the comma called Bombay

First of all, the reason I wasn't blogging for a while was that I did not have anything to share. I actually started my job (no biggie), changed the city(no biggie), changed apartment (again, no biggie), went to relatives for Thanks giving (again)...

But then happened the stuff in Bombay (Mumbai for younger generations). 3 days, and the intervening nights like most other Indians I was glued to either TV, Laptop, or phone (while traveling) to get updates about the latest news. I was kinda sure that I won't have immediate relations involved (that was wrong), but the sheer fact that we were being killed was obviously a grim feeling. It was a feeling of helplessness, where we couldn't do anything but just sit and wait for this to get over, leaving us scarred forever.

Time magazine says that Indians shrug off a bomb blast like mosquitoes. Sad but true. 200 odd people were killed. sad but true. People from foreign land could come in and roam our cities in hijacked police vans, and fire on Indians. Sad but true. A normal Indian just walking on the road then would have his leg and arm ripped off. Sad but true...

But when Chidambaram says Indian security apparatus was faulty, that's inexcusable.
When BJP starts election campaign on it, that's inexcusable. When police arrives 30 minutes after the first bomb blast in Cama Hospital (Here), that's inexcusable.
When Deputy Chief Minister R.R. Patil says that this is a small thing, that's inexcusable.

The list will go on, and we will keep bleeding. After all, the status of Indian administration comes from Indian society, far too busy in earning their bread and if lucky, enjoying their movies, coffee at baristas, eating at Taj, or where ever. Most of the families I know have at least one of their relatives somewhere abroad. I meet some of my bangalore classmates in buses here in the US!. Many of my classmates(including me) are somewhere in US on 'Onsite' earning dollars, converting them to rupees, buying swanky houses, skodas, BMWs, fords (wrong company in current financial scenario).

One of my friends was kinda surprised when she learnt that I was very upset about Bombay. She asked me if I had someone related in that attack. I didn't know what to say. Do I only care about blood relations in India? Was every Indian Gandhi's/Bhagat Singh's relative? But most of us are that aloof from the area that exists beyond our offices and nearest malls. And unless a bomb blast or a gun shot happens next to our doors, we will always be listening to 'comfortably numb' (because we are) on our ipods, watching movies, and going on holidays on election days

A callous resignation. I guess that's the best way most of us can be described. If we can get away with a 100 rupee 'tip' to the traffic cop, we would (who wants to go to court). We all are fine with the world as long as we get our cup of coffee/beer and get to buy the cars we want.

What's wrong!!!! are we a bunch of random entities forced in to a box called India, when we'd rather be away from each other? Isn't there a value system that the whole nation could adhere to? are we all that cannibalistic?

We cannot stop foreign countries from hating us. We cannot stop a global recession. We cannot stop international politics against us. We can however work towards a collective response on it. We can create a social structure where locals don't help in such acts. We can create an environment where our state institutions work efficiently. Nehru in his book dreams of an India as great as it was in history where free thought, without any prejudice prevailed all over the country. Tagore mentioned the same in his work ('Where the head is held high...' remember?)

Just to clarify, I am not here to ramble on about the problems from a far away land. I have a bunch of action points too on it. This post has become far too long for that... I will put the problem from my perspective, and possible solutions, in my humble opinion, on it.

A bleeding fellow Indian.