The Quintessential Gemini

This weekend was spent down memory lane to the horrendous sixty hour terror siege in Mumbai. A weekend of digging up old graves to commemorate 26/11.

New analysis, reports, exclusive coverage, talk shows, pay your respects to the martyrs shows, bytes from people who lost loved ones, bytes from common people who were victims, back and forth mud slinging at Pakistan, finger pointing the polity, blame game, comments from police officials, from redundant officials who should be sacked, socialites repeating the same lines they used last year, ranting on twitter. This is the order of the commemoration ceremony. Infact, it’s the same order we follow for every blast that happens in India.

As the events of 26/11 broke out; I remember watching every new bulletin, every news report, news analysis, talk shows and press conferences. That’s where we got some of our basic questions of when, where, how and why answered. The news channels beamed the events unfolding in Mumbai live. Sixty hours of numbing reality flashed front of our eyes. Like millions of Indians, I too was stunned by the magnitude of terror and pain inflicted on Mumbai. As hours progressed, I saw Mumbai coming together. The city known for its resilient spirit was tied together with habitual acts of patriotism.

For sixty hours, amidst the bloodiest terror carnage India was weaved under a patriotic web. The focus was on civilians and the people who laid down their lives in the terrorist encounters. A billion prayers were said for the National Security Guard to flush the terrorist with minimum casualty.

After sixty hours, a storm of inevitable questions began to pelt the government. Many of those questions remain unanswered today. Accountability, responsibility, anger, hurt, pain, betrayal, corruption, red tapism, laxity, loss, grief and trauma filled the air for the next 3-4 months. The great Indian debate on terror carried on and on never ending.

A year later, frustration and disappointment has consumed me. Issues such as the bullet proof jacket scam, the late arrival of the NSG due to avoidable and trivial power struggles, the rot inside the RAW, lathi armed policemen, the political blame game in the state, our interaction with Pakistan, our defense budget, issues of pay and pension for armed forces, the lack of doctors in the NSG due to a government rule, no terror backup plans, weak coastal defense, corruption and so many more scandals and scams do not justify the lives laid by our own people. We honor those who laid down their lives, give them tags, labels, awards, press coverage, bravery medals but a year later their martyrdom doesn’t make sense at all.

A year later, the lone captured terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab is smiling and laughing in court or demanding Briyani. What more should I say.