Mumbai 26/11 - The Aftermath

Date: 26 November 2008

Time: 2115 hrs

Place: Leopold Cafe, Trident Hotel, The Taj, Nariman House, Vile Parle and 5 other locations

The Act: Hydeous, inhuman and extremist, No!! Terrorist...

Mumbai Under Siege - reported a popular television channel minutes after terrorists opened fire at innocent and clueless Mumbaikars. Mumbai was witness to perhaps the worst and deadliest terrorist attack on Indian soil till date. 60 hours later, 178 died, several others were wounded and some of the best officers, commandos and policemen laid down their lives to save many others caught in the line of fire.

As the curtains closed on an emotional, dramatic and gruelling 60 hour operation to dig out the terrorists from the Nariman House, The Taj and The Trident, India was gripped by anger, grief and gratitude.

Peace marches, rallies attacking the political leadership in the country and campaigns urging people to "vote - but for no one" followed, spreading across the geography of the country but having their epicentre in Mumbai. 20 days later I am still searching for an answer as to who is to be blamed for this failure to protect our borders and our people. Is the government at fault?? Is our corrupt political system to be blamed?? Or is it a failure of our security forces, be it the Armed forces or the local Police?? What follows is my take on Mumbai 26/11...

The reasons for the failure to protect Mumbai is four fold:

1. The failure of the Intelligence Agencies to gather substantial information on what seemed to be an extremeley well planned attack, training for which had been going on for allegedly a year before the attack itself.

2. The failure of the Navy and the Coast Gaurd to stop these alleged terrorists from hijacking a boat in Indian waters and then subsequently prevent them from sailing right under their nose and into Mumbai. Bear in mind that the naval dockyard is not so far.

3. The failure of the government to equip the police with state of the art technology, weapons and ammunitions. Its failure to facilitate the quick movement of Army personnel, commandos and police to the affected areas.

4. And finally(may not be all that much), the responsibility of the attacks also lies with citizens such as ourselves who choose lucrative and rewarding careers in MNCs and IT Companies over serving in the Armed forces, the Paramilitary Forces and the Police.

The aftermath of the Mumbai attack has been one of concern for me. Its not just Mumbai, but the entire country that is gripped by the rage, this anger and frustration against the politicians. Disturbing indeed!! I agree that they are responsible for what happened. But how much of the fault actually lies with them?

A solution to the problem we faced in Mumbai or for that matter the same problem we face throught the country(the problem of combatting terrorism), is not in campaigns urging people to "Vote - But for no one" or similar such rallies. If anything this plays into the hands of the perpetrators of this heinous crime. Think about it, if every one decides to "vote for no one", wouldn't it create a situation of Political Unstability in the country. And with the lack of significant leadership at the centre, will it not directly play into the hands of the terrorists and other anti national organizations. Is this not the motive behind this and for that matter every other terrorist attack on Indian soil?

Yes, we need to be more effective citizens. But the approach we are taking as a reaction to Mumbai 26/11 is not correct and to some extent even dangerous. A lot more thought has to go into this and this change has to be sustained if we are to get the results we desire.

To summarize -

Lets not react to the situation at hand. Rather, let us think about it, discuss it at various forums, debate the possible solutions and ensure that we get what we need from the system which is dubbed as "By the People, For the People and Of the People".

It is time to arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached.