Numerously bitten, never shy!

There were bomb blasts in Mumbai yet again, and I think we (Indians) are responsible for this mayhem. Our basic attitude of tolerance of injustice, ignorance of the politics around us and our 'I don’t care till I am not directly affected' is bringing us to this pitifully dangerous existence.

This culture of inappropriate aloofness is also allowing the government to take our homeland security for granted.

Imagine the Rupert Murdoch incident happening in India. No one would have batted an eyelid. But since this happened in UK, the entire world is talking about this and it and this news is making world headlines. People abroad are sensitive about their privacy and rightly they should be. But the same thing if it happens in India, no one would have really cared much, maybe there would have been a little murmur but nothing when compared to the scale of what is happening in the western world. If you come to think of this, then maybe the only reason I see is the culture. It’s the culture and conditioning of our people where firstly it is difficult to clearly establish what ‘privacy’ means at a personal individual level and secondly we are made to believe that invasion into our lives is no big deal. This ‘adjusting’ culture in this super transient world of complexity, survival struggle, disparity, technology and access (or the lack of it), is allowing injustice to take place without an appropriate remediation or response.

The response is and can never be violence. It can only be solved if the root cause is addressed.

If each of us do our part of the duties honestly – be it awareness, education, health, knowing and demanding our rights, working for a living, paying our taxes, take into politics, be compassionate and learn to fight against injustice – to self or to others.

It is difficult for me to accept that if a nation is firm, honest and compassionate, it will still be subject to atrocities.

If we are dishonest ourselves, if we cannot look at ourselves in the eye, we are not doing our bit.

It’s time we should stop giving leverage to India saying its big, populated and diverse. Security is basic. And no one’s got any excuse. Including us.

May the souls of the 21 people who died yesterday rest in peace, and may their families get the strength to bear the loss which can never be compensated.


PS: Yesterday there were 3 bomb blasts in Mumbai, the financial capital of India. 21 people were killed and over a 100 injured.