The right answers

Nothing is more human than the search for answers. Demanding answers is why newspapers such as this one exist; you hold it in your hand right now because you are seeking answers. At times of crisis, when we are fearful, we need to be told what happened, why it happened — so that we can judge for ourselves that it will not happen again. What happened in Mumbai forces precisely this response from us: a demand to know, and to know now.

But we must learn to be patient. This attack represents a significant innovation in terror, something that helps explain some — not all — of its shock value. Understanding what that innovation means and portends is first on our minds, but what we don’t need is speculation. The director-general of the Maharashtra police, A.N. Roy, made it clear in response to repeated questions that he wasn’t prepared to hazard guesses. This is precisely what we need. A distracted, disturbed nation can only be harmed by poor information. We need confidence in our leaders and in our investigative agencies now more than ever. That confidence cannot be built up if, in response to our jangling anxiety, our leaders speak hurriedly and without allowing time for all the facts to percolate up to them. Let us also remember that the Mumbai police have lost some of their leaders, some of their best and brightest. To expect them to be operating at peak investigative efficiency immediately would, of course, not be asking too much; but it should be expected to make them cautious about untenable “leaks”.

This is not to say that questions should not, and will not, be asked. This newspaper will be asking them. But India as a nation must be prepared for some time before it has the answers it demands; no number of inane questions from television anchors can change that. The prime minister has promised that the system investigating terrorism will be streamlined. The citizens that elected him now expect the law to take its course, without loopholes or short-cuts.