Mumbai Spirit

Normalcy should not lead to complacency. Vigilance is the need of the hour on the part of the average citizen and especially the law enforcement agencies. Vigilance, however, should not degenerate into making mass arrests on sheer suspicion and assumption of guilt by association. There has been speculation about the identity of the culprits. SIMI appears to be the prime suspect with the help of certain terrorist groups enjoying Pakistan’s support. The investigating agencies should expeditiously hunt down these killers by effectively utilising every legal provision including POTA.

But there is one insuperable difficulty. We are assured by reputed Bangalore based astrologer Gayatri Devi Vasudev that ‘‘Mars has a major role in activating violence, terrorist activities and/or militancy’’. Another astrologer Phani Kumar, blames the terrorist attack on the celestial alignment of Mars with the Earth. I read and re-read the Constitution, carefully examined POTA but could not found any provision which could be invoked to restrain an extra-terrestrial force like Mars from activating terrorism.

Our Constitution makes it a fundamental duty of every citizen to develop the scientific temper. But who dare describe astrology as unscientific when it has been officially blessed as a science. Apparently we need astrologers and star gazers rather than lawyers, judges and law enforcement officials to tackle terrorism.

Attack on UN

The terrorist attack on the UN Headquarters in Baghdad was a senseless crime against the United Nations itself. The mission of the UN in Baghdad is to help the people of Iraq to regain their sovereignty and independence under leaders of their own choosing.

The killing of the head of the Mission, the UN envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello is an unspeakable tragedy. It is reported that a group close to Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network has claimed responsibility for the attack. The warped mentality of this group failed to realise that their heinous act would in no way benefit the people of Iraq. Indeed it was a crime against the Iraqi people.

Secretary General Kofi Annan has given an assurance that the UN will not be deterred and will go on doing whatever it can to help build a better future for the Iraqi people. His message will not have any credibility unless US dominance in Iraq is lessened and international effort under UN mandate is heightened.

Philosophers

I always had a penchant for philosophy. I vividly remember the animated discussions with the great Father Dukr of St. Xaviers College, Bombay, about St. Thomas Aquinas’ proofs for the existence of God and why a supposedly Omnipotent and Benevolent Creator would permit saints to suffer and sinners to prosper in this world.

Left to myself I would have taken philosophy as my subject for BA Honours. However, well-meaning relatives and friends, including the late Cooverji Bhabha, Commerce Minister in the first interim government, were perplexed why ‘‘Soli baba’’ wanted to take an impractical subject like philosophy rather than economics which would be very useful for getting on in life. Some suspected, without any basis, that Jesuit influence was at play. Ultimately utilitarian considerations prevailed and I chose for economics.

As I was recently passing by Trinity College of Music in London I came across a notice ‘‘Philosophers wanted’’. Underneath the notice there was an interesting inscription which read: ‘‘There has never been a greater need for practical philosophers. The course draws on philosophies from the East and the West, provides a refreshing approach to the trials and troubles of the age in which we live. It examines fundamental questions about human potential, the power of consciousness, the control of the soul and mind, the removal of stress and tension, leading to complete happiness’’.

This was followed by a quote from Socrates ‘‘The unexamined life is not worth living’’. I was enormously pleased that in the present age of computer science and rapidly developing information technology, practical philosophers are not unwanted. Going down memory lane I realised with a lump in my throat that I had made a wrong choice of the subject. And that has made all the difference.