Now that the whole world is talking about Mumabi terrorist attack where more than 200 people were killed: Pakistan is in sharp focus. The needle of suspicion on Pakistan is stronger when CIA says that the suspects came from Karachi via sea route. Come what may, India will shout loudly about pakistan’s role, Pakistan is already deflecting those charges: in the end India will sit down quietly. This is nothing new.

Well, moreover this attack has exposed India’s security lapse. The western media is discussing the sensitive and timely warnings given to Indians by CIA about the possible attacks. Fox News reports: “Of greater concern for India was the apparent failure to act on multiple warnings ahead of the Mumbai attacks, which Indian navy chief Sureesh Mehta called “a systemic failure.”
India’s foreign intelligence agency also had warnings as recently as September that Pakistan-based terrorists were plotting attacks on Mumbai, according to a government intelligence official familiar with the matter.”
Shamefully enough, when Indians commandos arrived in Hotel Taj and other hotels, their maps regarding the locations were not exact, whereas we hear that the terrorists had exact details of the place.
The government- a pack of non-efficient , unpatriotic ,corrupt and selfish politicians – has let us down again and again.

If you can not defend your own home-turf and boundaries: outsiders or by-standers will start giving you unsolicited advice! That is the case with my India which has just been humiliated by another terrorist attack.

On CNN, Campell Brown today asked Mr. Fareed Zakaria and another expert and both nodded that appointing an Observer for Kashmir would be a good idea ( as one may be aware, Obama -the President -elect had came up with this novel idea) and now we see Zakaria welcoming it! For what? I am dismayed that a person who has his roots in India- implying that he at least understands the Kashmir issue in depth- is sailing in the flow instead of trying to rationalize the issue!
This is also a lesson for India that if you can not act with diplomatic maturity, people (read other nations) will jump into the fray and come our with their own theories and solutions!

Another issue that has come into sharp focus after this Mumbai 2008 attack is the preparedness and readiness to face such emergencies. CNN today reveals that CIA had warned India almost a month back that sea route may be used to cause another terrorist attack in Mumbai. And foreign press is not mincing words how we dealt with this attack: the extra slowness with which commandos and army was summoned, that NSG was not even present in Mumbai, it had to be called from Delhi, and that once they landed in Mumbai, they were taken to the scene by local city buses (BEST service).
The world seems to buying the idea at least this time Pakistan’s role in these attacks on Indian land. The American media is even contemplating whether India will strike back? People across the world have taken a grim view of these attacks and Pakistan will have difficulty in deflecting the attention from this ‘accusation’!

Back home , heads are rolling. The inept Home Minister -Shiv Raj Patil- has resigned (made to resign, actually). His parameter for success as a Minister- had been how pleased his boss- Ms Sonia Gandhi – had been ! He had openly stated this in last few weeks. This is the work -ethics in our politics in India. It may be remembered that Shiv Raj Patil is one of those politicians who are well edcuated and have some substance. But it seems that Mr. Patil has lost his shine over last many years.

There are indications that the current US Defence Secretary- Robert Gates of the Bush Administration- has agreed to continue to hold the portfolio in the Obama’s Administration (Obama is to be inaugurated as the next US President in January 2009). It is a good decision and testifies Obama’s willingness to embrace bipartisan politics to further the good cause of nation- building.

The jehadi terrorism has hit India in its belly! Not for the first time though! I have no hesitation in saying that many 9/11s have happened in India. Is someone hearing! A nation who is not prepared to secure its own home and territories is bound to meet misery time and again. Do not look at my observation as hostile to our nationhood , but this is what has been happening to us as far as terrorist activities are concerned. I distinctly remember what happened after attack on our Parliament in 2001. Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee – the Prime Minister at that time- had declared that we would not spare the culprits. Nothing happend ! Hardly 3 months ago, Indian Embassy at Kabul (Afganistan) was attacked by the unidentified terrorists: CIA and Indian intelligence have come out with a conclusion that Pakistan had a link to this event. Instead what India is doing is that we continue to play cricket with our neighbor, trains will continue! What else can India do. What is our preparedness to combat terrorism: at best it is just reactionary and episodic as The Wall Street Journal observed. So true!

So what is our future? Does India not have a resolve to show that it can contain terrorism on its soil?

Mumbai has been rocked by terrorist attacks again on November 26, 2008 and this has received international attention. CNN reports:

” In a brazen series of coordinated attacks, gunmen struck 10 sites Wednesday night across India’s financial hub, killing scores of people and taking hostages in two luxury hotels frequented by Westerners, officials said.

Mumbai police spokesman Satish Katsa put the death toll at 87 and another 185 wounded, with nine of the attackers killed.

More than six hours after the attacks, fighting was still reported in the Taj Mahal Hotel, the Hotel Oberoi and Colaba Market, site of a number of restaurants, he said.

Bhushan Gagrani, a spokesman for Maharashtra, said no one had claimed responsibility for the attacks.

But several Indian news outlets reported receiving e-mails from a group calling itself the Deccan Mujahedeen that took responsibility for the attacks. CNN was not able to verify the reports.”

So India continues to bleed! The situation has crossed all the limits and national patience but for the lack of apathy and unwillingness on part of our political class to see the reality. Where is our Home Minister of the nation! Does he still have the audacity to say -as he said last time- that as long as Sonia Gandhi is happy with her , his job is safe! The whole political establishment becomes busy in analyzing the events as per their political beliefs and political lines! The common public has no choice but to watch the whole situation in a helpless manner.

Will we as a nation ever try to takes this terrorism seriously? Have we become so indifferent to the lives being lost or are we just mute spectators who can just hope for politicians to wake up to the expectation!

The Prime Minister Shri Manmohan Singh suggested the attacks were launched by people from outside the country. Okey, may be. May be it is our ‘bete noir’ Pakistan again. But how long shall we continue to vomit these rhetorics! Who is allowing them to get into our boundaries! Why are we allowing buses, trains across the border if our PM has a suggestion that “that were launched by people from outside the country!” Is there no accountability in what our political leadership says?

It is very clear that India has continued to act as a soft state and has not developed a comprehensive system to combat terrorism. One 9/11 in USA meant that they took their lesson as a nation and have not let it happen to them again. India on the contrary has not shown any such resolve to tackle the issue. instead what we see is that whenever such an incidence happens, the political class and the media gets into flurries of debates as to what is the nature of this terrorism: some will say that it is Islamic terrorism, others will vehemently oppose it. is there any doubt left that it is not Jihadi terrorism carried out by terrorists who vouch for an ideology that is Islam! It is a matter of anguish that a secular India continues to set different parameters for its citizens based upon the elements of religion and caste. So impregnated our vision becomes with these underlying currents that sometime the whole nation loses the prospective when analyzing issues like terrorism.

I was surprised to read in a news -item this phrase: ” The president-elect (Obama ) plans to announce Geithner’s appointment in Chicago on Monday, barring an unforeseen snag in a background check that is nearly complete…….”.

Consider this scenario in India: Our Prime-minister wants to appoint a current MP or an individual to one of the cabinet positions and that lady or gentleman is asked to consent for a background check (supposing a well-organized system for back-ground check is already in place, which of course is not threre as we know!), probably the hell will break loose! That is simply against the political culture in our country!
Ironically, we do not have a well-developed system to identify a person in India. Despite the great needs of that (to curb illegal immigration for example), the beaurocratic machinery or the political establishment has been sleeping over this issue! For the sake of identity, various options are allowed: voter ID card, PAN number, ration -card and so forth. That means there is always a chance to let the things slip through!

Prime Minister -Manmohan Singh- has won the vote of confidence in Parliament today (July 22, 08). At what expense: horse-trading, paralysis of functioning democracy, focus of whole nation on useless debates by the spineless MPs and people rejoicing or feeling sad on political lines not minding that it is their own tax money that the government spends even when it is not functioning!
A black day for Indian democracy! The whole electoral system needs reforms so that we get rid of corrupt and self-centered politicians.