Mumbai: Let's not let the madness divide us

The Mumbai terror attacks have unleashed a wave of anger across India today. And rightly so. It makes my blood boil just thinking of the casualty with which our politicians have brushed aside the enormity of the attacks, just as they brushed intelligence warnings of the same. Sitting here in Germany, I can feel every bit of anguish and fury that is being felt millions of miles away back home. But what is most important at this time is that we learn to direct this anger and this fury at the right enemy. While the politicians and the terrorists are being rightly served with the choicest of abuses, what we have to be more careful is that this anger is not directed at the enemy that these very politicians and terrorists want us to have. The thousands of Indian Muslims, who will definitely bear the brunt of this attack. We need to ensure that at this time, we try to keep our vision clear throught the haze of anger, and maintain a united front in this time of terror.

I just watched We the People on NDTV's website, and I was appalled to hear the comments of madame Simi Garewal, dressed as usual in spotless white and flawless make-up, showering platitudes all over the audience. I thought it was just the disillusionment and anger talking when she urged all Mumbaikars not to pay their taxes (so that she can evade taxes with a clean conscience and buy herself some more white gowns) and when she said we should bring Pakistan to book by carpet bombing military training camps and declaring war. First of all, its not that simple... war and violence has never solved and will never solve anything. But then she goes on to say that slum dwellers in Mumbai have been waving the flags of Pakistan over their doors. That was really the limit. Maybe it's not her fault. It could have been just the limited view offered from far above in the the air conditioned environs of the Four Seasons Hotel (which is where she looked down upon the slums in the first place, and where she suggested NDTV to take its cameras to capture the sight). Or more likely, she's just plain dumb, because the crescent and the star features not only on the Pakistan flag, but on any Islamic flag, which would naturally be displayed at any dargah. These words flow so easily out of Simi's overly made-up mouth in her finely accented english. Has she ever deigned to step out her luxury car and walk into the slums to see where the people's loyalties really lie?

Does she even realise what terrible repercussions this kind of thinking can have? What is she trying to imply? That slum dwellers in Mumbai support Pakistan? Forget cross-border war with Pakistan, this sort of mentality could set in motion an even more disastrous communal war in Mumbai that could have worse, more far reaching consequences. And yet it was not Simi, but the young man who raised his voice in angry protest who had to apologise for his words. Pakistan's involvement in the attacks and India's action against it is one other thing. But what we as Indians need to strive for is to keep alive the very elements that make our country so great... its diversity and the ability to co-exist with so many religions and cultures. And not let class, caste, or religion divide us.


(P.S: My opinion of Barkha Dutt and the insider stories I have heard of her were only strengthened by her obvious bossiness and self-obsession in not only the show, but also the entire coverage of the attacks. If this is journalism, then I am truly ashamed to be a part of it.)