrorism! For that has become a way of life... is that the value we place for lives?

I along with many others are beginning to ask this question today.. How can we change the world we live in? And more importantly how can we change our country and make it a safer place to live in? Lets not allow this date 26/11 to become yet another statistic.. let this be the day India starts her quest for greater good! Let all the martyrs of this day and all the fights against terror in the past not have laid their lives down in waste! Let their deaths inspire us to do something that can help our country! I am thinking hard.. and I urge you to do the same!

For those of you that want to help Mumbai victims ... Kiran from KarmicKids is spear heading a wonderful effort to help Mumbai. Lend your support - http://www.mumbaihelps.blogspot.com/

ENOUGH!

As you can see regular programming has been interrupted on this site as I continue to obsess with the Mumbai Terror Attacks. I am unable to resume life as usual in the aftermath.. as I am sure many of you are too!

While I wish to focus on the positive, I am appalled by the state of the Indian Government.. what front are we posing to the world? Today the entire world is watching and pointing at our inefficiencies. Warnings months before from intelligence went unheeded... A week before satellite calls intercepted where the leader of LET was heard to be saying “cargo is on its way”. The Indian Navy increased security on the coast but relaxed it in a week's time?

“We also removed the additional security,” a police source said, “because our manpower was stretched to the limit and the personnel we had did not, in any case, have the specially-trained personnel needed to avert a suicide-squad attack.” So where is all the man power? Providing security to the politicians in Delhi?

I wonder why the police aren't well trained with firing ammunition.. Why Mumbai does not have an anti-terror force especially in light of all the attacks in the past years on this city? There were no commandos stationed at Mumbai. There were 200 at Delhi but the aircraft to transport them was in Chandigarh? I would imagine at least that would be kept handy at all times? And from Mumbai Airport the Commandos used BEST buses to arrive on scene.. Overall it took them almost 12 hours to respond while the police force most untrained to even wield the rifles with any finesse, without bullet proof jackets stood guard?

After public outcry and media frenzy, the Home minister and other officials have offered to resign. But is this enough? What about the new team that comes in? If you are an Indian who has witnessed first hand the Indian political system.. you know there is a lot of sweeping and cleaning to be done in our political parties!

After all this.. only one hard fact remains.. hundreds of lives have been lost! Hundreds of families lose their income. And we talk of the resilience of Mumbaikar's.. for after all what other choice to they have? For life must go on! But it is time we say ENOUGH! It is time for India to speak out.. this coming elections use your right to vote.. and make a wise choice! Speak Up and Be Heard! In this era of electronic media.. it is easy to raise your voice! Join the millions of Indians who are raising their voice today to say ENOUGH!
[Img Courtesy: http://www.gmba.uwosh.edu/currentstudents/india/about.php]

[Edited to add: For all of you out there wondering what are our choices.. and how to choose best among the worst, here is Sumana's suggestion

Sumana said...
We definitely need to have our choices right. You know indian constitution has something call null vote or I Vote Nobody!!! Yes such a feature is available, but obviously these seemingly notorious leaders have never disclosed it. This is called "49-O". Why should you go and say "I VOTE NOBODY"... because, in a ward, if a candidate wins, say by 123 votes, and that particular ward has received "49-O" votes more than 123, then that polling will be cancelled and will have to be re-polled. Not only that, but the candidature of the contestants will be removed and they cannot contest the re-polling, since people had already expressed their decision on them. This would bring fear into parties and hence look for genuine candidates for their parties for election. This would change the way; of our whole political system... it is seemingly surprising why the election commission has not revealed such a feature to the public....

Thanks you Sumana]

I salute thee!

In every place where terror strikes, heroes come through! The hotel staff at Taj and Oberoi some of whom are said to have literally put themselves in the line of fire to save the guests. The Police, Special Task Force, Army who put themselves at risk while they meticulously saved the innocent victims one by one.

As I sit here watching the news.. the seige goes on, people are expressing displeasure against the Commandos for not ending this faster! But the intensity is unimaginable! Crazed Killers, Brutal killers who hold no value for life sit there with weapons and explosives. Lives of innocent hostages lie in balance. If you need to detonate this with as less damage as possible, it does take time! You can't really expect them to run in guns blazing and take them down!!
(img: http://www.timesrelieffund.com/)
I am proud that I belong to a country of such heroes. A country that refuses to bow down in the face of terror. And I hope this episode only makes us more resilient and urges all Indians around the world to look at your nation with pride at their armed forces and execution in such a tense situation! I am aware that there is a faul finding exercise going on.... about how the Indian Intelligence failed. But lets focus on the positive and grow stronger for this experience!

Even in the face of terror, life goes on.. and such episodes only show us the value of life and the need to shed fear and fight back!

Indian Security Personnel and all the unsung heroes of the past 2 days... I salute each one of you!

Why? Seige of terror!

All it takes is one moment, one gun and one crazed killer.. and the world can go berserk for many... Throw in months of planning, loads of ammunition, 2 dozen trained killers and a busy city...what ensues is complete chaos. And 24 hours later the stand off continues.

I turned on my computer last afternoon randomly surfing the net when MSNBC sent me a note.. Breaking News they proclaimed... Terrorist shootings, bombings reported in Mumbai, India. I was unable to find much information over the net.. but as the story unfolded and CNN kept at it all night I was shocked and at loss for words to describe what I was feeling. I called my dad in South India at 6 am and asked him to turn on the television. Although my family does not live in Bombay I felt the need to connect to them.. the need to bond with them! I can only imagine what people on the ground are going through. As I watched the news late into the night and turned it on again early this morning.. I was overwhelmed by a feeling of utter helplessness.. what use is security measures and elaborate screening mechanisms in airports.. the terrorists continue to meticulously plan and execute their attacks!

Many movies have been made about how the Islamic militia recruit young kids and brain wash them to make them believers in a so called ideology that calls for the blood of innocent bystanders. These kids whether or not they have sight of any purpose have turned into crazed killers.. attacked by what seems like a permanent case of insanity. I was only reminded again as the TV flashed images of this boy with a crazed/glazed look who is believed to be one of the terrorists!

Not so long back I wrote a note on the world being in wrong hands. It still stays posted on my blog Creative Outbursts as the last piece written by me. Maybe a Deja Vu? I have always been at loss to understand what motivates these guys? Religion? Politics? Quest for World Power?Thirst for blood? How can they live with themselves at the end of the day? I know I am joined by millions others who are also trying to make sense of this crazed world we seem to live in! If you havent already read my poem, do read it and tell me what you think?

CNN reports that many bloggers have been expressing concern and fear about living in Mumbai which has lately turned into a volatile city. I wonder, where is it safe to live in the whole world? And this makes me ask how can I help? How can I help making this world safe for my children and grand children? Is this the legacy we want to leave behind for them? If not then how can you and I change it? For now all I can do is watch with a growing sense of panic and helplessness while many live through this nightmare! All I can do is pray that justice be served!

[CNN reported almost as an after thought the seige on Thailand Bangkok airport where a group of political protesters have taken over the control room. Again, what is the world coming to?]Images - from CNN.com

Is the world in wrong hands?

I woke up today with a morbid mood.. and the prompt on Matinee Muse suited me .. In wrong Hands it said.. and had me wondering. The world is in wrong hands don't you think? Terrorism is a curse all over the world.. while some parts of the world are just waking up to it, this has been rampant in India for many years!

I sometimes wonder if the world would be a better place if no one believed in God? But no, then there would be yet another cause to fight for! As I sat here thinking about all this I wrote this poem on my other blog in response to the prompt. But I want to make a repost here to share with my readers on this blog!

Have you ever had a cut
Have you ever seen the blood
Have you ever let it flow
Let it mix with that of the man next door?

Bring the men all together
Cutting the barriers of religion and color
Cut each hand with a tiny tear
And let a drop of blood mix here

Now I will give you this little jar
Separate the drops will you dear?

Separate the black, white and blue
And that of the Christians and Muslims too
Separate the East and West from each
And show me the difference will you please?

Have you ever squirmed in shame?
When on God you lay your blame?
Years have passed and millions lie dead
And yet we cannot stop this dread

The world is in wrong hands I say!
For while we roam clothed and free
The ones in the forests live in perfect harmony!

So what do you think? Is the world in wrong hands? After all the world leaders are at a loss to battle this impending doom called Terrorism. And the solution they seem to come up with is just more fighting and bloodshed!

Reality Bites

To me Incessant Musings is a fun blog. I like to write on the lighter side of life... Many times I have visited other bloggers who have written on some serious issues. As I read their post, I want to write a post on it.. and I have often left a comment saying that I will make a post on it.. But as I sit to write, I think of yet another funny tale and write that instead.
However today I am going to write about something that has truly touched me.
A few weeks back I was surfing around on blogger when I came across a blog called Baghdad Burning. I added it to my blog links and forgot all about it.This morning I read some posts on that blog... and have been able to think of nothing else since!
I have always been one to take life for granted. My biggest worry being how to cook today's food without burning it. I am a citizen of one country, but live in another... The doors to both countries are open to me and I come and go as I wish. I roam around inside each country as I wish. I take my freedom for granted.

(Pict Courtesy: carefulthought@wordpress)

The post I read is by a girl from Iraq who has taken refuge in Syria. She is fortunate enough to have a roof over her head, but the trials of getting a 2 month extension to stay just 2 more months in Syria is mind blogging. The refugees in Syria are at the mercy of Syrian Government, they are not truly welcome there.. and yet they cant return to their country of birth. Most have left behind their life's savings and the land they know and love to struggle for even survival in a strange land!!
I am going to stop here and let you think about how privileged we all are!! If you want to read more find the link to the blog in my side panel.
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On this note, I would like to also share my tryst with terrorism!!
I come from a lovely town in South India called Coimbatore. To many Indians this name might be familiar, I am about to tell you why!
It was a warm and sunny Saturday - Feb 14th 1998. I had made up my mind to watch a movie... but the VCR wouldn't work. So I decided to go get it fixed. My dad's assistant agreed to go with me to the VCR repair place. I had to go pick him up from my Dad's office though. So I started VCR in one hand and the Kinetic (Two Wheeler) keys in the other... As I was to step down from the porch I stopped still. I would have stepped on a small snake (A Speckled Cobra I think) if I had not looked.. I yelled for my mom and the two of us stood there and prayed till the snake left our home...
Not being very superstitious, I alerted some workers nearby of the sighting and went on to take my bike out and off to the VCR repair place. I went to Gandhipuram (a busy area in CBE) and dropped off the VCR. I then went on to my Uncle's office in Ramnagar (A tam bram locality) to pick up something from him... When I was there, he got a phone call and told me "Leave immediately.. and go straight home. There is some trouble in RS Puram". Coimbatore had a history of Hindu-Muslim feuds... so we knew the drill.
I started the ride back home.. with my Dad's assistant sitting behind me.. As I said Ramnagar is a Brahmin locality.. a Prime Hindu locality.. so the roads started closing down on us.. Except for one opening in and out of the area, all roads were literally closed down! We had to find that opening through the maze of roads and make our way out... As I rode home I saw smoke emanating from the side of the Railway Station - Central Coimbatore, while RS Puram where the alleged riots took place was behind us to the North.. Watching all this in bewilderement I headed home.
I dropped off the Assistant and went on to where I lived. At the corner of the road was a bike repair store we frequented. The Kinetic was my mom's bike and the break was acting up. So I stopped to have the guy fix it.. A group of guys came in an Auto screaming "Yen Ratham ellam kodhikudhu... Naan yen kannala parthen... ellam sinna pinnam aa pochu".. (My blood is boiling, I saw with my own eyes .. everything is in shambles). The guy in the auto was the one who took my sister to school everyday.. he said to me "Papa yen inga nikarenga, veetuku ponga.. velila varadhenga" ..(Little girl, why are you standing here? Go home and dont come out!)
The whole of next week we stayed at home, all schools and colleges were closed. We heard and saw the reports on Television. Our City was burning. The BJP leader LK Advani was supposed to make a speech on Feb 14th in RS Puram.. Alleged terrorists set off bombs in RS Puram, in the Railway Station, Town Hall (Downtown Coimbatore) , the Govt Hospital, the local bus stand and many such populous locations. In retaliation the Hindu's set ablaze many muslim stores in the city... Miscreants broke and looted all stores - Hindu and Muslim.. (pict courtesy - www.sabrang.com)
A week later we ventured out to go to college. .we were routinely subject to checks .. our bags and lunch boxes and bikes were all checked everytime we travelled past bus stands/ stations and other populated areas. Everywhere we looked there was devastation.. and at that time I felt helpless and ashamed.. Ashamed that I belonged to a world where 2 religions can't live in Harmony!!! Where people aren't looked at as human beings, but are given an identity based on Race, Color, Religion, Caste... Why do we look at differences and not similarities in each other?