Blasts : A routine in India

Blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad ! We are bleeding, we are suffering !

Twice in as many days and all the states / metros in India were under surveillance, security put on high alert. We have been unfortunate to face this echelon of brutality and extremity of cowardice coming out through inhuman attacks on hospitals.

The things that annoy the most, are the predictability of patterns of these incidents as well as their smooth execution following well-thought out planning. Blasts happen, people die, ministers condemn, Police / Intelligence trace the suspects – come out with possible motives behind blasts and possible reasons behind intelligence faux pas (which is simply lethargy in reacting to alerts, caution) and acronyms like HUJI, SIMI or whatever, neighboring areas’ security gets beefed up, one week passes on while we add a page to the history books which nobody is going to afterwards ….. by the way, there are a few variables in this storyline – names of ‘Casualties’, names of ‘injured’, names of cities ….. Who cares ?

All of you who are now deriding the government/security, lamenting the lack of political will and fragile security measures – tell me honestly, Haven’t you been one of those involved in complaining about long security check queues at the airports/railway stations or even at your own offices/colleges ? Don’t you ever get irritated when security persons ask you to display your identities ? Aren’t you one of those who talk at length about custom check that takes multiple hours at the JFK while lambasting the ‘lazy and tardy’ security process at Chhatrapati Shivaji international airport ? Don’t you ever pass through cantonments or toll-booths without paying the toll ? Don’t you ever take advantage of your relatives/friends at the helm of security ?

Now, sample this – many of the waarkaris (devotees) to Pandharpur had to stand in queues for more than 24 hours, many of them had undergone security checks that lasted for nothing less than half an hour ….. all of this, after some 15 days walk barefoot and to put cherry on the cake, I would not be exaggerating if I say that all these activities were carried out with a smile, with a gratitude …. Wow, devotion is great !

Spare me for waywardness of my thoughts but I would take another focus liberty out here (I really hope it’s not diversion by any means). I have started asking myself a few questions ….. Are we degree holders really educated ? [Disclaimer : this conclusion has been drawn over possession of widespread knowledge that citizens of India staying in metros are more ‘educated’ compared to their small-town counterparts]. Do Indian degrees (I am not much aware of educational standards outside India, though I know you must consider yourself lucky to have an Indian degree) impart the education and culture they are supposed to ? We metro residents, being the most educated society in this country, are supposed to be most aware of the lot that understands we don’t have a technologically superior system in place, we don’t have good ground level laws out here for we are still a young nation. We are soft targets. Can we hereon ask ourselves and our children to care for the society and be more tolerant ?

Coming back to the original discussion, there are a few positives that have come from these blasts which show that we are learning, we are growing, albeit a bit slow ! I would like you all to know them :- 1. This fight has been unanimously identified as our fight, India’s fight against the terror 2. As usual, there has been a flow of sympathy and help towards the affected. It is heartening to see people, even the most disgruntled ones providing helping hands to the victims, volunteering in hospitals 3. People have taken initiatives and come out to lend resources towards rehabilitation of those affected (all this, without much help from governments) …. I really wonder when shall these people outnumber those who regard Independence day or Poll day as a mere holiday .....