Mera number kab aayega?

Warning long post

I am finally wakened up from immense lethargy, and it took a tragedy of immense proportions to force me to my laptop to write this post. Mumbai has been attacked, not just a bomb blast which we are resilient to, but an attack where 21 year old maniacs sprayed bullets on streets and held a country to ransom. Its been 2 and half years, since I have called Mumbai home (fuck off Raj Thackeray ,whatever you think I am a Mumbaikar) and I love this City. So before going into my irritation of the attacks itself and pessimism I have that nothing is going to change, let me express my love.

I have lived in couple of cities before I came to Mumbai, but within a short period of time of being here, I felt belonged. Yes it’s suffocating crowds, nauseating pollution, chaos of daily life, sheer callousness of its citizens and the struggle to get basic things done irritates the hell out of me sometimes. But the city is amazingly free and I do not experience the same freedom anywhere in India. The freedom to make money and dream big without guilt, the freedom to steal a kiss from your partner without even a cursory glance from people around, the freedom for women to dress, party and work without feeling unsafe and the freedom of its art/theatre to express itself without censorship, this city is free. And it is this freedom that those fucking insane bastards tried to demolish.

The country seems to be saying enough is enough. But I am pessimistic and I am really waiting for my turn to be killed or maimed (yes its cynical, but sadly true) and here’s why

Politics: Politician seems to be the favorite whipping guy this time and in a way rightly so. But we forget that we are a democracy and in a democracy we get the leaders we deserve. And the way Indian political system is designed, it’s unlikely anything’s going to change. We can put pressure on Congress and BJP through protest marches, candlelight vigils & media, but what do you do with Mayawathi who will be more concerned about Dalit votebank, what you will do with Mulayam who will look for Muslim Yadav combination and what will you do with Karunanidhi who does not think beyond Dravidian movement. Our politics from mid 80’s onwards have become too regionalized and is determined by psephology and not ideology. Ideology evolves and can be changed but not psephology.

Media: Am I the only one disgusted by the way media behaved and is continuing to behave. Somehow Barkha Dutt, Arnab Gowswami and Rajdeep Sardesai think they represent the moral consciousness of this country. Let me make it clear dudes, it’s sad that you have become famous journalists, because you guys are the biggest morons that this country has ever produced. And they are immoral too (can anyone tell me how Narendra Modi visiting Trident to get mileage is any different from Arnab Goswami crying out hundredth time, Exclusive footage?).

Intellectuals: I should have clubbed this brigade with the Media. Sandeep was right the biggest intellectuals in this country are also the ones with the least common sense. And the intellectuals on TV giving rousing speeches of enough is enough, are doing so because what they call second home (Taj, Oberoi) has been attacked. Where will they now sit, sip coffee, and cry out even terrorists have human rights, where will they now write scripts of movies glorifying poverty and how the hell will they now throw up the root cause argument?. I am convinced that if terrorists had only shot in CST, Andheri and such suburbs and gone home, you would find the same morons ranting on TV about root cause.

Army/Security forces: Before I get hanged, let me say that I have immense respect and awe for anybody who risk their lives to protect others. I can’t do anything close to it for the life of me. But it doesn’t hurt to ask some critical questions only to learn from mistakes in the future. I do not think the operation was handled professionally by the NSG/Army. I am not even taking about the delay in arrival or lack of ammunition/equipment. But some basic things like media management, cordoning off surrounding areas (Wasn't it shocking after of Nariman house encounter a thousand people were allowed to rush in even before operation was complete, was it a cricket match for god’s sake?) etc. Also how can the NSG claim especially the Nariman house encounter, as successful, when they lost one of their men and all hostages? If I was JK Dutt I would be terribly unhappy and give my men more rigorous training.

Finally, we the people: Terror attacks are not new in India. So let me ask this question, how many of us voted in whichever last election, with internal security as the top agenda? I am sure it will be a miniscule percentage and I would like to see somebody do a survey during the next general elections (again I am sure it will be a miniscule percentage). Price of onions matters more for us than price of life. I am all for saying enough is enough, but I am afraid that as a nation we are more concerned about symbolism than some real action.

I am pessimistic guys, so I am waiting that Mera number kab aayega