In the last 5 days, I must have felt every emotion one associates with loss. So many that it became difficult to maintain a single line of thought. Everything so intertwined that I didn't know where to start, what to say, where to end.
Then I read Priya's post: My Colaba - No More
Priya is someone I "met" via tweeter during the 3 days of the Bombay seige watching her tweet info about what she saw/heard that many were just "Re-tweeting" her. I then participated with her on the Heather Gold show where I was pretty much blabbering while she was so composed and mature.
A closer look at her blog told me that she was only 21 years old, yet so mature and measured in everything she said.
21 is an age when we head out bravely to experience the world in the best way we can. An age when we feel invincible, on the verge of achieving every dream, many of them mutually exclusive, but at that age, we don't care. I can't explain what she has gone through, you have to read it yourself but I can tell you that it helped me narrow down to that one dominant feeling that I wasn't able to grasp.
I am an average guy, I don't think I have it in me to fight a rotten system that has been feeding us shit. But I want to kick that feeling out of my own rotten system. I find it hard to digest that young people like Priya had to experience what they did. They don't deserve the shit that is a result of our indifference and inaction, whether its in Colaba, Bandra, Dadar, Andheri, Borivali, Virar, Ghatkopar, Mulund, Thane, Kalyan or Ulhasnagar. I am not in India and I can't stop a terrorist attack or change the system single-handedly, but I have a voice and I can speak out.
Today I feel defiant. I don't know yet what I will do or how or if I have the legs to sustain this attitude, but I will give it my best shot. And I pray for the strength.
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12 comments:
Thank you for the kind words, but must I say you made some brilliant point.
We have a voice and we might as well be exercising it.
One step at a time , it will all have to be one step at a time.
:) You make me a proud of being an Indian
Thanks friend, till that time people like you all are alive, India is not going to die. Sorry to be late to react on this topic. Like you I also live aboard at present, was well aware of last incidents, but unable to visit your blog last days.
Many opinions were already expressed, so I’ll not repeat them, but will like to attract attention towards some other points:
Who are terrorists? Why we still divided and ruled by others? It’s not a question to Indians only, like to ask same question to Pakistani, Afghani, Iraqi or everyone where terrorists are active. We say easily in India, it’s a Hindu- Muslim problem. But what is in Pakistan or Afghanistan or Iraq? It’s easy for us to give religious colour and close eyes. If we go through evolution we all are relatives by blood, today killing own blood relatives in name of religion. These languages boarder are created by people. I’ll not go to far, start from my home. I strongly believe we should first light in our homes. Does this terrorists entered in India through Muslims? If India in majority is Hindu, obviously proportionally Hindus are more in power & government services, where they were?
My friends, terrorists have no religion, traitors have no religion, some work for money, some for not understanding the clear massages given by religious books, some for some revenge etc. No religion is bad, it’s we are bad, hiding sometimes on the back of religion, sometimes behind arguments we are weak etc.
We learned to write or read, got some degrees or earned some money or get some arms, start to believe we are intelligent or powerful etc. I feel shame, we are learned fools. Some are dividing and ruling, if we will not understand it’ll continue for centuries. We not learned a lesson from two centuries slavery & division.
I’ll like to ask TERRORIST or EXTRIMIST brothers (no matter which religion they follow, what language they speak), OK you are killing others, doing great job. If another will go and kill your family what you’ll feel? Or these millions together will start throw stones at once at you, will you win with your arms? Two last world wars or Afghanistan or Iraq not give any lesson. Many are dying with hunger, you are really doing great job killing others for fun. Do you happy? Do you sleep and feel safe? If killing gives you pleasure, try once to help those who are around you with same money which you investing in this arms and tell yourself honestly, which give you more happiness.
From the previous post, "My friends, terrorists have no religion, traitors have no religion, some work for money, some for not understanding the clear messages given by religious books, some for some revenge etc. No religion is bad, it’s we are bad, hiding sometimes on the back of religion, sometimes behind arguments we are weak etc."
This is the standard line spouted in movies, textbooks, television and by vote-hungry politicians. This has been repeated so often that the immediate impulse is to assume it is true and not examine religion as a possible motivation at all.
Islamic terrorists derive their primary motivation from islam and the quran. The 'clear message' in the quran is for islam to dominate the world and for muslims to dominate non-muslims.
From this article, "The third systemic failure is the refusal of the Indian government to recognise that Islamist terror is an existential threat whose perpetrators will be satisfied with nothing less than the death of India as we know it"...
TCP, I stand with you.
I have never been to Mumbai, don't know anyone there, but the anger is real.
I haven't been following twitter, just the news on the net.
But India is better than this, and I hope and pray that this moment is the catalyst for things to come. Not outmoded and outdated blame-game politics, but dynamic, preventionist deterrence. No religious agendas or passive secularism but strong, proactive humanism.
And all the more power to people like Priya, whose strength and courage fill us with hope and pride again.
High time for action now..unless its too late.
Dear Friend, The Ghost Who Browses!
You are true, these words and feeling behind it are lost, because of dual standards of people who say it.
But white is white, black is black. I’m not a politician. We should stop all these people either they are TERRORISTS or EXTRIMIST or DIRTY POLITICIANS. We should try to control present situation & find out a long time solution.
We should try to convince everyone first with love (sometimes it takes too much time), but as a STRONG COUNTRY. When a strong person say such words its called politeness, either none is going to listen to us.
Everyone can cooperate in this purpose fulfilling their responsibility honestly, everyone, every age group. Do we are fulfilling? We don’t have courage to stop corrupt politicians with less blood than present, we are just blaming each other. My question and appeal are not only to Indians, but to all neighbors & other citizens of the world. It is time slightly change ourselves. If we stop new born criminals or new politicians in early stage, we would have fewer problems in future. We encouraged them by keeping silence, sometimes there are our relatives, sometimes they are friends, sometimes we say time would change these lost young generation & so on.
We should first stop bullets. But if we stop one who is behind in real, we all can live in peace & harmony for long time or forever. These terrorists are bullets, may be guns are our neighbors, but snappers are far. We are fighting and blaming each other. We are being used by someone, would we understand it one day or not?
I want to say if Hindus were hired for 9/11, does it mean that others have right to say all Hindus were terrorists or were helping terrorists? Does it give anyone rights to start bombing India? Question is that how these so called religious terrorists were borne, from where they got such finance. Persons, who have no money to feed their families, are travelling & using modern weapons. Yesterday someone other home was burning, today our home. Tomorrow could be rests. We should stop this fire to expand now. But should think and find real & long time solutions. If start at least today, in few days or years find real solution, or always after fire will cry & forget till next incidents. Who are these persons who are playing with us? Are they big in numbers than we? WE ARE STILL DIVIDED, SO OTHERS ARE RULING US. SOMETIMES IN FACE OF SO CALLED FRIENDS, SOMETIMES AS OPEN ENEMY. WE SHOULD TAKE CARE OF OURSELF. OR IT WILL CONTINUE AS fascism or Islamism or any form. It always was & would be easy to manipulate people in name of God or GREAT IDEA.
P.S. We should not forget these incidents, take lessons now, otherwise it'll really late. If there will no other ways left for peace, as Krishna told in Gita, I’ll take arms in hand to defend my home, my country. But till last second, will try to find a real peaceful solution. My pain is not less than anyone’s who lost their family members, because it’s my country, it’s my home. I’m proud to be Indian.
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The Ghost who Browses says Islamic terrorists derive their primary motivation from islam and the quran. The 'clear message' in the quran is for islam to dominate the world and for muslims to dominate non-muslims.
Dear Ghost who browses i wish to ask you few questions about the statement you made.
Did you read Quran in whole before passing such confirmatory judgment about the sayings of Quran..!!
Can you refer the chapter or any of words of Quran in support of your statement which directly or indirectly support any such thought.!!
My friend lets not pass any such statement based on unchecked sources.
Quran never ever instructs to dominate anybody,it only instructs to live in peace and to let other live also.
The terminology of 'Jihad' is misinterpreted at most of the times.Prophet Mohd. has told very clearly that the true meaning of 'Jihad' is to overcome/control one self only,which is very much similar to the self introspection,rather than to react violently which is wrongly understood as the meaning of 'Jihad' most of times.
The enemies of peace and Islam most of the times give example of few lines of Quran,which instructs to fight and combat,without understanding the meaning of those lines and without relating them with the prevailing conditions of those time when those verses were revealed.
The lines of Quran which instructs to fight purely says and means to fight only in self defense with those only who intend to attack/kill you.
Fighting in self defense is a right which every law and religion grants,isn't it.
Regarding the growing no. of violent incidents behind which person bearing Muslim names are responsible has nothing to do with true sayings of Islam and Quranic verses.The terror which is being spread in the name of islam is only a cover to justify these evil deeds.
Any kind of terrorism breeds and nourishes where the thoughts and life is exploited and suppressed enmass,this is the basic cause of inflations of terrorism mushrooms,which has to be checked and healed in order to uproot the terror tree,rather than just clearing of few stems of terror tree.
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Thanks
@priya: Thx.
@Prabhat: The answer to most of your questions would be a big YES :-(
@The Ghost Who Browses: One cannot separate religion from what is happening but that can't be the only perspective to look at it from. I am no expert in religion but if Islam inspires violence, it also has kept 150 million Muslims peaceful. Now if your point is that all 150 are violent in their heads, I have no response to that. It's like that scene from the movie "Shool" - "Man me has ke dikha?"
@Sketchy Self: We are better than this, but we have also shown ourselves worse than this. I believe we are all insane, at the root. Most of us manage to control our "episodes" partly helped by society that sets guidelines, and partly by expressing it when no one is looking.
@Vin: I think we have collectively forgotten to respect the other person's space. And some have taken it much further to put it mildly. I read on a blog - "Your right to swing ends where my nose begins" I add to that, "If you don't believe what I just said, look around, the blood is yours". Violence does not mean strength in the same way that tolerance does not mean weakness.
@hasan: One man's offence is another man's self-defence. With so many different interpretations and lack of education, it does not surprise me that people get manipulated.
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