Yet another terror attack in India - the recent Delhi High Court blast – and condemnations poured in from all corners of the world, the country’s government definitely being the first to shed tears.
Yes, in the clear conscience of any human being, such inhuman acts are to be condemned in every way and curbed, no matter what. The innocent lives that it has claimed; the suffering that it has brought and the fear that it has created amongst the people is definitely to be condemned. It makes human lives valueless.
But for how long do we, especially the government, have to continue ‘condemning’ such acts without ‘real action’ being taken?
Over the last two decades, starting with the infamous Mumbai (Bombay) bombing series in 1993 which resulted in over 250 deaths and 700 casualties to the recent terror attack near the Delhi High Court which resulted in 15 deaths and over 70 injuries, the country has faced dozens of such terror attacks resulting in loss of over 1000 lives and many more casualties. Some of the most gruesome ones being the 1993 Bombay blast, 2001 Parliament attack in the national capital, the Mumbai train bombings in July of 2006, the
infamous 26 November attack in Mumbai and, the still fresh in our mind, 13 July 2011 Bombay bombing and recent blast in Delhi.
And while over a thousand lives have been lost in such terror attacks, the Indian government seems happy only ‘condemning’ the acts.
So, will ‘condemning’ an act such as terrorism bring about any solution? The answer is a clear ‘NO’.
Post the terror attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, popularly referred to as the 9/11 attack, the US government took some hard steps and fought against terrorism with all means possible. The result: capturing Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden, the latter being regarded as the mastermind of world terrorism.
On the contrary, the Indian government appears to be soft on terrorism or terrorist acts in the country, something very much visible to every Indian. And definitely no one suggests a war to fight terrorism for it could cause more damage. But perhaps, at times, it would be good to fight fire with fire.
No doubt, in the fight against terrorism lives will be lost too. But then, it is also important that a tough stance is taken by the Indian government to fight terrorism in the country and bring an end to it at the earliest possible. The longer the fight, perhaps higher the number of innocent casualties we will have. Sometimes, we need fast action and steps to bring about fast change in any society or system.
I do not propagate war in any way, but feel the government needs to take a hard stand against terrorism to prevent further loss of innocent lives. Till such action is taken, we will continue to be sitting ducks for another blast and hear ‘condemnations’ again… and again…and again…
