Hope is a beautiful thing. In times of strife, it maybe the only thing that can keep us going.
On the night of 26th November, ten or possibly more young men rowed towards the shores of Mumbai. What they did later would stun the world and our collective conscience. The bullets from their AK-47s cut short innocent lives at a railway station, a hospital (sic!), two hotels and a residential area. The reverberations were felt in the heart of every Indian.
Can anything be more outrageous than this? Surprise, surprise! Yes. The way our politicians acted and reacted after the terror attack was truly mind numbing. Sample this-
Even as the commandos were engaged in a fierce gun battle, one politician descended on the scene to announce the amount of money he will give to the deceased officers’ family (Talk about swift action!) The opposition leader thus spoke on his arrival : ’Me and the prime minister were supposed to come here together, but since he couldn’t make it on time, I came here alone, first’ (Congrats sir on winning the race!) A senior minister of the state actually said the following: ‘In a city as big as Mumbai, such things do happen….They had planned to kill 5,000 but managed only 200’ (How comforting! thank you sir, for your kind, consoling words)
I mean, we all knew politicians were corrupt. But we thought they were intelligent, in a perverse way alright. But, they are just corrupt. And heavily drunk on power. Even in such a delicate hour, they can’t see beyond their noses. This one up manship, corruption and carelessness has been the bane of our country for ages now. And in more ways than one has led to this particular attack. Where are the real leaders?
‘A nation gets a leader it deserves’ How very true! And those words point directly at each one of us. We know our leaders are corrupt, but we let it be. We know our system is corrupt, we let it be. We have got so used to the maddening chaos around us in our everyday life. We just let it be.
How did we get here? A nation which had so many great leaders during its struggle for independence, can’t find a single man or woman to lead her now? Why?
Well for one, during the freedom struggle every single person in this country- young, old, man, woman, child….wanted just one thing- Freedom! Great leaders were borne from this need and they too wanted just one thing for the country- Freedom! I think that is what we lack the most today –A common goal. A common direction.
That will start when each one of us stops letting things be. When we stand up for what is right. When we demand more.
I believe that change is coming about. Here are a couple of incidents that has happened in the aftermath of the terror attack- The widow of the officer who fell to the terrorists’ bullets, declines the cash offered by a minister, The father of the major who laid his life down fighting the terrorists, actually tells the chief minister on his face; ‘Please get out of my house, I have no respect left for you’ These instances also sums up the feeling of resentment that is frothing up inside the common man today.
In rallies held in Mumbai, which no political party or religious groups have initiated, the number of people pouring out to the street is said to be staggering. People walked in silence with a symbolic candle in their hands, but the real fire has been lit in our hearts and souls. I think we as a nation is awakening. I do not know what this will lead to, but I hope it will lead to something bright and beautiful. For if one billion people wish for a cleaner, brighter future, there is no way anything can stop us. We will get the leaders we deserve and a nation we can truly be proud of.
Those ten or so young men who came to Mumbai on the night of 26th November might have unwittingly done more for this nation than any politician ever has. Don’t ever let that anguished reverberations die down in your heart.
Hope is a beautiful thing.
