Thursday, December 4

What now?

Everyone knows about the attacks in Mumbai. Much has been written about it.

I'll cut right through it. Till the part which begs, "What now?".

Something similar happened in America 7 years back. As most of us know, they went to war. With whom? Well, everyone. We all know where it got them.

So what do we do? Do we go to war?

I know many people who want India to go to war. With whom? With Pakistan, of course. Why Pakistan? Because its obvious they did it.

I agree. Its obvious they did it. Like it was obvious the Afghanistanis did it. And after that, the Iraqis.

Many of us condemned the American war on terror. Now that we are on the receiving end, we are prompt to justify our own war on terror. Not to mention that India is in no way prepared to go to war. Not even with the Maldives. No disrespect.

I know its a tough task, but we must not let our emotions spill into reason.

You may think that our country might be considered weak if it does not respond in kind. I beg to differ. A strong country is one which, in troubled times, can see reason. Clearly.

Let us take a moment. Pause. Think. And then, decide.

11 views recorded
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dhrugeese said...

hey.
i stand in solidarity.
'super-power'dom is a very foolish idea.

Anonymous said...

Not even maldives? No disrespect?
Renegade.
Your views are bereft of the sentiments of those who suffered. It's easy to take the moral and intellectual high ground sitting in your room.

dhrugeese said...

Hey, i get the impression sourjyo didn't make any comment about the people who died. His question is 'what now?'
i don't sense a 'high ground' either. the reason we have things like history, documentation, constitution, law, school, college, etc. is precisely so that we look at things with some detachment and look at what has actually worked in the past. And hopefully, learn from it. Without that, we may as well descend into anarchy and believe what we want to irrespective of "what the facts are"(G.W.Bush). It's even more important that those of us who are not facing the fire directly do this, because its more difficult for one who has lost somebody close.
Now what has worked? Overwhelmingly, democracy and rationality. Not 'tit for tat'. The GWOT has created more terror than Al Qaeda could have ever hoped for. Half to 2/3 of the official territory of Afghanistan is under Taliban control and not Karzai's government. Pakistan has witnessed a 4-fold increase in terrorism since 2005, and there was not a single attack on their territory before 2001.
Vengeance, though glorified a lot by all fundamentalists, does not prevent violence. Engaging constructively and rationally with society, the administrative and political system does.
And yeah, theres also the economics. War will sink the Indian state like so many Titanics.

dhrugeese said...

oh sorry for the long comment sludgy!and ashes!

Anonymous said...

i'm sure it's alright to turn a blind eye to this incident in another month's time; similar to what happened 7 years back after the parliament was attacked. that's the history i would like to see. i fear, that's what will happen with all the diplomatic blah blah and political pressure crap. we all know nothing concrete is going to turn out from our friendly neighbours. they are already talking of trying the "non-state" elements in their own "state" clearly stating they are not going to yield to international pressures and give up valuable suspects to india. so for all the slow and steady and measured responses from india, before long this issue will be dead and burried. if it's any time for action, it's now. never has it been more justified.
and to talk of thoughtful responses is really quashing the issue right away.

DArvin said...

a strong country strikes back hard and fast without debate or hesitation. while the act may paint us reactionary war hawks, the fact remains that fear of crazy retaliation is a strong demotivator for any attacking nation.
india for one has held back from hitting pakistan for fear that the 'crazy pakis' will hit back with unreasonable force. for all the crap america gets, they've had 2 attacks on american soil to date. a balanced, sane reaction and measured debate does not inspire fear.
india currently outmatches the paki army in numbers and tech. that they use terror as a force equalizer to keep us occupied is a well known fact. equally well known is that no civilian govt has any control over the army that pretty much controls every millitary, bureaocratic and commercial entity in the country.

in a sane world, the first thing would be to call for a detailed investigation into the attack and an intelligence review, but we're almost scared to looking at the evidence because then we'd have no choice but to declare war - something we don't want, but which we're being inevitably forced into.

dhrugeese said...

First, as this is a long and unpleasant topic, should we email each other rather than use poor unsuspecting sludgy's blog-space? Sludgy, any thoughts??
I think being seen as strong is not as important as actually stopping terror. The US is seen as strong, but their war is 'global', and in global terms, they've contributed more to terror than anybody else. If they've only seen 2 attacks on their territory, that's come at a HUGE expense. Rampant militarisation, gross abuse of human rights, more civil rights clamped down on than at any time in US history. Guantanamo bay, Abu ghraib.
Second, I don't think war is inevitable. There is a whole range of diplomatic options, including multi-lateral pressure, using the UN, working closely with the civilian government in Pakistan and assisting them in gaining control over the military, and so on.
The biggest danger in times like these is dichotomous thinking - either we are brave and macho or we are sissy wimps. Arvind, are we sure we want to 'inspire fear'? I think 'inspiring fear' will actually worsen the problem. I'd prefer 'inspiring justice'.
Ashes, I don't think these attacks will be forgotten so easily. People will continue to talk about them, and it's important to channelise the debate properly, to understand the social, economic and political causes, and address those effectively. The solution is not simple, and the struggle is long and hard as any human rights worker will tell you. But violent short-cuts worsen the problem. Welcome to democracy!
Oh, if you guys want to discuss this on email, mine is the same id as here at gmail.com

supriyo said...

Well written bro!But its not only because we are unprepared that we shoul'nt go to war.Its also because we cant fight terror with terror.A Indo-Pak war will cause more bloodshed than anything people like Hafiz Sayeed can dream of.Can the warmongerers imagine the consequences of a war between two nuclear armed states,which both the neighbours unfortunately are?Is to so easy to take out terror camps in a foreign country?Have the Americans been able to destroy the terror camps in Afghanistan and N.W. Pakistan?Also,it will be infantile to blame the entire Pakistani nation for the Mumbai outrage.The Pakistanis themselves have borne the brunt of the worst variety of terror for the past several months.Even our official position is that the Mumbai attacks were the handiwork of some rogue elements based in Pakistan and not the Pakistani state.Terror thrives on reaction.A Indo-Pak war will weaken the democratic regime of Pakistan and strenghthen the hands of the extremists.In fact many believe that the Mumbai attacks were carried out to provoke a Indo-Pak war which will force Pakistan to move its troops out of its Taliban-infested western border.Lets not give them another victory on a platter.

Anonymous said...

@ all: just a reminder, it's 26/12.

Harshit Gupta said...

True. Though I either didn't get or don't agree with ur point made on Afghans and Iraqis.

Still, what has been very clear throughout is that we are in no position for a war.

Well written.

Yuvraj said...

@all:
i am all out with sourjyo!!!
he's correct.. think and then act.. in life too..
Think and then act!!!