Terror Attacks in Mumbai

The world witnessed yet another terrorist attack that caused a lot of mayhem and loss of life, and this time the target was Mumbai. While this is a time to console those who have lost loved ones and to tend to those who have been injured, it is also time to do something drastic about the political system that allows attacks like this to materialize and succeed. A lot of Indians all over the world are angered by the failure of the political system to prevent this carnage from happening and are also unhappy about the way the politicians are trying to use this event to their advantage with the general elections coming up. While heads have begun to roll already, this in itself is not going to fix the political process that works on the religion and caste based divisions within society and is the root cause of most of India’s problems.

I hope that the sacrifices made by officers Karkare and Amte, Major Unnikrishnan, Inspector Salaskar and the 16 jawans on the Indian security forces will help to crystallize a movement that will rid India of the current anemic political establishment and help to redefine the processes that preserve the great democracy and yet give enough authority to law enforcement agencies so that they can focus on fighting crime and catching criminals without having to worry about whether someone is a Hindu or Muslim or from a scheduled caste or tribe or a brother or distant uncle or cousin of someone in power.