War is not an option

People have been expressing their anger about the incidents of Bombay on 26/11. We must be careful when we consider our options. War is always bad. Mumbaikars including people from all walks of life have been making radical suggestions which find a lot of active and dormant supporters across the nation. But we must not forget our military capability. We have still been following a model where we compensate the lack of sophisticated weaponry by number of men. This is not good. Count the number of American lives lost in combat after world war II, and compare it with what we saw in Kargill. Its very convenient to give in to an instinct of revenge, or express a strong passion, but we must know the cost that we pay for this are innocent human lives, whether Indian or Pakistani. We do not have any right to commit our or our fellow men's lives to a cause which has alternate options available as well. War should be the last option and not the first. Ask any mother or a family that has sent its son to the borders. A paltry salary and canteen facilities are no compensation which give us a right to join a crowd at Mumbai sea face and ask for a war. For during the war, what the majority will do will be to sip a cup of tea in winter mornings & ENJOY (!!!!!??????@#$@) the footage from the frontier. This is sick. No celebrity or any one has any right to demand a war. We must weigh all other options before we go to war.

Harness the ANGER

Events of last week have shaken all of us Indians. But it has also thrown up many pertinent questions:

• This is not the first time that an Indian City has been under attack. Why are the reactions visibly more impassioned now? Many more lives have been lost to Naxalite & Maoists perpetrated violence in Bihar, MP & Andhra. Even struggles have been longer lasting and lives of more people have been lost in many other situations, but why do we not recall any of those events? Current event has happened at a place and involves such people who have a voice that has to be heard.
• If this showdown had happened at a downmarket locality, would we have reacted the same way? We have little evidence of such empathy shown in the past. Even when Ahmedabad, Delhi or Jaipur was witnessing blasts, the people who matter in the system were "deeply shocked", but still partying. They were "disappointed" with politicians, but not really "angry".
• Unni's father has reacted as any father would. A family suffering a loss can be spared the agony of sniffer dogs routine, and uninvited guests are anyway called gate crashers.
• Politicians of all hue have been guffawing all over the place, because they have cultivated contempt for the masses. Politics just like Civil services has become the refuge of middle and lower middle classes. The class rift is a reality. Politicians feel talking of the interests of the masses means debasing a life style that is distant and alien. Comments regarding suit & lipstick reveal the rotten mindset. However, we must not miss the point that this uncouth politician was trying to make. He was saying that just a handful of protestors who are conscious enough to put their best attire at all times, are not really the voice of India. They should not assume unanimity of their criticism of politics and politicians.
• Perhaps the affluent mumbaikers need to assume a role of higher responsibility, just as they have reaped the benefits of commercial success. Will we witness a 100% voter turnout in the next election, at least in the upmarket localities which have always recorded a very low voting.