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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

What happens when bomb blasts strike any city in India

It’s been, what, a month, since Bombay was targeted again with bombs.
Bombay (Special note to Shiv Sena: I have used the taboo word ‘Bombay’. Boo) being targeted time and again is not much of a surprise, since, well, it’s a city that is used to these kind of ‘interruptions in the daily routine’ every now and then.

Anyhow, Ajmal Kasab, the sole ‘survivor’ from the blood battle that occurred on November 26, 2008, is still alive. And so are his best friends, who came by, planted the bombs on July 14, 2011, and possibly participated in the anti-corruption morchas in support of the Jan Lokpal Bill as well. So, well, bomb blasts mean nothing much to anyone in this country, expect of course, to those who are affected directly by it.

Hence, while some of the terrorists get arrested and enjoy chicken biryani in jail while some others plot and plan about the next plan to unleash hell, here’s what happens in the rest of country on the day of the blast, and the day after the blast:
  • Media reports about the blasts
  • People get panicky and start contacting family and friends to check if they are okay
  • Some intelligent people post FB/Twitter updates about offering any help to ferry people from office to home or offer information about the nearest hospitals, blood banks, the like
  • Most of us express sorrow for those affected in the blasts on the various social networking platforms
  • And most of us also condemn the blasts, the terrorists and the apathetic Indian Government
On the third day after the blasts, this is what happens:
  • The anger and furore displayed by the general public on social networking sites die down
  • People are now back to their routine lives, boldly facing whatever obstacle comes their way—bombs included—and are proud to display the ‘Bombay Spirit’
A month after the blasts: Hardly any one even remembers that on this day, last month, a bomb blast tore apart a section of their city.

Now don’t get me wrong; there are some people out there, trying to portray how ‘concerned’ our ‘system’ is about the terrorist situation. What irks me is that the very ‘system’ that is supposed to protect us, is trying to shut them up, for reasons that defy logic.

And when the ‘system’ is not arresting people who uncover the truth, they are acting ridiculously stupid, by issuing a ‘statement condemning the blasts’ from a Microsoft Corp Hotmail address.

And then, there are some of us who, merely two days after the blast, return to the movie halls to catch the latest release.

Quote from a TOI article: Said movie buff Harsh Thairani, "Blasts have now become routine with us Mumbaikars. Life moves on. Besides, I think the period after the blasts is the safest. The police are on alert; nothing untoward is going to happen."

I am trying really hard to not take pot-shots at anyone. Really trying. But it is becoming increasingly difficult for me to ignore the unrealism of the situation.

So here’s my conclusion.
  • Nothing really affects us until it happens to us
  • We are completely willing to let dirt be thrown into our eyes and believe that going back to our routine lives is the same as ‘moving on’
  • And when we get into power and actually do manage to catch a criminal who bomb blasts the shit out of our cities, we waste huge amounts of money just to provide food, clothing, shelter AND protection for him
  • And the rest of us complain about it, on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or blogs (like this one)
PS: If you going to write a self-righteous comment, please, don’t even bother.