Speechless & Numb

It just got over. Mumbai bled while the nation watched agape in horror.

There have been myriad emotions within me over the past three days….anxiousness for the lives of hundreds of people who were taken hostage, immense grief for the brave policemen, NSG & MARCOS who lost their lives saving that of people they did not even know, and rage at the government for not acting on the intelligence they had about the Indian seas being infiltrated & the terrorists arriving to India by boat.

There’s a lot I want to write but I’m so exhausted from following the events over the course of the past three days, and from the rise & ebb of emotions that I’ve gone through along with the rest of the people in Mumbai, that I’ll make do with this bit for now:

I salute the commitment, the bravery & the courage of the police officers who lost their lives saving the people of Mumbai - ATS Chief Mr Hemant Karkare, Additional CP Ashok Kamte, Senior Inspector Vijay Salaskar & the 11 other policemen whose names we will never know. I cannot even beging to say how proud I am of the people of my country & of being a citizen of India. I get goosebumps and tears in my eyes thinking about their courage & the sacrifice these brave people made for their country, without worrying for their own lives even once. I’m proud of my uncle, a very very close friend’s dad who went in to the Oberoi after the terrorist attack started, to answer the call of duty. I am sure he did not hesitate once before going in, and knowing him, I never had a doubt that he would be one of the last people to leave the premises, only after ensuring safe passage of the guests at the hotel. So while I was in touch with my friend constantly about his return, I never once asked her why he wasn’t coming out when hostages were being rescued in groups.

I am appalled at the complete lack of political leadership throughout this entire event. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra is uncannily never in Mumbai whenever such attacks take place. He always “rushes” to Mumbai after the attack has taken place & hundreds of people have been killed. Even when he’s back in town, there’s no sound or sight of him. The leadership at the Center has also let all of us Indians down. The truth is clear & simple, and it’s out there for all to see: the Government of India is not serious about cracking down on terrorism. Indian lives are just not that important for them. The most they can do is make lame speeches about how “this has been the worst attack on India in many years”. Thank you very much Mr Pranab Mukherjee, we knew that without you having to tell us. Or narcissictic speeches such as that made by Home Minister Shivraj Patil, who cannot complete one sentence without saying “I did this…& I did that…” Or a completely insipid one made by the Prime Minister of India. Really, men, are you even aware of what is happening in our country?? I agree with Shobha De all the way when she called the politicians a bunch of incompetent nincompoops, asked them to stay out of Bombay & suggested that their security covers should be withdrawn completely. After all, it is the people of India who pay for their Z-Category security, and if our own security within our own country isn’t guaranteed – which, by the way, is the f****** JOB of the Government – what the hell are we paying for??

I do not want to hear any politician or the Government of Maharashtra/India talking about the “spirit of Mumbai”. That is a convenient phrase they have found to absolve themselves of all responsibility.

Look at the efficiency with which the United States has handled terror since 9/11. There hasn’t been a single terror attack on American soil since then. US Intelligence has foiled a number of plans to attack the US & other sites across the world. What does our government do? They wait for the terrorists to strike, then they condemn the blasts, praise the “spirit of the people”, make some rubbish noise about how they will not bow down to terror & teach the terrorists a lesson & how the blasts make us even stronger (bleh!!), make hollow promises about cracking down on terrorism & go back to screwing each other & the country. Really, I’ve had it with their nonsense & so has the country!!!

I do not want the leadership of the incompetent, imbecile politicians who cannot guarantee our safety within our own country. Rather, give me the leadership of brave men like Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte & Vijay Salaskar. That way, atleast I can go to bed knowing I am in safe hands, and that when I wake up tomorrow morning, the people I know and love and care for, will still be there.