This first anniversary of 26/11, the country gets together to remember those martyred in the cross-fire of mindless violence stemming from the outlandish belief of some to be blessed with APSARAS in the 'other' world. Among placards of 'Enough is Enough', once again, we responded with saintly restraint. One year and 166 lives later, candlelight vigils and a profound show of solidarity across the vastness of India is heart touching. To say the least, 26/11 was a watershed event in establishing new telecasting ethics. Sad that it took a 26/11 to up the country's internal security apparatus, sad that it always takes a disaster for our hedonistic babus to realise that something needs to be done. But as one of our former PM put it, 'Not taking a decision is also a decision.' How blessed we are ! An anti-India stance is the glue that forms the very basis of existence of our western neighbour, a country which itself is paradoxically caught in an unprecedented struggle to contain the home-grown Frankenstein that it nurtured for so long - that's what led to the recent assassination of one of its former PM - among other, less well known fiascos.
I remember the moment when i first heard the news on radio, asked my roomies to switch channels to get the latest on the breaking news. It reminded me of 9/11, when i was in Bombay and got the unbelievable breaking news in a cyber-cafe. Anyhow, glued to the telly, we saw the grandiose Taj in flames, with no fire brigade in sight. When it did turn up, i felt that the water hose needed a dose of Viagra to contain the billowing smoke and spreading fire. The woefully inadequate emergency infrastructure was on world display, beamed live to millions worldwide. In the absence of jammers, brainwashed terrorists chatted freely to their spiteful masters on satellite phones, who guided them by the tellyvision images comming in. The following two days, the story unfolded painfully slowly amid headlines of 'Cops Caught Napping' and the like. A British tourist recalled on BBC 4 how he was paralysed waist-down when trying to flee his 3rd floor hotel room using a 'rope' made of bedsheets and curtains tied together. He and his girlfriend (who was also in the room) both survived to tell the tale. Many others were less fortunate as the terrorists went on a room-to-room shooting spree. The shameless comments from some of our politicians that belittled the blitz added fuel to the inferno. How cheap is the life of a non-VIP in India ? Is there anything remotely like 'national pride' or will we continue to squabble like the princely states did before the days of the Raj ? Advantage China. If the pathetically low voter turnout in Bombay in the following general elections is anything to go by, we still swear by the chalta hai attitude that has rotted the system. Where did all those people disappear who vehemently voiced their anger following 26/11 ? Were they hired from a bollywood set ?
India had a range of responses to choose from, from deploying Indian troops along Afghanistan's Eastern (and Pakistan's western border) to a speedy execution of Ajmal Qasab among others. But as the dust settled and the tears dried, our (spineless) elected leaders began a game of shuttlecock diplomacy with Pakistan, exchanging dossiers upon dossiers, becoming the world's laughing stock. Semantic exculpatory such as 'Non-State Actors' became a catchphrase floated by 26/11 architects grappling for lame excuses in their defence. Meanwhile, toothpastes, perfumes, biryani and urdu newspapers were served to keep Qasab happy in his cell.
Imagine this in Israel or Soviet Russia. Their robust Mossads and KGBs with a nut-cracking reputation for notoriety - shape events, not leave their countries to endure consequences. It will be great if music maestro Zubin Mehta be allowed to play the music of peace in PoK. Lessons have been learnt the very hard way. Steps have been taken to set up logistical hardware and infrastructure to tackle similar future threats - steps both in public domain and covert. Spy satellites, costal police stations, rapid response NSG hubs, reduced response times, hi-tech intelligence gathering and sharing, gizmos for the state police boys, improved coordination between agencies and major policy changes to name a few. But nothing will ever be enough because this is cold war on a sliding scale much like between drugs and bugs. Post 26/11, India Inc. has become a fortress in many ways, but not an OTT xenophobic alarmist state. Foreigners still can't catch exotic butterflies in the beautiful Arunachal without special permission. From a bird's eyeview, 26/11 has made India a lot stronger than ever before, logistically, materially and in the collective psyche. Even as the full ramifications of events leading up to the carnage continue to emerge to this day, 26/11 certainly set the tone for India's threat perception and response preparedness in the 21st century, in which it inevitably will have a major stake. The nation still awaits a sense of closure of justice.
