Terror made its arrival on the land of Indus in grandeur by attacking some of the most opulent hotels of the financial capital of India. The long and unending debate on the rise of terrorism in India has been put to an end with this attack which marks the pinnacle of the terror activity in India. What now seems more like one of the J&K hostage dramas is spilling over and threatens to destroy the Mumbai city. The attack on Taj and Oberoi (Trident) hotels were followed by attacks on railway station and CAMA hospital.
The busy and bustling Mumbai came to a screeching halt in the wee hours and unlike other terror attacks this one has refused to fade away as the terrorists made themselves comfortable in these five-star landmarks. I don’t know where and how these people managed to sneak in. Reports have been pouring in saying they came by a merchant ship from Karachi, some reports say they came from Gujarat and some say they hailed from Hyderabad AP.
But what have been ghastly annoying are the lackadaisical security measures in these important areas which are frequented by the high class society. The terrorists did not SNEAK but royally entered into the busy corridors of Mumbai city. This very fact is something that’s very disturbing and leaves me with no hopes from our security personnel.
My misery deepens by the way the Home minister gave a cold shoulder to this event of utmost concern. His press conference was completely emotionless and his words were meaningless and of no significance. The way the things shaped clearly showed the gaping holes in our security cordon. The death merchants managed to breach the Indian coastal borders in their merchant ships carrying tonnes of ammunition. They managed to dock at one of the busiest areas of Mumbai city i.e. near the Gateway of India.
Having docked there they unloaded the deadly stuff while many a onlookers just kept staring at it. I guess some suspecting peoples complaints fell in the deaf ears of Mumbai police. This proved too costly and the repercussions were felt in the very heart of Mumbai. What started off with ‘93 bombings slowly improvised into what was a concentrated attack on the Mumbai metro and now has culminated in a full-fledged attack on Mumbai . The fact that the terrorists went about with their infiltration process without any fuss makes things messier. This leaves us with a knee jerk feeling of hatred and frustration. While the world is waging a war on terror, the terror is waging a war on our Beloved city of Mumbai. This attack am sure has moved every Indian heart. This is an issue of great international concern after all Mumbai was an international destination for many.
There have been parallelisms drawn with 9/11 of USA. For me, this incident has been much graver than what 9/11 was. One reason is this incident has stretched over a period of two days. For the first time people have come in direct contact with the face of terror. This has created a trauma and sense of insecurity which is difficult to overcome. 9/11 just was an incident that spanned over a few hours. But the response from the government machineries were completely in contrast with what was seen in case of Mumbai. While in New York the relief work started off in half an hour, in Mumbai it took more than 7 hours for the NSG to be summoned in.
The appalling delay in relief work had a detrimental effect and resulted in an exponential increase in number of casualties. In spite of all these , our politicians refuse to take the blame and shy away from their responsibilities even in this hour of deep crisis. Terrorist activities have spread across the width and breadth of the country from Mumbai to Guwahati and Kashmir to Bangalore.
After a 60 hour long battle against the immensely skilled and heavily armed terrorists, Mumbai was liberated from the clutches of the grim world of terrorism. But the objective of the terrorists was more or less fulfilled. No one in Taj Mahal hotel was spared. From bell boy to barrister everyone were shot at mercilessly. The tales that are spilling over about the survivors and the brave warriors are filled with agony and anguish. The public mood is hostile and politics has to take a backseat else it’s going to get a beating.
Politicians need to be mature enough to not try and take political mileage in this hour of grief and mourning. This terror strike has left us with no hope from our security and intelligence agencies. Even a faintest of idea , we could have sealed the coast of Mumbai and nabbed the bloody terrorists right at the foot step of Mumbai and all this ruckus wouldn’t have been there.
A holistic approach needs to be taken up and measures put in place to not let events like these to recur. Only then will the politicians be able to satiate the expectations of the billion denizens of this great country.
This is a piece that I came across in anews channel. A young man was holding a poster having the following words:
Mr.Terrorist: I am alive. What can you do?
Mr.politician:I am alive DESPITE you.
This piece summarizes to mood of the Indian public. This incident is something that we should never forget. For all the innocents who laid down their lives, For the brave mumbaikars who had to go through this unending misery, For the brave jawans and last but not the least our beloved TAJ , we need to take this battle to its rightful end and bring all the traitors to the court of law.
MAY MUMBAI AND TAJ REGAIN THE GLORY!!
