the shameful reason

why did it take so many terror incidents - blasts at jaipur, ahemdabad, banglore, delhi, and finally the episode at mumbai - to wake up and respond! why did the government and the agencies do nothing more than collecting the pieces, and talk of "investigating" the blasts? why did the media not ask the same questions that are being asked now? what was it about the mumbai blasts that jolted the public at large into action? and lastly.. what was it about the mumbai terror strike (or strikes!) that the nation collectively woke up to respond and called for action?

most of us would like to believe that the answer to all these questions is that this time, its once too many. the patience of the public and thus the media (or is it vice versa.. think about it...) has finally run out. that we waited all this while expecting the govenment and the agencies to do something - but this is the limit!! its time to talk accountability. etc etc. however, it is difficult to ignore one stark difference between the mumbai attack and the other recent blasts - and no im not talking of the fact that this ordeal lasted a full sixty hours and involved counter-attack, a hostage situation and live media coverage. think for a second.

the real REASON why the mumbai attacks jolted the govenment and the media (and unfortunately even the public, in this context) into action, is that this time, the nature of victims was different. we would like to deny this fact at the first possible chance; but the truth is, that this time, the common man was not the victim (before you say "CST".. let me complete). the prime targets, as we know, were taj, oberoi, nariman house, and to an extent leopold's. that translates into elite, elite, israelis, and to an extent foreign tourists. so lets face it.. probably, or rather most likely (as is evident by now) the lives of the elite, elite, israelis and foreign tourists count for more than those who walk on the streets and shop at crowded marketplaces. sad, but, i hate to say it, true. this is how our national conscience works!

(for those who said "CST": twelve hours after it all began - to the next 48 hours, i followed the entire episode on three different news channels - and there was not a single mention of the shooting at CST except for an intermitent strip displaying the words "shooting/firing at CST: xyz no. dead". and.. nothing, nothing whatsoever about a blast in a car in vile parle (it was on the street u see, nothing important when 'special' lives at these hotels were at stake!). the newspapers fared no better - the main story on the above mentioned places included a few lines on the firing at CST. worse still is the fact that the public (in its opinion, as shown on the tv) was primarily referring to the episode as if the strikes happened only at taj, oberoi and nariman house. on one news channels, we even had celebrities talking of their memorable times at the taj! so lets not fool ourselves. this is not about the terror attack on mumbai. its about the terror attack on taj, oberoi and nariman house.)

there is, but, a twist to this entire rationale. it arises from the question that does public opinion form the basis of media outlook? or is it the other way round.. it is the media opinion which drives public sentiment? this is an important question, and for the sake of our nation, i hope it is the latter. this way, we can atleast shift the burden of our conscience onto the media. ha!

whatever the answer, the only difference it makes is that we get one more participant for the blame game. the truth is that we as a nation have reacted shamefully (im not talking of this incident individually - but collectively of all the terror attacks that we have faced over the last one year). it is one of those times when the darker (or should i say dirtier) sides of our minds was exposed unknowingly - thankfully, many chose not to look!

note: at any instance, i do not intend to undermine the seiousness of these attacks; but knowing that the nation - its people, have the fire in them jolt the system into action when they wish to - it leaves me aghast that it happened only when the economically higher strata of the society was targeted. ive nothing against them too - only want the public to understand that other 'street walking' lives, taken away in previous blasts were no less significant - just ask their families.

the real reason

i always thought blogging to be the worst past-time ever invented. and now, starting my own blog - its giving me a feeling of surrender and opportunity - all at once. the prime reasons for starting this blog are two. the first is the rhetoric on the mumbai blasts from all possible sources - tv, internet, friends, family, aquaintainces.. and even from the nukkad ka paanwala!! everyone it seems has an expert opinion which he/she deems to be the best possible solution to the problem (well.. i too have my opinion but more on that later). initially, the media and public outrage (instead of the cliche'd "mumbaikar spirit"!) regarding the blasts were encouraging; a real response was expected. but as the story goes, a week since the attacks started, we are still just talking about it!! this fact is driving me crazy. the second real reason is the indifference. in this case, indifference towards people - not the people affected in the blasts, mind you, but towards those engaging in endless conversations... with one person repeating wt he heard from someone else, to someone else - not figuring that a few other people were present on both occasions! in a way, it the defiance of not being party to such conversations that has prompted me to write this blog. when u actually come to think of it, indifference and defiance are the two major reasons for starting a blog - especially one titled "reason??"!!