18 July, 2006

Questions...

Why is it that we don't give security measures prime importance in our country? Why is it that we take reactive measures, instead of proactive ones? It is only now, after the blasts in the Mumbai trains that the government has decided to install CCTV cameras in some of the major railway stations. Shouldn't this step have been taken years back, especially after the metro blasts in London and Madrid? Why is it that the security in our airports is worse than that given to some politicians (goons?) in the country? The Mumbai airport does not even have a boundry wall, for crying out loud. The slums merge seamlessly with the runway and the grounds surrounding it. Convenient. Have you ever noticed that passengers (especially foreigners) who have just exited from the departure gate can walk right back in the terminal, with their luggage, without anyone questioning them? Can they not bring back something in the premises this way? Can they not switch their bags and get in, jut so easily?

The intelligence tells us that terrorists are now being trained in Bangladesh, and it is from there that they are able to enter the country. Must we not ensure that the Indo-Bangladesh border is unbreachable? Or are we leaving that job to the tigers in the Sunderbans? Bangladeshi immigrants have been entering India since partition. Most of them work as domestic help. There are even legal settlements for them, atleast in Mumbai. Does it not occur to the powers that be to keep a record of who's there? How tough would it be for a terrorist to lie low in one of these settlements, until called upon to do his dastardly act?

Why is it that the different departments of the state find it so difficult to interact with each other? Why is it that there is no one to be held accountable for anything in this city? Why can we not have a single person in charge of co-ordinating the various departments of the state. We all know what Mayor Rudy Giuliani did for New York after 9/11. Must we not try and emulate their model? What is the point of forming committee after committee, year after year, and yet achive NOTHING. 13 years after the Mumbai blasts, we have yet not been able to convict the accused. What does that say about our judicial system? Our itelligence could barely manage to extradict Abu Salem back to India, after numerous gaffes. What does that say about our intelligence?

Why do we (me included) not treat our soldiers as heroes? When a U.S. Marine dies in Iraq, he is given a state funeral and the entire country mourns. Our soldiers are dying every day in Kashmir. Must we not honour them? Must we not honour the people who die everyday in terrorist related activities. Must we not give them the money they are promised each and every time?

Too many questions, too few answers... think about it....

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I'm tired of the bombs
I'm tired of the bullets
I'm tired of the crazies on TV
I'm the aviator
A dream's a dream whatever it seems

I'm tired of the news
I'm tired of the weather
I'm tired of the same thing every day
I'm the aviator
A dream's a dream whatever they say

5 comments:

SEV said...

Incidentally, when you think about it.. given the kind of circumstances they have to work on.. if they get any leads on the bombers it would be miraculous. CCTV or not - they would be largely useless during peak hours. We've been there.
As far as the remaining security measures go - its part of the indian 'chalta hai' attitude. Ridiculous, and has been for a very long time.

Accountability and responsibilty are rare in Indian leadership. Or in India for that matter. And thats the reason all of what you mention later happens/does not happen. We're ever ready to take credit; but don't want any of the blame.

That India is even looking in the right direction is a miracle sometimes, to me.

Ashish said...

I do not know what I am supposed to feel by this...I feels like looking in the mirror and calling the relfection ugly...

It is "us", we are talking about here. The country is ours..we are responsible for it and still somehow all the positive sentiment that is present in the people vanishes as soon as they get the meagrest amount of power.

"Power corrupts, and absloute power corrupts absolutely"...someone must have seen india when this was written...

I do not see the situation getting any better unless "we" do something about it. Now this might sound very filmi but honestly, it is people who come from among us that are doing this...if they can do it wrong...we certainly can try to do it right...or support someone who is...

rakshitdoshi said...

Democracy has failed us time and again. What can the people do? What can we do? TV news channels take poll and call out verdicts of popular demands and what happens to that verdict? Who has genuinely paid attention to what the people are saying? Should India act like Iraq in times like this? YES. poll taken, job done, poll forgotten. Does the PM or the President have the balls to bomb bangladesh or pakistan down? NO. Then why have such polls? The movement against reservations was well planned and coordinated all over the country, so why not try the same way for this? But there is only so much we can do. The leaders have to take charge, responsibility and blame for the crap we go through. Especially stuff like reading such posts... :p

powerslave said...

I don't want to comment on the main post cos it gets me real pissed by the end of whatever I'm writing as a reply.

I will comment on the song thuogh. Amaazing/

abeer said...

@Powerslave- The song, by the way, isn't my own.It's by Deep Purple. Though I think you may know that, if you are Manas.