Monday, December 15, 2008

Reactions to Others' Reactions...

to the events in Bombay.

I'm a bit bemused at all the shock and the blame. Did it take this, an insane act by lunatics, to make us realise our government is inept and corrupt? We're surprised that politicans are trying to gain mileage out of this? That our media thrives on sensationalism? Does it take an attack on a posh hotel to make us cry? What about all the people who die in my Assam every year, of terror attacks? What about all the people who died in Orissa, as the Mad Momma writes about here? What about all the people who die of starvation every year, in a country that hosts the world's largest number of hungry people? Why did that never shock you into protesting?

People formed a human chain against terror. I'm sure terrorists must have looked at it and trembled. Why not go form that chain at our borders, and give our defence forces some relief?

Email forwards advocate war. How can thinking people pass on such a message? Is that what you want, war? Let me come out and say it - and I don't care whether you call me unpatriotic or cowardly - I don't want war. Not even if the Pakistani government itself sanctioned the attack. I don't want more innocent people dying, whether they are on this side of the border or the other. Not just a lot of people dying, but the ones left behind will also have much worse lives. Our 'developing' economy will be torn apart. And of course, the starving will starve sooner.

Read Annie Zaidi's eloquent post. Also read this.

8 comments:

Banno said...

Absolutely right, Unmana. I am appalled at the thoughtlessness with which people brandish their solutions, rather their ignorance.

Sujeet Pillai said...

Well, I'm against a war as well, but for a different reason. Because there are no effective strategies to go to war with Pakistan today. Simply because there are multiple Pakistan's and we'd be stuck like the US in Iraq if we went on a full ground war. Surgical strikes don't seem feasible to be effective enough to remove the terror networks.

Let's get this straight. Nobody want's innocent people to die. The question is if they were to die anyway, would you rather have them die while at war with a country that has links to almost all the massacres that happen in the world today or be killed in the streets on their way home to their child's birthday party? They're getting killed anyway! One blog said it very well:

"I'd rather die firing a gun, with honour on a battlefeild rather than be shot from behind while at dinner with my wife and kid!"

I don't think it's right to bring the "class" argument into this picture. True two of the places attacked were the Taj and the Oberoi, however people died at CST and at the hospitals too.

Finally, it's late that people are beginning to realize their leaders are corrupt and security lax. But better late than never!

Aren't somethings worth dying or fighting for?

Unmana said...

Banno: Thank you.

Sujeet: That blogger you quote - I'll commend him when you tell me he's joined the armed forces.

"Aren't some things worth dying for?" Maybe, but worth killing for? I don't think so.

Sujeet Pillai said...

I contend that some things are even worth killing for, or else no lioness would ever attack any creature that came close to her cubs!

Why do we believe that same instinct is beneath us.

Just because I'd like to see politics cleaned up doesn't mean I have to become a politician. And let's be fair, in a war not just members of the armed forces die. Regular civilians die too

Unmana said...

"No lioness would ever attack any creature that came close to her cubs!" We did kill the terrorists who attack us. Why do you think we need to launch a full-scale war and kill innocent people as well?

It's easy to say let's start a war when you aren't going in to fight. How can I decide that someone else has to die for me? That the army ha to give its lives to save me, that other innocent people far away should die just because I'm afraid someone living there may come and attack me? Kill the guilty if you will, not the innocent.

Sujeet Pillai said...

We did kill the terrorists who came to attack us. After they killed between 175 and 200 innocent people.
It's not easy for anyone to say "start a war" in today's India. Everyone realizes that everyone will have to pay for the consequences, innocent Indian citizens die, our economy takes a major hit, our jobs are no longer secure, etc. So I don't think it's only the Army who's affected by the war.

Question - Does the status quo satisfy you? Every 2-3 months a bunch of terrorists (increasingly younger I must say) pumped up with narcotics and propaganda comes over pumps a few hundred innocent people with bullets, or blows up a few public transport vehicles and eventually get killed. The perpetrators don't care; they've got no love for the terrorists who got killed and have plenty of ppl where they came from. Every time this happens there's outrage, a hypocrite US to urge us to restraint and sensationalist media to blame absolutely everyone in the world, light a few candle-light vigils and forget about it in 3 months. And we're a country who's (for the most part) not harmed any innocents anywhere. Why us?

Or have we also gone to thinking there's enough more to die in India, it's too much trouble to solve this problem once and for all.

As mentioned I'm not for a war today, but if we did go to war, we wouldn't be going for Oil or for annexing Pakistan or wiping all pakistanis off the face of the earth. We'd be going to get the guilty. We'd be faced with people who are protecting them, but then are they pardonable?

I'm not a Rodeo stud callous enough to claim that we'll bomb them back to the stone age. In fact I think the civilians in Pakistan are totally innocent, and in a potential war we must take all precautions to ensure their safety.

Unmana said...

"I think the civilians in Pakistan are totally innocent, and in a potential war we must take all precautions to ensure their safety." The problem is, Sujeet, that there's no way you ensure that. If there was a fool-proof way of getting at the guilty, of course none of us would have any problem with it. But why kill more innocent people in a quest for revenge? I would be much happier to see our police and defence forces corruption-free and well-equipped, and our Intelligence able to learn of such attacks before they occur.

Saurabh Roy said...

Mam I wrk at Mumbai and due to month end pressure I had no other option but to leave for wrk the day after the attacks begin. Nobody was sure that whether the were terrorists still on loose. Every station I had to go I was watchful of a possible terrorist who would kill me and end many things associated with me. There was a desperation, fear and hopelessness that there is no protection. What else do you expect to come out of it? very easy for somebody to say that they are 'appalled' by the thoughtlessness of such reactions but when you are compelled to risk your life for no reason, wen you see your closed ones die or nearly die, that time a common man would think that way only...as they say it in hindi.."Jab khud par aati hai to pata chalta hai". War is definitely not the solution but there has to be a solution, we Indians are now tired of being at the mercy of terrorists and sick of excuses given to justify the failure of preventing such attacks.