Remembering 26/11

It’s one year since those horrific terror attacks in Mumbai. Pictures of a burning Taj Mahal hotel near the Gateway of India and NSG commandos slithering down from choppers to rescue the trapped hostages and eliminate the enemies of the nation shall remain etched in Indian public memory for a long time to time. First anniversary is certainly a time to pay homage to the victims and tributes to the brave hearts who died fighting to save Mumbai, Mumbaikars and India.

Yet, anniversaries are also solemn occasions to engage in self-introspection as to what all lessons we learnt from the past to ensure that such crimes do not occur in the future. Reams have been written about the efficacy (or inefficiency) of our police and intelligence machinery, the loopholes therein and the possibility of similar attacks.

Nevertheless, one must give full credit to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram for ensuring that no major terror strikes took place thereafter. But that is no reason to celebrate, While Pakistan-backed terror attacks may have abated, due to increased vigilance and partly due to the international pressure on Islamabad, Naxalite attacks have increased manifold. Terrorism is terrorism. Let us not segregate it. Killing of innocents is unacceptable in a civilized society. There are democratic means of protests, howsoever genuine the grievances are.

If the Naxalite problem can be justified on the plea that the tribals face genuine problems, when we condemn terrorism, do we mean to say that the people in Kashmir are not facing problems? The million dollar question is whether in a civilized and democratic polity, is violence the answer to problems people face and the answer is an emphatic NO.

Coming back to Mumbai, television shots have shown us the miserable conditions in which policemen guarding the prestigious Gateway of India are living. Few sophisticated weapons and automobiles cannot do what motivated men can. While machines are important, the men behind the machines are more important. A demotivated security force with all the security paraphernalia just won’t be able to deliver.

Equally important is what Vice-President of India Hamid Ansari pointed out at a recent International Conference of Jurists on Terrorism in Delhi. He described corruption as the gravest threat to national security. Let us not treat anyone as holy cows. Let us accept that corruption exists not only among politicians and bureaucrats but also among our security forces personnel. There are black sheeps deployed along the nation’s porous borders who won’t blink an eye selling the nation’s security for a price. All the terrorists, their sophisticated weapons and the loads of counterfeit currency gaining free access into the country is certainly not reflective of the competence of the anti-India forces alone. Rather, they speak volumes of the incompetence and corruption among the people entrusted with guarding the nation’s frontiers and maintaining law and order across the country.

As they say, one bad fish can spoil the entire pond. Let us draw out an action plan to weed out such corrupt and anti-national elements from our patriotic forces. The war against corruption has to be an integral and inalienable part of our war against terrorism.

Last but not the least, has the media learnt any lessons? Again, an emphatic No. We only slammed those who dared to criticize us, such as the Naval Chief. We have become so touchy and hypersensitive that we consider even a mild criticism as an assault on freedom of speech and expression. This is another threat to democracy and free speech and exposes the double standards of Indian media, among the free-est, if one may describe so, in the democratic world. Carrying live commando operations, to the advantage of the enemy, was nothing short of irresponsibility. It only reminded one of the Himalayan blunders committed by some of our television journalists during the Kargil conflict wherein they exposed our forces to enemy fire, just for the sake of exclusive shots. Sad that instead of being condemned to the dustbins of the profession, they went on to acquire the halo of Christian Amanpour of Indian media.

The scare the Indian media created following the outbreak of H1N1, which happened after the Mumbai attacks, showed that we have not learnt any lessons. They succeeded in shutting down Mumbai, its markets, malls and movie halls, something Ajmal Kasab and his accomplices could not. More people have died of Dengue in Delhi alone over the past couple of months than the people killed by H1N1 across the country put together.

It’s high time the media too did some introspection. While pointing a finger at others, it must remember that three fingers are pointed inwards. As an eminent thinker said, you may disagree with me but I shall defend your right to disagree.

Let us all pledge to be a little less corrupt, a little more patriotic, a little less talkative and a little more hardworking. That would be the real tribute to the martyrs of Mumbai, not just candlelight and flowers.