Terrorists attacks are not new to India and especially to Mumbai. There have been many bomb blasts in the past, but this time the form of the attack and the targets of the attacks is very unique. Terrorists intend to hurt Indian economy by scaring foreigners. They want Americans and Britishers to stop coming to India, stop investing in India.
What disturbs me as a Mumbaikar (a term commonly used for people of Mumbai like the term 'Angelions' used for the people of Los Angeles) is that the politicians have done nothing to curb terrorism for the past few years - in spite of the frequent terrorist attacks. There is a complete lack of will on part of the politicians to fix this problem. To certain extent, I think there is even lack of understanding of the implications and seriousness of terrorism. For appeasing vote bank, politicians are even thinking of pardoning Afzal guru - the person convicted for 2001 parliament attacks!
Intelligence organizations are not coordinated and virtually non existent. There is no central organization at national level to counter terrorism. Each state has it's own independent police force and even independent intelligence agencies! The Central Bureau of Investigation does not have enough resources and even jurisdiction over investigating such incidents.
There is no clear laid out plan and chain of command when such an incident happens. It's been absolutely chaos in Mumbai and most of the people even don't know who's in charge.
The local police forces are highly under trained, under paid and under weopanized. An average constable on the streets of Mumbai carries a stick instead of a revolver!
I am glad that this attack has drawn world attention. I hope that the politicians will now be forced to bury their differences, come together and create an unified national action plan to curb terrorism. It's high time that Indian politicians learn lessons from countries such as UK, USA and Israel. We have talked tough on many occasions before, it's time to act.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Monumental, phenomenal, unforgettable, stupendous....
The mood is really upbeat. The air is different. You can clearly feel on the streets of Los Angeles. 2 days ago - on 3rd of November, people around here were cynical, pessimistic and nervous. A day after elections is sunny, air is clear and as John Stuart said in his show - people in New York city are making eye contact on the streets and smiling. Atmosphere here - in Los Angeles - is quite the same. I am amazed by how much difference a leader can make to such a big nation. I don't know about the rural masses, but certainly the urban masses have been energized by the election outcome.
Barack Obama's victory is far more significant than an African American breaking racial barriers. He has emerged as a symbol - a symbol of liberated America, a new vibrant and diverse America. Suddenly Americans are feeling confident again. They feel that they have regained their world leadership.
This victory comes at a right time, when Americans were feeling really low because of the dragging Iraq war and sinking economy. Barack Obama's Hope and Change message was really well taken by the American people. Many of my friends told me - they are voting for a change and not for Barack Obama's specific policies. They wanted America to regain its standing in the world. They felt that Bush's aggressive unilateral policies have brought a shame to America and the world now considers America as an agressive imperialistic power instead of a genuine leader.
He ran his campaign on the premise of uniting people. Republican Party's recent politics was very divisive. He kept saying in the campaign rallies - "There are no red states and blue states - there is only the united states of America". It went very well with the people. Traditionally Republican strongholds such as North Carolina and Virginia proved it that American people does not want politics of divisiveness. They clearly gave a very strong mandate against divisiveness. People of America have shown that they want to embrace the unity in diversity in the rapidly changing demographics.
I hope that Barack Obama will pass the hard test - the test of the time. I hope that the world will be much more peaceful under his leadership. I wish him the best for his success as the 44th president of the United States of America.
Barack Obama's victory is far more significant than an African American breaking racial barriers. He has emerged as a symbol - a symbol of liberated America, a new vibrant and diverse America. Suddenly Americans are feeling confident again. They feel that they have regained their world leadership.
This victory comes at a right time, when Americans were feeling really low because of the dragging Iraq war and sinking economy. Barack Obama's Hope and Change message was really well taken by the American people. Many of my friends told me - they are voting for a change and not for Barack Obama's specific policies. They wanted America to regain its standing in the world. They felt that Bush's aggressive unilateral policies have brought a shame to America and the world now considers America as an agressive imperialistic power instead of a genuine leader.
He ran his campaign on the premise of uniting people. Republican Party's recent politics was very divisive. He kept saying in the campaign rallies - "There are no red states and blue states - there is only the united states of America". It went very well with the people. Traditionally Republican strongholds such as North Carolina and Virginia proved it that American people does not want politics of divisiveness. They clearly gave a very strong mandate against divisiveness. People of America have shown that they want to embrace the unity in diversity in the rapidly changing demographics.
I hope that Barack Obama will pass the hard test - the test of the time. I hope that the world will be much more peaceful under his leadership. I wish him the best for his success as the 44th president of the United States of America.
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