Three bombs went off in crowded areas of Bombay yesterday. 21 people are dead and dozens others injured. Who is responsible and what was the point? Innocent people killed or hurt and much speculation about who did what. The usual platitudes from the politicians and equally predictable outrage from the people of Bombay. Could it have been different? Would it have been different if the people, and I mean all of us, had a different bent of mind?
I can understand the frustration the people of Bombay must feel, after all they have been at the receiving end of terror attacks, natural disasters and goodness knows what other calamities. But blaming the Government for not securing the city, in my opinion, is daft. The most well policed cities in the world have also been victimised by terrorists at one time or another.
Perhaps if the general public were a little more aware, vigilant and responsible it would be more difficult for terrorists to plan and execute their nasty plots. I mean - how many of us would actually take on the onus of doing something if we saw unattended bags or packages lying around? How many of us would actually notice someone strange hanging around our neighbourhood? Most of us go through life in our own little bubble and leave the care of our surroundings to others...well here's a news flash - the 'others' we are depending on to watch out for us are also doing the same thing!
What we CAN blame the Government for, and not just in Maharashtra, but all over the country, is not putting in place a system and the infrastructure to deal efficiently with a calamity when it happens. There was a picture in the papers today of people wounded in the blasts, quite literally heaped into the back of a small truck to be taken to hospital probably because there was no telling when, if at all, and ambulance would arrive. Response time is insanely slow and the authorities who do respond are inadequately trained and don't follow any kind of protocol when dealing with the aftermath of disasters.
What I am trying to say, is that we have a lot to learn and we are all equally to blame. The government and authorities for their apathy and lackadaisical attitude and the population for their disinclination to prepare themselves for any eventuality and educate themselves. Why do we always look to blame someone else and never take responsibility for our own safety and well being? Surely there cant be a lack of motivation to protect oneself and one's property?
If an average person like me can have a zillion ideas on how to improve the infrastructure and make life safer and better in the cities, I find it hard to believe that politicians and administrators cant think similarly. So now what remains, is to see how long it will take us to stop throwing stones and pointing fingers and take it upon ourselves to improve the quality of our security.
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