[Reader-list] Reg: Set - 9

[Rakesh Iyer]

Article Theme: Terror in India and Pakistan (and in this article, the
attitude)

Source: Outlook

Link:

Date: Dec. 15, 2008

Article Content:

Opinion
Bombay, Duck
The PLUs now know they're no longer safe. That's a beginning....
 Ajith Pillai<http://www.outlookindia.com/peoplefnl.aspx?pid=4011&author=Ajith+Pillai>


The tragedy of the rich always fascinates, compels and consumes us. Our
empathy levels peak, emotions are taken over, all of it often manifesting in
outrage. The terror attack on south Mumbai, which targeted the rich and
powerful, did exactly that. Hysterical prescriptions were soon offered on
TV—the PM should quit, so must the home minister, the national security
advisor, the Maharashtra chief minister and so on. Short of suggesting that
Manmohan Singh should personally frisk guests at the Taj and Oberoi,
everything else has been prescribed. One angry gent on the tube even had
this advice for the state—clear the city of slums, particularly the one next
to Mumbai airport because that's where the insane people who shoot down
aircraft hide. In fact, in the last week the city's plus and page 3 celebs
were in competition, offering up quickfix solutions, one more drastic than
the other.

And it all might be justified. After all, the Taj and Oberoi, where captains
of industry and Mumbai's who's who meet, had been hit. Two hotels where mega
conferences are held and mega deals inked. The targeting of these two
hotspots of India's commercial capital sent out an ominous message: no one,
not even the rich and famous, is safe in Mumbai.

For sure, the outcry would have been far more tempered if Ajanta Tourist
Home in a suburb like, say, Bhayandar had been attacked. Or if the
terrorists had trained their AKs on a lunch home in Moradabad, UP. In fact,
even as the TV channels captured the live action at the Taj and the Oberoi,
a few kilometres away at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly VT
station) over 70 people were killed and scores injured by terrorist bullets.
But this tragedy was a mere blip on a radar dominated by the two five-star
hotels and Nariman House, occupied by Jewish families.

Why did the Jaipur serial blasts which killed 66 or the Jodhpur temple
stampede (toll 150) this year not arouse the same level of public outrage?
Perhaps the victims—the aam admi—did not make for impressive case studies.
It was the PLTs (people like them), not the PLUs that had lost their lives.
Of course, one presumes the trauma of those who lost their dear ones in the
Pink City was as heart-rending as those who found friends and relatives
gunned down at the Taj.

Very clearly, class matters. Just as a train accident in Bihar would be
routine bad luck while a plane crash would be a major tragedy. The death
toll doesn't matter. The victims' profile does. Why, even in death hierarchy
rules: the cameras followed ATS chief Hemant Karkare's funeral, but what of
the six constables who laid down their lives? Unfortunately, their place is
in our long list of unsung heroes.

After the Mumbai attack, there's now an overwhelming sense that ill luck can
fall on even sensible tax-paying citizens (which has shocked many out of
their stupor). After all, any upscale Mumbaikar worth his Bombay Duck would
have dined at least once at the Taj or Oberoi. And who does not have a story
of scoring hash in Colaba's bylanes or slugging beer at Leopold?

Now it's the places the PLUs know and frequent that were targets. And that
angered them no end. Which in itself is not without a major positive. For
the first time in Indian history, the Union home minister and his
Maharashtra counterpart were forced to accept moral responsibility and put
in their papers. No riot or serial blast has so far caused heads to roll at
the very top—not even once. It happened now because Mumbai's elite came out
strongly against the tardy establishment—and their views found resonance
nation-wide.

Could the attack have been foiled? Why intelligence (a difficult commodity
to come by and assimilate) alerts were not acted upon will be debated for
long. For it's a fact that after every terror strike, the IB and RAW are
quick to reveal how their warnings were ignored. This time, though, the
introspection seems to be a tad serious. There is talk of revamping the
intelligence apparatus so there is effective coordination between the
various agencies. The NSG, which played a key role in freeing the hostages,
is also being beefed up with additional equipment and manpower. The
government claims it is keen to act.

At the end of the day, "citizen power" prevailed. The terror strike drove
home a cruel truth though: driving a Merc or sipping Blue Label at the
Harbour Bar doesn't offer anyone immunity. One only hopes that upper-crust
Mumbaikars show the same level of activism and commitment when it comes to
aam admi issues like sadak, bijli and paani.