Mumbai, One Year Later…

The whole nation remembered and marked the first anniversary of 26/11 Mumbai carnage last week. 26/11 to India became equivalent to USA’s 9/11 (except for the dd/mm format). News channels across the country flashed “Lest we forget”. For once I felt if public memory is really short? Do we as a nation fail to remember these events and have given the media the responsibility to remind us?

Time again since India’s struggle for independence we saw new heroes emerge with every crisis that our country is pushed into. And we have seen so many crises that for us the latest attack on our cities becomes the one which we recall. All other previous attacks quietly find a place in the history books. So are the martyrs…

Before 26/11, it was our very own Mumbai’s 7/11 (this time mm/dd format – perhaps the media looks at its convenience or wants 11 to be constant) that shocked the nation. It was 7/11 that was equated with the 9/11 of USA… But for most of us 7/11 is almost out of our memory and I will not be surprised if another attack (God forbid) will soon push away 26/11 to a similar status as happened with a number of other cities that became victims of terror in between.

Mumbai, more than any other Indian city, has been a chronic victim of terrorism dating back to March 93. With every terror attack, we end up taking pride in the ‘Mumbai Spirit’ for the way the city resumes its normalcy.

To me ‘Mumbai Spirit’ is clichéd. Agreed, the vibrancy and energy of Mumbai are one of a kind, but does the city have another option. It has to move on. Do people have a choice? They have to move on. Somewhere over time, for us these attacks have become a part of our lives to the extent that another such attack does not really shock us anymore. We expected it. And this is what is of grave concern!!

For once let’s take pride in prevention instead of recuperation (which happens anyway).

After 9/11, the USA has not witnessed a single attack of terrorism. India on the other hand has been extremely vulnerable. Bangalore, Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmadabad, and more new cities get added to the list along with Mumbai.  This is where I think we need to look up to USA’s 9/11. Like the USA we need to stop another 9/11 instead of equating every next terror attack to 9/11.

9/11 should not be synonymous with the worst attack; it has to be synonymous with the last victory of terrorism and a new beginning to enhanced security and peace of the nation and its people.

We as a nation should not be proud of creating new martyrs; we need to ensure that the sacrifice of the existing martyrs does not go in vain. Else, with every attack we will only be adding names to the list of martyrs, only to be forgotten soon. 

This has to stop before we take martyrdom for granted before the children of our soil think twice to serve our country before our calendars end up showing only the horrific past of our nation.

How you and I can make a difference? We can play our part by being responsible citizens and co-operate with the security systems of our country. In addition to being more tolerant of people irrespective of religion, nationality, and creed, it would be right for us to stay united internally instead of dwelling or clashing over regional differences. United we need to stand to fight terror. In short, treat the nation as you would treat your home.

I strongly sense a need to think progressively, instead of looking at the past to celebrate martyrdom and display our hypocrisy. If anything we can do to make our martyrs and their families proud, we need to stop another attack. Give ourselves the secure and peaceful nation that we so deserve…