Indians Mad as Hell - Enough is Enough

On 26 November, 2008, Mumbai, the financial capital of India, was besieged by a group of young terrorists. The first reports of the terror attacks came in around 10 PM. By then, the terrorists had attacked ten places in South Mumbai. Some of the places were the CST railway station, Leopold Café, Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Trident-Oberoi Hotel, prominent hospitals and the Nariman House, a Jewish outreach center. The iconic landmarks of Mumbai, the Taj Mahal and the Trident were partially destroyed in the attack.

It took nine hours for the National Security Guards (NSG) to reach Taj and Trident, from Delhi, the national capital of India. In the mean time, the Mumbai policemen, the navy and the army stepped in to start the rescue operations. The terrorists held some of the guests as hostages. They set some of the rooms in the hotels on fire and this led to a massive fire break-out.

Though many hostages were rescued, the casualties at the hotels were shot to death by the terrorists, or charred to death by the fire or died due to asphyxiation. At Nariman House, Jewish Rabbi, his wife Rebecca and other Jewish hostages were tortured and killed by the terrorists. The only survivors were baby Moshe, the Rabbi's son and his nanny.

Finally, the entire drama of the Mumbai carnage came to an end after sixty odd hours. In these terror attacks, as many as two hundred people were killed and hundreds were injured. Nine terrorists were killed and one was caught alive. The fire fighting force also did their best to douse the fire that was raging inside the Taj Mahal Palace hotel.

As citizens of India, there are questions that would need an answer.

• Can the fire burning inside the hearts of the Mumbaiites in particular and the Indians as a whole be doused?
• Is lighting candles in front of the Taj Hotel and Gateway of India enough?
• What is the role of the common man in fighting terrorism? What can a normal citizen like you and me do to keep check on the ever-growing menace of terrorism?
• Is pointing a finger at various political parties the need of the hour? Is it not another blame game?
• Is liquidating the militant camps in Pakistan a solution to this problem?

Enough is enough. The people of Mumbai, in fact the people of India, have been the victims of terrorism for past twenty-five years. What measures have the Government of India taken to fight terrorism? That is a million dollar question and yet to be answered.

At this juncture, the Government of India has to take strong decisions and measures to save one of the biggest democracies of the world from the clutches of the terrorism. That too, before the youth of India decide to take the law into their hands.

Remember, Internet is a powerful tool of communication. People put their thoughts and ideas in their blogs. The flame of their frustration has spread and has invoked the like-minded bloggers. Many blogged their thoughts regarding the recent Mumbai siege and its carnage.

One such blogger, an ex-staff of Rediff.com and a Bollywood filmmaker Suparn Verma, voiced his frustration in his blog. He said he is not willing to remain resilient any longer. ‘I'm mad as hell and I won't take it anymore!’ These were his words. In his blog, he has asked the young and old citizens of India to come together to find solutions to keep terrorism at bay.

In his opinion, lighting candles and offering sympathy is not enough. Necessary actions need to be taken. The Government of India and the concerned state governments should be accountable for any terror attacks or similar incidents. He does not want the efforts of the police force, NSG, navy and the officials who laid down their lives to go in vain.

He urged the people from all walks of life to come over to Gateway of India, Mumbai, on December 3, 2008 at 6 PM to stage a "non-cooperation movement". Similar protests were staged at the same time in Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and other major cities across India.

Hey people, there has been a widespread response to his blog. Not only the people from various states but also the ones living abroad have responded positively to his blog. The ever-motivated youth of Mumbai gathered at the Gateway of India to take a stand for what they believe in. There was also a huge gathering of the young and old at various places in major cities of India to show that the country stands united at the time of need and also to share the grief of the families who lost their loved ones.

Indians are angry at what had happened in Mumbai on 26 November, 2008, and they wish to express their unity by staging peace meetings. They want action to be taken against the people who wreaked havoc, not only in Mumbai but also in many of the Indian states. The youth of India have come forward to take up the challenge of fighting against terrorism. Don't you think Indians have endured enough?