Never Will I Keep Silent

For a ten member squad to create as much mayhem as what has been done in the 60 hour war on Mumbai, it should have had an enormous local support who should have done the necessary preparation like understanding the layouts of the region, etc. What made these local Indians to support the foreign entity, hell bent on killing people? As I was debating this question in my heart, one of my friends pointed out correctly as "Fear and Insecurity". Fear and Security which grew by keeping mum.. 

Thanks to this war on Mumbai, I have realized that keeping silent does not help anyone... When Raj Thackeray was uttering nonsense, I have kept silent. When my brothers and sisters in Christ were tortured and persecuted in Orissa, this blog kept silent. But now i have realized that our differences and problems can never be solved by keeping quiet, with the hope that someday people will realize their mistakes on their own...

I thought that someday non-Muslims rejecting home for a respected Muslim will understand that they are pushing him slowly to terrorism. I thought that someday Hindus will realize the atrocities committed by draconian organizations - VHP and RSS... Someday people will realize that when the government allows riots (like what Modi did), the community affected will react back one day or later. Now I have realized that keeping Silent Never helps anyone. So expect much more frequent posts on this blog.

War on Mumbai - 2

Finally the 60 hour mayhem has come to an end. In this time of mourning for the lives that were lost in the last 3 days, we should also act to make sure that these barbaric incidents never happen. While the opposition party believes that draconic laws is the way to move forward, thankfully the ruling government disagree. But I believe that the first step is Acceptance

Acceptance that everything is not right inside this country... 

Acceptance that we are still going through the pains of integration... 

Acceptance that we are still 1000 countries living inside a single nation.. 

Acceptance that we are still divided by religion.. 

Acceptance that Muslims don't feel safe in this nation.. 

Acceptance that Christians don't feel safe in this nation.. 

Acceptance that Hindus don't feel safe in this nation.. 

Acceptance that Sikhs don't feel safe in this nation.. 

Acceptance that we committed attrocities during Partition, during Sikh riots, during the destruction of Babri Mosque, during the riots that followed, during Gujarat riots... 

Acceptance that we don't treat people of all the religions the same...

Acceptance that we showed our immaturity by electing Modi.. 

Acceptance that we mishandled the Kashmiri Problem.. 

Acceptance that first we have to understand our mistakes before we lay the blame on others... 

Acceptance that India is still going through the pains of a decision taken 60 years ago by British to bring together different kingdoms under a single nation.. 

Though I may preach the philosophy of acceptance, it doest not mean that we take a laid back approach when a foreign entity attacks us. If the Indian government is sure that the terrorists are from a foreign nation, we should never wait for a second to destroy the people who facilitated this draconic incident, no matter where they are. If it requires precise rockets to be sent inside Pakistani nation, let those rockets be sent.. If it requires Indian army to be sent inside Pakistan, let it be sent. If it requries a nuclear weapon to be used, let it be used.. 

Hope these kind of incidents never gets repeated inside the Indian soil.. (right from Kashmir to Kanyakumari)

War on Mumbai

There are days that define a nation. 9/11, Berlin Wall, etc.. Today is one of them. A Kashmiri-style Attack happening first time inside the real India.... 24-48 hour Terrorist siege - common to every Kashmiri - happening @ the financial capital of India.. 

Terrorism evolving into Urban War... A Sad Day... But also a day of opportunity to resolve this issue for once for all... Personally not knowing what to do, I look up to Government and God to save us from this New Age War. Though I know that the government is as as clueless as me - on how to react and handle this New Age War.

India - Defined By Cricket

Americans as individuals remember their history by political events. If you ask any middle aged American about the most important events of his personal life, JFK's death would be one of them. Some might even remember what they were doing when Armstrong landed on the moon...

An American's life is entangled with the political events of the nation itself. [I am sure iPod Generation will surely remember "Obama's Victory" as one of the most important events in their personal life]

But I found this feature missing in India. Rajeev Gandhi's death or Sonia declining to become PM never impacted our lives. Comparing to USA, I used to feel bad that our nation lacked these minor things. Oldies can still define their life with respect to major events of freedom struggle. But the post-independent bunch never had such great moments. But yesterday's piece by Siddhartha Vaidyanathan in Cricinfo - Losing my Religion made me to realize what I have failed to notice..

"I remember Ganguly and Dravid soaring in Taunton, mainly because it was the day I got my board-exam results. And boy, did that provide some much-needed relief. I remember Tendulkar's blitz against Australia in Bombay because my dad, who thought cricket was a waste of time, sat through every ball. So connected were these cricketers to my growing up."

Though we are separated by our religion, our language, our culture, etc. , our nation is united by Cricket. Whichever part of you may be in, we cheer when Tendulkar scores a century or Sehwag blasts the opposition into pieces. Both our nation's history and our individual history are defined by cricket. While Dhoni's team is linked with economic prosperity of the nation, our lives would be forever defined by World T20 win. If you still doubt this, try to recall a few of the important matches

• Ganguly & Dravid scoring in Taunton
• two young men - Kaif & Yuvaraj ensured a victory from the brink of a defeat
• Tendulkar's blitz @ Sharjah...

Hmm.. Cricket defined us..  And Cricket has united us.. :)