26 November

Today is 26th November. A date which Mumbai will never forget. Exactly 1 year back on this same date Terrorists attacked Mumbai and killed hundreds of innocent people. City was shaken. It was not only an attack on its people but was also on its vulnerability, its alertness, its security, its pride and its soul. The entire nation stood still and watched the drama which lasted for about three days. Police force lost its brave officers. Security forces sacrificed their brave heroes. Politicians didn't do anything. Who were at real loss? The people who lost their family members in this Blood-shed. Nothing will ever fill the void created in their lives by the loss of the martyrs who lost their lives in the 26 November episode.

My blood boiled when I read a couple of news items in the papers in last few days. One news was that JJ Hospital morgue can not withstand the stench of the deadbodies of the nine terrorists who got killed during the terrorist attack after 26-November-2008. Can you believe that? It has been a year and still the rotten corpses of those satans are still kept preserved in India. What do we want to prove? Their own country is not ready to even provide them land for their burial for which they claimed they were doing their Jihad. And after their clear refusal of accepting these dead-bodies also we are waiting for what? These carcasses should be immediately disposed off. But who cares?

Second news which made me angry was that there is a video game which is being sold largely and is being played by lot of Mumbaikars.
This video game is on 26-November-2008 attack. Don't we have conscience? It is a shame to earn money on such a concept. It is some kind of joke? some kind of fun?what do the game makers want to convey through creation of such a game? They are greed-blind but what about Mumbaikars who purchase such games and watch their children play such game or play it themselves? Rescue operation, shooting of gun, killing people - what does all these things in such a game give you or your child? Entertainment or Sadistic pleasure? I simply hated the idea of this game.

Third thing which irate and irritate me is the treatment given to Ajmal Amir Kasab by our government and legal system. Lakhs (now it must have summed to more than a crore) of rupees is being spent on the security of this man. Sorry, I used the wrong word. An evil like Kasab can not be called a man. He is worse than an animal. He had killed so many innocent people (he was from the duo who killed maximum people by firing indiscriminately at CST, Kama hospital and than on the road in south Mumbai also killing our heroic ATS chief and other brave police officers) and yet after a year he is alive and is being protected by our government and legal system. Such a heinous criminal shall be hanged in the middle of the road among people and shall be allowed to be killed in the most horrible manner by the public. That would not only set an example for the world but also would be seen as an effective step towards curbing the evil of terrorism.

There were numerous other stories of people whose lives were completely changed or shattered by 26 November incident. There was a 25 year old guy who got killed in Colaba near his own home. The picture of his sad mother holding her beloved young son's photo frame who had never hurted anybody in his life and was always ready to help others made the corners of my eyes wet. Major Sandip Unnikrishnan was the only son to his parents who gave his life fighting with the terrorists. The sentiments his parents might be feeling when they miss their brave martyr son makes me cry. There was a lady whose partial body got paralyzed and then there are some children who are now orphans.


These and such hundred other stories make me feel a potpourri of emotions. I feel pity, grief, anger, helpless, sad all at the same time.

When our netas will stop playing dirty politics and stop cribbing about completely non-important and trivial issues like deciding to build a statue worth millions of rupees in the middle of the sea or slapping an MLA for taking oath in Hindi or by forcing the vendors to put Sign boards in Marathi?

God, please give good sense to all of us and please make this city a better place for living...

Mumbai Terror Attacks...When would I see the World Without Terrorism...???

Yesterday(On 28-Nov-2008, Friday) evening I was going to Churchgate, after my office hours, to read the news at Aakashwani(All India Radio).It was just 06:30 PM but due to winter being on it's way, it was dark and the street was almost empty. I felt like asif it was midnight. All the shops were shut. The city which is always on the run had come to a sudden halt and for the first time in my life I experienced fear while walking on the street. The fear of terrorists, the fear of sudden firing, the fear of unexpected sudden fatal attack...Since last two nights and two days they have made my city worse than hell. They have killed more than 100 and injured more than 300 innocent people of my city. They have succeeded in creating panic and grief among all of us.The entire nation is watching this drama. The whole world is condemning this ghastly and inhuman act. They are just 15 (or even less than that) but they have stirred the entire country. They came to Mumbai by sea route Wednesday night(26-Nov-2008) and dispersed in groups of two to three and started firing indiscriminately at various places liked Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Cama Hospital, Nariman Bhavan and many others. Some of them entered two top-Indian 5 star hotels - Taj and Oberoi (Trident). They have made hundreds of people captive and have already killed more than 100 for no reason. They are constantly firing bullets through state-of-the-art machine guns like AK47 as if playing with the toy and using hand grenades and other destructive weapons they have not only destructed valuable properties but also put a shameful blot on the capital hub of India - Mumbai.They have killed many foreign nationals also.They have killed a person who gave them water to drink.They have killed ATS (Anti Terrorist Squad) head and a few other top police men. They have killed businessmen and commmonmen. NSG Commandos had to be called to fight with them and to save lives of the captives they had held in two hotels and Nariman Bhavan building. An NSG commando and many hotel staff-members have lost their lives in the battle with these terrorists. There were lot many people waiting outside the hotels and the building terrorists had used for their mission.

I can write pages and pages of this episode and talk about fragile security system and corrupted political system and all that but I would not talk about all that any more.

Today morning, a courier person came to my home for delivering a mail. Usually my mother or sisters offer water to the postman or courier guys even without them asking for the same. But today my sister took the mail from the courier fellow from closed door only and when he asked for some water, she latched the door and came inside to get the water. This small example shows how terrorism and similar things affects us.It scares us. It makes us not put faith in fellow humanbeing.It destructs the bond between two humanbeings.

Why they do this? Don't they have heart? What would they finally achieve by creating a kingdom of terror? I remember the beautiful prayer song from the movie '1947:earth':

ईश्वर अल्लाह तेरे जहाँ मे नफ़रत क्यू है जंग है क्यू?
तेरा दिल तो इतना बड़ा है इंसान का दिल तंग है क्यू?

कदम कदम पर सरहद क्यू है? सारी ज़मीन जो तेरी है
सूरज के पहरे धरती है फिर क्यू इतनी अंधेरी है
इस दुनियया के दामन पर इंसान के लहू का रंग है क्यू

गूँज रही है कितनी चीखे प्यार की बाते कौन सुने
तूट रहे है कितने सपने इनके टुकड़े कौन चुने
दिल के दरवाज़ो पर ताले तालो पर है ज़ंग ये क्यू

I really wonder at times why humans have this vice called Greed? They want to conquer the world. They want the religion they are following to be accepted by all. They want to rule the earth. But consider the entire universe. How infinitesimally small we are. And afterall without God's wish does even a Leaf can turn? Then why this destruction? Why this bloodbath? Why this war?

Can't we simply live as Human beings? Without any labels of religion? Without any boundaries? Without any greed-ill wish? Just as a Human...

When would I see the world without terrorism? A world where peace and humanity prevails...