Nerve Endings Firing Away

[image source] Mumbai was attacked by terrorists late last night through a coordinated strike at ten locations in the city. Although the attacks were carried out at off-peak hours, the extent of damage from advanced ammunition used by the terrorists was significant. We got the news through email from Sampada and I instantly switched on the news. Thankfully, MSNBC was carrying the news live (via NDTV 24×7 feeds). The scenes were unbelievable and you would not be far off the mark to consider it a war zone.

Twitter was invaluable in getting the latest news and most people I was following in India were updating furiously. The rumors were kept to the minimum. In fact, surreal news of terrorists hijacking a police van and shooting on people would have been considering outlandish but unfortunately were true and captured on film. Several outstanding police offices and anti-terror cops were killed simply due to lack of adequate firepower which in itself is a deplorable situation.

I’m seriously pissed at the alarming regularity of such terror attacks in India and the UPA government should be held fully accountable for these death and the mayhem unleashed by the terrorists. The buck must stop at their doorstep and I don’t want to hear any talks of ‘spirit of Mumbai’ because it no longer stands for resilience but instead reflects apathy and despondence. The government if nothing else is expected to provide a climate of security and peace for its citizens otherwise we are nothing but a motley bunch of individuals looking out for our own selves.

As of now, the crisis isn’t over and some might suggest another time for finger-pointing but I still don’t see anyone firmly in command. The spineless Home Minister pops up ocassionally asking for calm but we see no commanding or reassuring presence from our leaders. The terrorists are achieving their simple aim of spreading terror and without anyone to take command, I don’t see us foiling their objectives. I hope the situation is brought under control soon and the death toll stops rising.

PS. the magnificient building on the waterfront, the Taj Mahal was in flames and it seems the top portion might be lost. The architect in me finds this reason enough to deal with any future terrorists strongly.