...to kill a 100 and to injure another 200.
...to realise again that human life is not valuable anymore.
...to understand that terror can strike anytime, anywhere!
The terrorist attacks that took place yesterday once again proves that life isn't safe and secure as it used to be and terror today is not faceless.
At 22:10 p.m. we got an sms from a friend informing us about the alleged 'round of firing' at CST. We immediately switched on to news channels and saw police personnels scattered around the terminus and people walking here and there with their hands held up. Nothing was clear. At least not what lay in store for this beautiful city. Then information started pouring in about terrorist attacks in the Taj and Oberoi hotels. There were also reports of attack at Leopold Cafe. Every passing moment brought in more negative news. It was certain that a horde of terrorists had already made their presence felt in the city. As the country moved towards dawn, the more than 100 year old Taj was burning at it's dome. The Taj, the very structure that symbolises Mumbai stood there burning, with a good number of her guests trapped inside and a few taken hostage by the terrorists. So was the situation in the Oberoi Trident. The attack was so well planned that the police must have had a tough time analysing the situation as they were happening simultaneously at different places. CST, Leopold Cafe, Taj, Oberoi Trident, Vile Parle and Nariman House. And thanks to the Indian Government, the police were at least armed with outdated weapons as against the latest AK-47 that were in possession of the terrorists. It was sad to see the police force marching towards the target, most of them unarmed and without bulletproof jackets to shield them from the attack. It looked like the city had bathed in blood while several news channels flashed their 'exclusive footage', not respecting dignity of death of a human being.
And then came the moment of terrible loss. The death of ATS Chief Hemant Karkare, Encounter Specialist Vijay Salaskar and ACP Ashok Kamte It just took a few moments to extinguish these flames. A big loss for the people of this country. We are proud of you. You will always remain our heroes. As I type this, my mind races back to the image of a brave Hemant Karkare getting ready to confront those cowards who were targetting innocent lives to satiate their hunger for more blood. Minutes later a news flash - ATS Chief Hemant Karkare killed in the encounter.
Vijay Salaskar
Hemant Karkare
The police, the fire department, the NSG commandos, the army, the navy commandos and the common man are doing a great job to bring things under control. But a few questions still remain unanswered - Why such a drastic intelligence failure? And how did they enter the city by the sea? Is it plain coincidence that three top officials of the police force were killed in the attack?
While I am at it, the hostage drama still continues. But I'm certain that tomorrow the city will stand again, wake up a to new morrow and newspapers will carry slogans on the 'SPIRIT OF MUMBAI THAT NEVER DIES'. And life goes on....
Hai Dil hain mushkil jeena yahan...zara hatkey zara bachchkey...yeh hai "BOMBAY MERI JAAN"
Aye dil hai aasaa jeena yahan...Suno mister, suno bandhu....yeh hai Bombay meri jaan
Now is the time to act. If India doesn't wake up to actions against terror strikes now, it never will. It's high time we got out of the garb of tolerance that we have been donning for years now. Like America never forgot the image of a falling World Trade Centre, the image of a Burning Taj will forever stay in the hearts of an Indian.
P.S. A special thanks to Arnab (Or-knob) Goswami from Times Now, indeed a 'journalist on steroids'. This man has gone insane. If at all the terrorists were availing television coverage, his over-excitement would have been their information source.
Kudos to the Mumbai Police! We are indeed proud of you.
REST IN PEACE our Bravehearts. WE ARE PROUD OF YOU!
6 comments:
Well written!!
Thanks Raju...I'm feeling so miserable about it. Can't bear to innocent lives being threatened. And to see the Taj burning is just too much!
Raju's right, it's excellently written.
The passion goes through, but you're remaining very clear and organized.
Once again, I associate myself to your feeling of loss and sadness.
what baffles me is , why do Cops don't respect their own lifes ??? , don't they realise any attack on the top notch guys , will have a cataclysmic demoralising effect on their Juniors ??
Its true , we are all proud of Hemant , Vijay and Ashok. But i find it difficult to digest ,such fine men had to lose their life , it all seems so meaningless..i still rmbr reading the article of Ashok Kamte beating up an MLA for violating sound restrictions , was really proud that a cop had t gumption to take on politicians on their own turf...however , what eludes me is , why such fine men , rushed in with least preparation ??
our army proudly says , we advance much faster than american army, given same situations as at Iraq ,yeah we have more body bags, but we r fast... i view this as sheer braggadocio and rank callousness of respecting the lifes of men on ground ,who are somehow considered dispensable in our quest to rush in , n take places faster, than it really can..this same attitude maybe proved undoing of this otherwise brilliant and valiant cops...they were brave , they were on front line , lead from front , set an example to others...but , we really needed these cops to be alive than being celebrated as martyrs ...
and totally agree about Arnab , if anyone was to be given a gag order , he had to be the first to receive it..
Mira , am not a mumbaikar , i hear about its resilience , its people, have been there , felt that...but questions do persist...how far can this be stretched to..and i hope that mumbai does'n turn to another military garrison like guwahati during its student revolution days or heavily fortified colombo where ur flagged down every 100 mts by a soldier brandishing an automatic weapon , where search lights sweep the sea for spotting any intrusion.. i just hope we dont come to such a scenario...which we seem to be moving towards..
dunno , if this is the write thing to say at this juncture , well written....
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