“Happy Anniversary” - Mumbai

12 months; 365 days;~9000hrs have passed since the most brutal and gruesome attack on Indian soil. Sadly enough, all who has won is the Indian Media. Recent analysis shows that the news channels and radio stations have gained TRPs, as have the newspapers gained readership in Mumbai over the last 6 months, mainly because of the election coverage, cricket and now the “first anniversary” coverage of the dastardly strikes that left a gaping hole in India’s coastal security. What hurt me more was the way a leading Telecom corporate which tried to cash in on this occasion for its PR exercise.

What was most ironic is that Maharashtra virtually celebrated this moment with brutal agony, by reinstating Mr. R.R. Patil as the Home Minister, a move which went virtually uncontested and unnoticed by public at large.

Quite unsurprisingly, on the first anniversary, many tall claims were made by the impudent Government of India on how security has been beefed up, how they remember the martyrs, the grief that they share with everyone and also that “we will not rest till we bring down the culprits”. An icing on the cake came from US – “If Pakistan does not remove LeT, we will!” – an ostentatious statement to pacify the Indian Prime Minister visiting USA, juxtaposed with talks of “India being important in the world map” – an effort to clandestine the ulterior motive of the visit.

Is writing blogs, calling for candle light marches or giving peace speeches enough to overlook what the families of the 173 people, who died in the attacks, are going through? What all steps has India – Government, people, you and I taken to ensure that such attacks do not repeat in the future? Sadly, the state elections was a reflection of our ‘ignorance is bliss’ attitude. As countrymen, statesmen, residents, we have a few fundamental rights like safety and security which needs to be demanded and expected by us from whom we elect as our representatives. If we continue to fail doing our duty, how do we expect the people we elect to fulfill theirs?

From the Government’s standpoint, a specific agency needs to be appointed to look after the security of the Mumbai coast, with superior armaments and adequate gear to counter such attacks. This agency should be directly responsible for all security lapses on the coast, with harsh punishment with respect to any lapse whatsoever. A special budgetary allowance needs to be put in place for providing adequate personnel and ammunition to guard our Indian coastline. Unfortunately, the Indian political system is too centered around their votes by pleasing farmers and the masses at the cost of the security of the lives of people in the metropolitan cities. In a country which has more than 42% people still residing below the poverty line, time and again there are “scams unearthed” worth thousands of crores a la Koda.

Last year we were lucky not to be at the spots where the attacks happened. Next time it could be us, it could be a well known multiplex, it could be any well known public spot. And we may not live to tell the tale of our great escape. JAGO INDIA JAGO!