26 by 11 The Outcry !

The indignation, angst and knee jerk solutions being thrown-up by all and sundry at the Mumbai outrage all have a déjà vu surreality. And sure enough the coming days would see an exponential decay in this fervour. So while the E-quotient is high we should look for workable structural remedies to prevent and contain the damage wreaked by such dastardly acts of terror.

The firm, measured and deliberate systemic response that the incident calls for cannot be ushered by the rag-tag ersatz model of ‘Westminster Democracy’ that obtains in our country. It might sound like sacrilege to the blind votaries of one-man-one vote system but the truth is that the democratic process in India has been hijacked by the goons, ‘booth-capturers’ and demagogues. It is a grim-scenario that has unfolded over the last two decades while the silent majority has wishfully hoped that things might get better next time round and stayed put comatose in its cocoon.

Response to such acts of terror can be prompt and successful only if a machinery like the ‘Fire-Brigade’ is established all over the country. ‘Fire’ is quite akin to ‘Terrorist Acts’. Both come unannounced and the incidence and fury of both can be lessened through preventive measures. Both require round the clock readiness. But unlike Fire Briagade’s this Anti-Terror–Brigade, for obivious reasons, would have to be centrally administered from Delhi . Can the current government take this call or for that matter would any succeeding dispensation be able to usher in such a set-up without watering it down at the altar of fractious State-Centre domains of control? Sadly, NO!. Not in the present ‘free-for-all’ open season raucous ‘prajatantra’.

Reminds me of a very apt sheyr on the state of our current leadership:

Jab Bauno Key Saaye Lambey Honey Lagey,

Samajh Loe Ki Sooraj Doob Raha Hai

Nov 30, 2008 AKS