Who are terrorists?

"Amma, Who are terrorists?" was a question asked by my 6 year old daughter as I was following the TV channel coverages on that fateful 26th November...I wasn't sure how to answer her question...I just told her they are bad people ...like the bad monsters she comes across in those 'HeMan' series on Cartoon channels...And I am not sure if she understood it or not...for I thought she is too young to understand it...

It could have been you. It could have been me. We were fortunate. We are alive. But
hundreds of other victims – our people - who died last week, weren’t as lucky. They were at the wrong place at the wrong time…. and paid with their lives. Mumbai received a body blow from which it may take years and years to recover. Just as 9\11 changed the lives of millions of New Yorkers, 26\11 will remain etched on our consciousness – a tragic reminder of Mumbai’s exposed flanks and extreme vulnerability.

Collectively we’re grappling with the ineffectiveness of the system and what was presented to us as information. Politicians, soulless and emotionless, were addressing the country while reading off of Teleprompters. Can you not feel anything? Can you say nothing to make us feel just a little more secure in your hands? Poorly conducted “press conferences” announcing the death and casualty toll for foreigners with the speaker unable to successfully read a list from a sheet of paper, confusing Austria for Australia and generally making us look like illiterate idiots to a global audience. It left me embarrassed and struggling to find pride in our government.

Our abysmal failure to secure Mumbai does not need any further amplification. Questions that may remain unanswered revolve around the puzzling time lapses that cost precious lives. Why was the army not called in much earlier, why the delay in getting the Marcos and the NSG into action? Forget intelligence failure that could not intercept an attack of such a magnitude – for hours and hours after the first burst of gunfire, our cops and firemen appeared totally confused and ill prepared – as if they were waiting for a go ahead from some ‘higher authority’ (who? ). Bureaucratic tangles may have paralysed some of our dynamic and brilliant police officers, unable to move without those dratted ‘clearances’ , possibly from a sleepy Delhi. Why not more autonomy for our top cops?Viewers watched in horror, as the poor constables attempted to do their best, armed with lathis!! The terrorists on the other hand were armed to the teeth with the world’s most advanced weapons. How can a megapolis of this size, with its unique topography, hope to cope with a terror operation of this scale and sophistication? Despite the odds being stacked so heavily against our men, they bravely battled on and decimated our enemies to cries of , ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai.’ Mumbai itself shone through the tragedy, as average Mumbaikars rallied around brilliantly, expressing solidarity, compassion and a splendid display of maturity via emails, smes, phone calls and visits to affected families. Mumbai stood together as one entity. This in itself is nothing short of a feat…..a miracle.
The ordeal may be over…. but not the battle. Faces of all those who died, must be remembered. No forgetting, no forgiving this time. The time for that is over. Stay together. Stay angry. May the force be with us as we start to heal. Once again.