Here we go again; first 26/11 and now 13/7. There is Congress rule in Maharashtra,so who can criticise the law and order situation? Mumbaikars will have to fall back on their famed ability to cope with adversity without any help from the authorities. Obama was quicker with his offer of help.
Alas,the reality is that Pakistan can quasi-officially mount these atrocities as the whole saga of Headley and Rana proved in a Chicago court. On the Indian side,the effectiveness in fighting these actions is still weak. We know from the numerous CBI attempts to apprehend foreign conspirators that when push comes to shove,the CBI would have papers out of date,the culprit will escape and the MEA will end up writing strong notes to foreign governments who will promptly put them in the bin where they rightfully belong.
Why is the Indian State so soft? Why is the Indian government so concerned with settling internal political disputesCongress versus the BJPthan really facing up to the enemy? After 26/11,we all said that the elites obsession with its own Z security should be relaxed to release resources for the citizens of India. But that is too much to hope for in a lal batti feudal democracy. All protection to the powers that be but not for the ordinary citizens. They can die and not even have the satisfaction that their leaders did all they could for their safety.
Nothing seems to have improved since 26/11. How many more must die before the Indian State comes to its senses that people matter more than political scruples? When the 26/11 blasts started,the one worry the government had was to avoid anti-Muslim riots in Mumbai. But the citizens of Mumbai have shown good sense. They know who is Indian and who is the enemy. The Headley/Rana trial has given ample evidence of who runs these terrorist atrocities. The Americans know what is the reality. Why does India behave as if naming the culprit requires a Ph.D in forensic science?
With 26/11,there was an element of surprise. There can be no such excuse now. India has had ample notice. Nothing has been done to learn any lesson from the fact that Headley had a free run of the country,and no agency in India spotted him till the Americans nabbed him. Somebody should have resigned for this,but then hundreds dying is not an issue since no vote bank is affected by this.
This will happen again. Some Lashkar or jihad group primed by Pakistani money (sad to say) thanks to American dollars will attack India again. Our local leaders will worry that it should not lead to communal tension and then forget about the whole thing since there are no votes in Pakistani atrocities. Even more than the nuances of the Lok Pal Bill (which will be diluted and rendered ineffective anyway by the political class) the primary duty of the State is to protect its citizens,afford them a sense of security against terrorist attacks.
In the meantime,there will be a lot of grand standing. Indian citizens may as well get private security than rely on their government since the latter does not care for them except at election times. Public security like public schools fail to do the job when needed. No surprise there.
