Mumbai Mayhem

I was talking to a friend of mine the day after the pandemonium in Mumbai...For one who is staying so far away from home, to be so frustrated and pissed off should be an eye opener to all of us here in India. Here is what he had to say about the whole thing, in an email to all of our friends.....I couldn't have put it in a better way.

Hi Guys,

I am the last person to initiate mails like this, but I guess I have reached a saturation point too.

What happened in Mumbai, was barbaric, gruesome, etc etc. Feel free to insert whatever adjectives you want to use here. All of them have been heard before at some point in time. Once again a group claims responsibility, once again our politicians will play the blame game, and after a month or so, it is up to resilient Indians to pick themselves up, because face it, we are stronger than this right?

Stop me if you have heard this before.

Once again we claim to have evidence of foul play, as we have had after every blast so far. If there is evidence of foul play, then act on it for heaven's sake. I mean come on...how many times are we going to wave classified information in people's faces, but never actually reveal it, or act on it. How many times do we need to refresh the same scenario before it actually hits home?

I hate George Bush, hate his policies and many other things. But even I find it harder and harder to criticize him on National security. For all his faults, as insanely screwed up his policies are(Iraq, Iran), he kept this country safe. It makes me sick to think how many attacks we have to go through before our politicians just get together on this issue. It started out in Mumbai 2 years ago, played visiting circus in Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Delhi, etc, and we have come full circle again to Mumbai. How many mini 9/11s, or for that matter 26/11s, do we have to face before our politicians clean up their act? Six hours to mobilize the NSG? Are you fucking kidding me?

My faith in politics was lost after the Ahmedabad blasts, when we had the leader of one party blaming the government for carrying out blasts to distract attention from a voting scam. Where else would you find a government getting blamed for bomb blasts, instead of banding together to fight the menace? Is the very thought of political harmony for a common cause so alien a concept for them? Are they really that self-centered? As far as politicians go, that was my breaking point, and I find it difficult to trust any politician anymore.

But just this once, I hope they don't drop the ball. They owe it to us not to. They can go back to their corruption, bribery, bitching after they sort this out, and I will never ever raise a finger at them again. This is above petty politics such as faith and religion...it is national. It is against the country, not the religions that make up the country. One would have to think whether the same thing could have happened if our politicians weren't so busy trying to outdo each other over shitty stuff.

I honestly don't know what I plan to achieve through this, other than vent my frustrations. If this gets forwarded enough, I just hope it eventually reaches someone related to anyone at all with the power to do something about this. Probably someone's uncle, relative, family friend...someone connected with politics, media, etc. I know this sounds hollow and stupid, but it beats sitting helpless. We all seem to be getting good at just sitting around feeling helpless without actually venturing to do anything about it. I have a sister working in India. Every time there is a blast anywhere, I can't help but feel that she is never more than a hand's length away from hurt. So yes, this is personal too. I am usually the first person to disregard emails like this, but even I feel compelled to just say something. Please guys, pass this around. I can only hope that it eventually strikes home somewhere.

WAKE THE F*** UP!!!