Mumbai kiske baap ka hai?

I thought long and hard, whether I should even write this post. But the relentless acts of terrorism drove me to vent my feelings. Recently, to A N Roy's comment that "Mumbai kisi ke baap ka nahi hai," Raj Thackeray said, "come to the road after you take your uniform off and you will see Mumbai kiske baap ka hai."

Sorry Raj, you couldn't be further from the truth. Apart from a few of the local Mumbai cops who probably are Maharastrians, Mumbai's security is today being handled by the Army and the NSG, in addition to the RPF and other security agencies. The dadagiri of his Marathi manoos mob was nowhere to be seen. He sure realised they would not have the impact on the terrorists that they usually have on the hapless yet tolerant Mumbaikars.

At the time of writing this post, the Taj has been evacuated with one injured terrorist still in and firing rounds. Parts of the heritage building has been ablaze for long and restoration of its splendour will take quite some time. However the burns and scars on the psyche of the average Mumbaikar will take a long time to even begin healing.

Questions have been raised on how the 20-25 terrorists entered the city and how they have managed to survive for so long. 

However the imperative questions are:

• When are we (Mumbai and India) going to be well-equipped to handle a crisis?
  
• Are we so spineless that we believe we are condemned to such an inept polity?

Be it the regular floods during the monsoon, or the several dastardly acts of terrorism - why are we willing to put up with the inefficiencies of the government and lead a normal life the very next minute? Time and again the media has hyped the 'spirit of Mumbai' and many of us will feel proud that we are part of it.

Who are we fooling? The false sense of pride we possess just because we got back on our feet and headed to our workplaces, schools and colleges immediately is ludicrous. I have a request to the media: please don't extol the spirit of Mumbai anymore. We don't need it.

What we need is a mass awakening! One that shakes the very roots of this country's democracy and gives her its true meaning with purposeful politicians at the helm. Our national security has become a joke and with an imbecile in Shivraj Patil as the home minister and a seemingly impotent prime minister - who I think is best suited to only being the finance minister - I fear for our country!

Make no mistake, I am not anti-UPA or pro-BJP or for or against any other party. All I want is a good samaritan who will not let us down when in despair. Today, we are stuck between the devil and the dead sea with no credible options in sight. We live in perpetual hope that the next government will make things better and each time we are disappointed. I am almost despondent with our current state of affairs and there is truly a need for a messiah!

I know for a fact that in a day or at the most two, Mumbai will be bounce back to normal! But I don't want her to. Public memory is known to be short, but I want the scars to remain fresh for a really long time. Only then will we even act. We need to do something to show our solidarity but enough of the subtlety. No, I am not propogating violence to achieve this, but the educated folks can definitely think of dignified and innovative ways to let our anguish be known. If we show that Mumbai and India wont take nonsense anymore from our leaders, they are bound to take notice and behave themselves better and actually do some good sooner rather than later.

Let us not be selfish and look only to our lives. Let us work towards building a better tomorrow for ourselves and the others around us. The US could do it after 9/11 and I am sure we can do the same if we are selfless and want to live in a city that deserves a lot more than it gets now.

My heart reaches out to the families of the martyrs. It is also noteworthy that the employees of the Taj and the Oberoi epitomised the spirit of the hospitality industry and ensured that their guests were safe as much as possible. I thank all of you on behalf of this magnificent city.

AN Roy's words still ring in my ears - "Mumbai kisike baap ka nahi hai." He meant it differently in a separate context, and he is right - I feel Mumbai is that orphan for whom nobody cares!