My heart goes out to Mumbai

The last 72 hours have been very hard, sorrowful & very painful. This is not because I am a Mumbaikar, born & brought up in Mumbai, but this is the feeling of every Indian today & all well wishers of Indians. This incident was not less than a war which are armes forces waged against the terrorist.

Hundreds of innocent lives have been lost including those of foreigners. Many others have been injured & thousands of people have seen the terrible & horrified terror in front of them & these scars will haunt them & take a long time to heal.

What was the mistake of these people to have been at the spot of the incidents?
Mumbai is called as the city that never sleeps. Mumbai has the reputation of bouncing back after all such previous attacks - 1993 riots or the train blasts or the heavy flloding in the July of 2006. But this time is very different. I wonder how long will it take for Mumbai to emerge out of this & lead a normal life again.

Where were our so called Politicians when the gun-fires were going on between the Armed forces & the Terrorist?
The Maharashtra Home Minister said a short while ago that "such incidents happen in cities"

Are the politicians not totally out of Sync with the feelings of the local man? Do they understand the ground realities?
People say that our Leaders are not strong enough & do not have the leadership qualities. I say, it is we the people who are at fault for not choosing the right people to be at the healm of affairs.
In a democracy the power lies in our hands.

After every incident we put the blame on Pakistan & on the otherside we our having Peace talks with them. Can we not stop this nonsense?
Do we not have the courage to cut all Diplomatic ties with them?
Yes, some will say that by "talking" we will find some solution - we have been trying to do this for the last so many years.

On the other hand what did George Bush say today?
We will do all that we can to support India in this hour of need. We are all united against terrorism. Terror will not have the last word - Again just words.
Can he order his forces to bomb out the Terrorist locations inside Pakistan? Can he impose sanctions on Pakistan to ensure that they act according to their words?

Pakistan has condemned the incidents & promised all support to India - as always.
They have to understand that the roots of terrorism have to be thrown out, otherwise, they will also face similiar situations time and again as in the recent past - you reap as you sow.

All religions must come out united in this hour & ensure that peace is maintained & that no untoward incidents are incited by elements who would like to take mileage of this situation.
The terrorists who created havoc in Mumbai were all Muslims, but we have to understand that all Muslims are not like them. We have to ensure that peace is maintained & that we do not see our Muslim brothers & sisters with an eye of suspicion. We have to be sure that the incidents of 1993 are not repeated.

Those horrified events of 1993 are still so fresh in my minds that the very mention of them sends a chill through me.
No religion teaches to kill. These terrorists have no religion at all. In the name of God they lure youngsters who have no jobs & convince them God wants them to engage in a "Holy war - Jihad". The young lads are also offered tons of money which they could never earn even if they were to toil day in & day out for the rest of their lives. All this induces them to act as human bombs & carry such acts on innocent lives.

Lastly, lets all arise together - young & old and show to these elements that we are united in this hour of need & nothing can let us down. We can all become commandoes who will remian vigilant at all times.
We also need to flush out the corrupt Politician from the system & this can only happen when we all participate in the Voting Process and exercise our right to vote (rather than using the holiday for an outing with the family).
We can & we will.