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Mumbai Nov 2008 Terror Attacks

"Terror attack on Mumbai" -- this is the headline on every news channel, be it Indian or foreign since the last few days. People seem to have got accustomed to indiscriminate killings and bombings every now and then, terror attacks have become almost a part of our daily life. Some discussion about the need to combat terror after every attack, some blame-game and finally everything settles down. Everything returns back to normal, until another attack kills a few hundred more. The cycle then repeats. People blames the Govt. for being ineffective, state Govt. will blame center, center will put the blame on state, both will then blame neighboring countries. The drama soon gets over, people forget the incident, Govt. forgets the culprits and things move on.
Go to a mall, restaurant, railway station or board a train, you never know the next moment you might be blown up in several pieces or reduced to ashes. We just hope we are lucky enough not to meet that fate. Each time a massacre happens we thank God, that someone else but not myself was killed.
After every attack, the media talks about the audacity of the terrorists, how a few of them can kill so many. Frankly speaking, it doesn't take much to cause a widespread massacre. Blowing up a mall or hotel or train full of hundreds of people doesn't require much resources neither does it take much effort to spray bullets on unarmed people on the streets.
The persons responsible claim to be waging a "holy" war to eliminate the "unholy", to protect their faith. So deep is their "respect" for their religion, that human life seems too insignificant for them. Islamic jihadis will try to establish their supremacy, Hindu extremists will try to establish "Hindutva", some other religion will try to establish their domination and curb down the power of others.
The simple reason: Each one holds their religion and religious ideas supreme.
The consequence: Ordinary men, who are least interested in any of the extremists' dreams of world domination has to pay with their lives.
The only net thing that religious fanaticism has taught us, since the history of mankind is intolerance and hatred. No matter how much any particular religion bluffs about harmony and unity, deep down it builds up a sense of self supremacy over other religions and the moment one starts valuing religious ideals over humanity, it leads to one and only one consequence - disrespect of humanity and loss of innocent lives. "Terrorists" are like the rest of us, only difference - they have been brought up to hold their so called "religious ideals" over and above everything, even above human lives both of their own as well as that of others.
Given the current state of affairs there is very little reason to be optimistic. All each one of us can do is hope, that the next bullet or bomb does not hit any of us.


cosmos delight said…
These events are extreme version of religious and region specific fanaticism. But you cannot always blame religion all the time. Religion is not something you should follow keeping your eye closes. Hinduism is the religion which has always sublimed all the religions. Religion is something which give you inner belief and strength at time of distress. It is inner spiritualism. Due to few people they have manifested religion in something wrong which we all suppose. At this bleak time we should not stand against religion but unite all irrespective of any religion against terrorism, which can not be stopped by vandalism, criticism, communal ism and Marxism or any self ism but by opening your mind working with each other for a better tomorrow.
ritesh said…
I agree with Priyadarshi on many fronts. You can't blame religion for this inhuman act of a handful of idiots. If that were true, we will be having millions of people with AK-47s in their hands roaming around the city. True, they are blindfolded by some religious thoughts (which is again not something that any religion preaches). True, the world would have been a better place had there been no religion or a single religion. What i feel, religion is something that is a moral and spiritual blueprint for living life.
Do u really think, the masterminds of terrorism are driven solely by religion? I dont think so. They are just using religion as catalyst for their own good to provoke young people.
The issue has definitely engendered controversies!
ritesh said…
Let me give you an example from science to illustrate my point.
Suppose there are two theories proposed by two different scientists for the same system. And there are many followers of both theories. Now, if both groups try to impose their superiority on the other by using violence, there is no fault of the two theories...
I don't know if it makes sense, but this is an example of what i am trying to say.
I don't believe in any religion,my only religion is my work.....Its too hard to point fingers at the Islamic community because they too have contributed a great deal towards the development of this country,people like A.P.J Abdul Kalam,the man who has lead India in the field of Space Science,AR Rehman,the musical legend and so many of our actors in the Indian film industry are Islamic,and have contributed a great deal to this country's welfare and development.
Its the politics which is ruing and dividing this country,first it was hindu and muslims, now it is bihari and marathi or south indian -north indian......these all really sucks,don't they? What would Raj thakcery say about mumbai attack?? How many of his coworkers have the audacity to fight the terrorist?? It was a bihari NSG officer who has sacrificed his life for the people he had never seen. Was he thinking that I should save a bihari first and not the marathis?? No,he thought was that India has been attacked and it should be saved.Aren't we Indian first??
My point is that people in India are still not well educated or have a good lifestyle. This give the jihadi leaders the chance to toy with their minds and make them do such insane and inhuman acts. In the issue of India Today(related to Delhi bomb blast) one terrorist had said" I would even blow the market even when my mother might be shopping....." look at the intensity and the height of insanity......
In which religion it is said that you kill people and you would go to heaven and that God would be pleased with you?? If that is the case then why not the leaders them self do that and go to heaven themselves??
These people are capricious and have the least mental strength.Moreover what about the parents of these terrorist ,don't they even care what is their child doing,and if they know then why don't they stop them at the very early stage and show them the right path??
Keeping all these apart, what we need now is not to blame each other but to reunite and fight against terrorism keeping in mind that"Terrorism has no religion"
What India needs is a young uncorruptable,dynamic, vigilant and intelligent leaders who can think about the country rather than thinking about himself first.....we need another Gandhi or Bhagat Singh or Bose....who can lead from the front........
Jai Hind
Sambit said…
Both of you missed the point entirely.
An "average man on the street", doesn't really give a damn whether another "average man on the street" is a Hindu or a Muslim or a Christian or a Jew or whatever else. The implicit assumption is that the average man knows harming another fellow human being is wrong irrespective of any religion. The question of unity or disharmony therefore becomes irrelevant here. One doesn't need to go around with a banner proclaiming that I am a "xyz" but since I love all other religions, I will not harm someone else who is an "abc". One knows what is wrong and what is right and religion is not a necessity to realise this fact. Religion in it's misinterpreted and violent form (even if followed by only a few fanatics) is bringing destruction to the rest of us.
Despite the majority of the people following the benevolent and philanthropic form of religion, all it takes is a few fanatics to wreck havoc on the life of others. These fanatics don't heed to any reason. Even if the we overtly express our religious unity it is not going to prevent a handful of dumb-heads, who have been brainwashed into believing false and misleading ideals be it political or religious and then disrupting the lives of the united rest of us.
cosmos delight said…
yes target is always common man except this time where they picked high profile ones. But they donot show they are killing but we always find that they had id cards showing that they follow certain place or community which is misinterpreted in the way that he was xyz and he was here to kill anti xyz.
sayan said…
super post. u captured the incident perfectly. Religious fanatics don't care about humanity. The only thing that matters to them is power. Some group attacks- another replies and we are caught in the middle of this gang war. In all this fight these fanatics forget that all religions preach about humanity. Hope some of these fanatics read this post.

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