Blog@GraceJunction

The entire nation (and in fact a few more nations) is still ranting and raving because of the despicable carnage that it was forced to watch helplessly (which need not have been relayed live to this extent in the first place) and breathlessly even as a few (no one knows for sure how many) perverse and fanatic young men held a host of our army and other security men on their toes and positions for about 60 hours needlessly killing hundreds of men, women and children of diverse religion and race in the due course and damaging property worth millions and much worse, denting the image and morale of this allegedly glorious nation (glorious perhaps only by its own definition and that definition too perhaps acceptable only to not the whole of itself)! A mask, the nation, at least at the socio-political level, is inwilling to put off! Let me show you the masks associated with the Mumbai event!

Even as theories and assumptions are afloat about the logistics, magnitude, and mode of this sacrilege and the people behind it, instead of clearing up the picture, the government and its agencies are only trying to cloud the picture and thus thwart a clear conclusion to emanate maybe for their own selfish interests. There is no clarity on the number of people dead (allegedly more than 300), the number of terrorists involved (allegedly more than 10), and surely no unambiguousness about how exactly these brainwashed agents of death executed this ghastly act. Haven’t selfish interests and cover ups brought us thus far? Will we ever learn? When will we drop our masks of glory and impeccability?

These militant young men, who purportedly did this to revenge similar acts on their fellowmen in the near past, revealed their intention perhaps only by what they accomplished - spread terror and fear and partially paralyse the life of the nation. However, reports say, that they expected to excape even after all this and therefore had a ship waiting for them in the high seas. An over confidence brewing most probably from the sloppiness and corruption in our own system and in fact, were they also not mocking the Indian state machinery by their audacity. They assumed that we will be caught unawares or won’t act as fast as we did, though I opine that it was not clean. Well, that is surely the picture that we portray through our regular functioning! Moreover they had brought in on the eventful day, maybe even before that, explosives that could remove traces and evidence of their act and identity. So despite the fact that they bothered not to move around without masks either because they were sure of an escape or because they came to ‘kill and die’ but then, they surely had the intent to mask the entire operation.

The media, which has all kinds of masks in its kitty, played its role for good or bad by relaying the entire incident live to the nation, and also to the world and to the master minds of this attack! Everyone got continuous updates of what was happening at every stage, including perhaps the terrorists, who were sitting inside five star hotels which were equipped with facilities for the same and more. One of the channels even supposedly got through to a terrorist and telecast the interview! I wonder who called whom and how did they have the numbers. I mean, did the terrorists come with guns, grenades and the contact number of the media house or its journalist! The sincerity with which the female journalist was interviewing this instant celebrity was astonishing. Negotiating with the malevolent ones- ones who has sold their souls to revenge, hatred and death in the hope and promise of getting a paradise as recompense!! The media is getting a lot done but a lot undone too. Their many masks are imperceptible to the untrained eye.

Last but not the least, the common man in every city of India, especially in the Western zone is trying to move around with a mask that seems to downplay the incident, as if it could happen only in Mumbai and nowhere else. This mask seems to convey that everything will be fine soon. We are resilient and will bounce back with a vengeance. Perhaps we could have but not at a time when the entire global economy is reeling and India is beginning to feel the pinch of the downturn. Moreover there is a tint of innocence on some of these masks pleading ignorance to the reason behind such a drastic measure by young men from another nation! Why would they leave their nation and come here to die? Just for the heck of it? Are we not responsible for asking for it, in one sense! And then some of the masks are also hiding hidden agendas for a strike back. There is a talk of a military initiative against Pakistan! Will it not just repeat a Mumbai in Karachi and Lahore and Islamabad, with only the names and faces different?

I think its time we face the reality as it is. The Bible says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” This sin has displayed its potential more so in the last century than ever before. We can only hope to negotiate and work things out, or at the most force the perpetrators into silence, but will that close the deal. Let’s take off every mask and approach the One who alone can help us. More such incidents are only waiting to happen. Perhaps young men are even now in flats and hotels and streets of various cities of our nation, moving around with such or more grievous plans, undetectable to anyone. God save us.

Tags: AK-47, ATS, blasts, grenades, Karkare, Mumbai, NSG, revenge, terror, terrorists

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 7th, 2008 at 2:38 pm and is filed under Accidents, Geo, Politics, Purpose of Life, Relationships, Religions, Society, Stress, Thoughts, Trends, Troubles & Problems, War, Weapons, Youth Issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.