The politicians and bureaucrats who run the central and state governments in India must hang their heads in shame after Wednesday’s terrorist outrage that hit Mumbai. This time it wasn’t anonymous bombers who killed and injured innocent civilians; the terrorists targeted citizens openly with machine-guns and grenades, causing panic and immense casualties.
While it is no one’s case that every citizen can be protected against wanton attacks by motivated, but demented, individuals, what is unpardonable is the lackadaisical way in which governments in Delhi and the states have been tackling the menace.
We have seen blast after blast killing ordinary civilians by the hundreds over the last few years, but nobody seems to have a clue about how these threats can be minimised. The investigations have been shoddy, and the police have done little more than anger one community or the other by random arrests and harassment without getting to the real masterminds.
After so many years of disaster, the least the government at the centre could have done was put in place an effective system of intelligence to prevent at least some of the massacres. But no. All we have seen is a nauseating blame game, with the opposition parties blaming the government and the government throwing its hands up in despair. We have also seen government and opposition make stupid arguments on who is tougher on terror; we have seen politicians trying to justify one kind of terror or the other; we have seen policemen and investigators merrily leaking half-truths and misleading information on the people arrested. What we have not seen is effective action to head off future attacks or solid detective work after a carnage.
It is high time everybody started doing his duty. The government must put in place an effective intelligence mechanism and give the police more equipment and powers to deal with the challenges. Politicians need to abandon short-term vote-mongering and put the country’s interests above everything else. At the end of the day, it does not matter whether the UPA or the NDA or a Third Front comes to power after the next elections. There will be no India left for any of them to rule if they continue to behave the way they have done so far.
Published on Thursday in the Daily News & Analysis, Mumbai
‘We are surviving on our mini-bars’
A guest trapped inside his room at the plush Oberoi hotel calls the Daily News & Analysis on his cellphone —
2pm local time, Thursday: Srijeet Tagore is in his room on the 24th floor of the Trident (Oberoi) hotel. He spoke to Joanna Lobo:
”Everything happened yesterday at around 9pm. My colleague and I were having dinner when we heard the first grenade blasts. After that everything went haywire. We went up to our rooms, mine is on the 24th floor and my colleague’s on the 31st.
”We decided it’s safer to remain in our rooms. My room is sea-facing so I do not know what is going on outside. We have no contact with anyone else in the hotel.
”The firing was constant and went on for most of the night. I was watching television, but soon lost the signal. I think they cut it off so that the terrorists would not know what is happening outside.
”Now, we have no idea what is going on outside. The elevators have been inoperative from last night and we cannot step out of our rooms. I have locked and double-locked the door and pulled down the blinds.
”I advised my colleague to do the same. I am very worried about him, as he is a US citizen. We are surviving on what is available in our mini-bars. I guess we can go on for another couple of days with what we have in our rooms.
”The phones are not working, but we can call each other on the intercom. I call up my colleague every hour. We have not been contacted by any rescue officials or the police.
”My cellphone is my only link to the outside world. My family is in Europe, but I called and told them I am safe. Some time ago too there was sporadic firing and a few explosions went off. Every time the explosions go off the entire building shakes.”