Did we deserve it?
29/11, 2015
That's 3 days since the 7th anniversary of 26/11/2008. Those 60 hours in Mumbai that shook the whole country. The iconic Taj Hotel, the elegant Oberoi and the Nariman Point which were the major places under siege by the terrorists, were handled by the NSG, Mumbai Police and the Indian army. They came to India with an aim of killing over 2000 people and were successful in killing around 170 innocents. The country faced loss not just in terms of buildings death of civilians, it also witnessed the deaths of many brave and valiant officers of all departments of defense.
I am not writing this article here to mention any statistics or numbers. I am writing this article to introspect, judge and understand our position. Today, we stand here. 8 years since the dreadful incident. How far have we come, as a society, as a country? Do we stand in a position where we can say that no country dare attack and kill the innocent, hardworking citizens of this country? I am not here to criticize or commend any political party either. I am just stating the conditions of the position we stand at right now.
2015 has been a year of controversies in India. From beef ban to a man being killed on the rumor of having eaten beef to a famous celebrity suggesting that India has become intolerant, the year has passed with the media having one or the other thing to broadcast and gain their TRPs. The question is what is the level of congruence of the images that the people see and the actual situation. We are in a society where the public is obsessed about the 15 celebrities in some stupid house, fighting over petty issues and creating drama over trivial reasons. The audience enjoys the fact that a mentally challenged man is used as a laughing stock and a tool to get money. No one cares about the martyr who was killed in a terrorist attack at the border. The public is busy changing its Facebook display picture, ignorant of the fact that the same country for which they are being empathetic, has successfully eliminated the cause of disturbance and fear among its citizens. In our country, the attacker is given a royal treatment and when he is beaten up or thrashed, Human Rights comes up, because the people who lost their lives did not deserve to live, but their slaughterer does. While the city stinks with garbage and one of the largest lakes of the city is now the largest gutter, the government of the state is busy celebrating the birthday of a former king with flamboyance. While issues of getting the hostages in Iraq and Syria home, are under question, we have great authors of the country returning the awards they received and calling the majority of the population as the internal Taliban. The victim of a mob lynching is given crores of rupees as compensation by various political parties, whereas the family of the brave soldier, who died protecting these very people, from the militants get 200,000. The youth is busy trying to win on the social media with likes on their photos and imitating movie stars, while their parents are busy adulating "Sharmaji ka Beta". The older generation, with power, is looking for money for generations to come and doesn't care about the very public that is funding their luxurious trips abroad and filling their bank accounts with millions. There are hundreds and thousands of people who are dying of hunger and poverty and we are concerned about the statements of various movie stars regarding their dating life. We are living in a country where film stars and cultural representatives are raising political issues, while the Chief Minister of Delhi is giving a review about the latest movie in town.
All I had in mind before I posted this was this question. Do we deserve the protection and the security that the hard working and efficient Indian Army is providing us with? Protecting us from threats from 4 neighbouring countries on land, air and water 24x7. Along with that, the Indian army is the first to provide help in any kind of natural calamity, while the governments sleep and snore in the parliament. Hundreds of soldiers die every year in various parts of the country. Nobody, the MPs, MLAs, the media, cares. They are barely provided with any kind of high quality supplies. Most of the allotted money is hogged along its way to the Army account and they get bits and pieces of ammunition and protection, which they have to use against high quality weapons of the opposition. Still, the Indian Defense is one of the largest and most powerful defenses in the world. They are the toughest set of people in this country and they deserve respect and adulation for their sacrifice for the people of this country, who sometimes, are not even worth it.
That's 3 days since the 7th anniversary of 26/11/2008. Those 60 hours in Mumbai that shook the whole country. The iconic Taj Hotel, the elegant Oberoi and the Nariman Point which were the major places under siege by the terrorists, were handled by the NSG, Mumbai Police and the Indian army. They came to India with an aim of killing over 2000 people and were successful in killing around 170 innocents. The country faced loss not just in terms of buildings death of civilians, it also witnessed the deaths of many brave and valiant officers of all departments of defense.
I am not writing this article here to mention any statistics or numbers. I am writing this article to introspect, judge and understand our position. Today, we stand here. 8 years since the dreadful incident. How far have we come, as a society, as a country? Do we stand in a position where we can say that no country dare attack and kill the innocent, hardworking citizens of this country? I am not here to criticize or commend any political party either. I am just stating the conditions of the position we stand at right now.
2015 has been a year of controversies in India. From beef ban to a man being killed on the rumor of having eaten beef to a famous celebrity suggesting that India has become intolerant, the year has passed with the media having one or the other thing to broadcast and gain their TRPs. The question is what is the level of congruence of the images that the people see and the actual situation. We are in a society where the public is obsessed about the 15 celebrities in some stupid house, fighting over petty issues and creating drama over trivial reasons. The audience enjoys the fact that a mentally challenged man is used as a laughing stock and a tool to get money. No one cares about the martyr who was killed in a terrorist attack at the border. The public is busy changing its Facebook display picture, ignorant of the fact that the same country for which they are being empathetic, has successfully eliminated the cause of disturbance and fear among its citizens. In our country, the attacker is given a royal treatment and when he is beaten up or thrashed, Human Rights comes up, because the people who lost their lives did not deserve to live, but their slaughterer does. While the city stinks with garbage and one of the largest lakes of the city is now the largest gutter, the government of the state is busy celebrating the birthday of a former king with flamboyance. While issues of getting the hostages in Iraq and Syria home, are under question, we have great authors of the country returning the awards they received and calling the majority of the population as the internal Taliban. The victim of a mob lynching is given crores of rupees as compensation by various political parties, whereas the family of the brave soldier, who died protecting these very people, from the militants get 200,000. The youth is busy trying to win on the social media with likes on their photos and imitating movie stars, while their parents are busy adulating "Sharmaji ka Beta". The older generation, with power, is looking for money for generations to come and doesn't care about the very public that is funding their luxurious trips abroad and filling their bank accounts with millions. There are hundreds and thousands of people who are dying of hunger and poverty and we are concerned about the statements of various movie stars regarding their dating life. We are living in a country where film stars and cultural representatives are raising political issues, while the Chief Minister of Delhi is giving a review about the latest movie in town.
All I had in mind before I posted this was this question. Do we deserve the protection and the security that the hard working and efficient Indian Army is providing us with? Protecting us from threats from 4 neighbouring countries on land, air and water 24x7. Along with that, the Indian army is the first to provide help in any kind of natural calamity, while the governments sleep and snore in the parliament. Hundreds of soldiers die every year in various parts of the country. Nobody, the MPs, MLAs, the media, cares. They are barely provided with any kind of high quality supplies. Most of the allotted money is hogged along its way to the Army account and they get bits and pieces of ammunition and protection, which they have to use against high quality weapons of the opposition. Still, the Indian Defense is one of the largest and most powerful defenses in the world. They are the toughest set of people in this country and they deserve respect and adulation for their sacrifice for the people of this country, who sometimes, are not even worth it.
This is really an appreciable job of you writing this post Prateek.Because, this includes so many sensitive issues to speak about,and I too agree with what all you expressed through writing. Keep doing ��
ReplyDeleteThanks, Maithili!
DeleteBeautifully written.
ReplyDeleteYou've covered a lot of things in a very compact manner, that makes it very crisp and thought provoking.
Good job buddy... These are the issues that willingly or unwillingly we all are part of... Thought provoking... Yet as usual we'll read this and forget...#averageindiancitizen
ReplyDeleteSecond that. We read, ponder and forget. In the race of survival, we often forget that our contribution plays a major role in the development and deterioration of this country!
ReplyDeleteWell written. :)
ReplyDeleteJai Bharath matha
Thanks!
DeleteMisguided priorities everywhere...... Most of the times, we are responsible for what we get - from our politicians, from the media....
ReplyDeleteThought-provoking post....
Thank you!
DeleteWell said. Priorities are misguided everywhere these days. The media shows us what we find entertaining, indirectly making it our fault that thing are going haywire in the Mass-Com.