South and Central Mumbai Bomb Blasts…Wednesday evening July 13 2011…..Terrorists are Cowards without any Conscience

Terrorists are Cowards without any Conscience…..cannot be part of the Human race for sure ….they may have a cause but their inhuman terrorist acts simply do not justify their cause…for that matter any cause 

Why I’m pained to Blog this….memories of 1993 came flooding back yesterday

I blog this from Personal first Hand Experience of having survived Mumbai’s most horrific chain of Bomb Blasts on Friday,March 12,1993…it was just approaching 1.30 pm on that fateful day and I was seated in a brokers office on the fourth floor of the new Stock Exchange Building Rotunda then…suddenly heard a huge blast and window panes shatterings and falling down from above…..thought it was a cylinder burst….within seconds there was pandemonium outside in the fairly narrow passage…stepped out to see hundreds of people running helter skelter in both directions and a stampede was clearing developing….On cue I took control and yelled out in Gujarati and Hindi at the top of my voice for all to calm down and move in one direction only towards the open terrace area on Floor Three….the Lifts had stopped and smoke was bellowing out from the shafts…we used the staircase to reach the third floor…..but there was no way we could proceed further to the ground floor through the stairs as smoke was billowing up strongly and suffocating us …..so we quickly moved across the open terrace and propped a chair on top of another and one by one jumped into the old tall BSE Building Jeejeebhoy Towers….from there we literally ran down the spiral staircase to the Ground Floor that opened out to Dalal Street itself and while escaping were witness to the whirring horrific scenes of mutilated bodies ….we moved to a adjacent street to a brokers office…..seemed a lifetime,but it was just a matter of a few minutes we had made this escape…we were around 20 of us huddled around in that office…Land Lines had crashed…later we came to know they were deliberately switched off so as to not spread rumours…… there were no mobiles then……I spoke my fears out loud that there could be another blast and this was not a safe place….so we all rushed to my office at RNA House,opposite Akbarallys Departmental Store at Fountain…..While doing so we heard another Blast…we learnt later it was at the Air India Building…..11 other blasts took place in quick succession all over Mumbai…a total of 13 Blasts…..My Family…Parents,Wife and my four year old son….daughter was born later….and Friends had already heard and were in tears as they had no contact with me and they knew I was in the BSE Building…..It was late night when we left for home….it was a homecoming that was simply overwhelming….one more important detail…the bomb in the BSE actually was placed in the Basement garage where only Brokers and top BSE Officals were allowed Car parking…I was an exception as I was a BSE Training Visiting Faculty and so courtesy was extended to me to park here when I gave my sessions….The Bomb was actually placed under one of our broker associate’s car….the same broker in whose market office I was seated……the main office was at Nariman Point and the Broker or his reps came down everyday for  a few hours to the BSE for trading….yes,the ring was operational at the time and trades were open cry…..his Driver normally had his Lunch in the Car…but see his divine fortune….on this fateful day,he had returned to Nariman Point to return  the Soft Drinks empty Bottles Crates to the Shop and was told to stay at Nariman Point office for the day…God’s great mercy really…..but not for the 257 people who lost their lives and over 700 that were injured….BSE resumed Business on Monday itself,the next trading Day to send a strong message to the Perpetrators that the Mumbai Spirit could not be destroyed…Thousands volunteered Blood and Food and Water and even Transport to those stranded…the injured were whisked away to hospitals nearby by the common man……It was an emotional and heart warming time for all of us….we were able to find out who were behind this cowardly act….many fled Mumbai for overseas….aided by influential people….many were caught and tried and convicted and are serving sentences…but the mastermind Don,Dawood Ebrahim, sits cozy overseas in a gaurded and protected environment….and the sad irony is that Politicians,Bureaucrats,Businessmen,Builders,Celebrities,Police Forces…..all have access to him…but our attempts to get him back to India to face the court have been weak and halfhearted at best     

Since then Mumbai has been the victim of several Bomb Blasts…but none as severe and horrific as that of 1993…..and then  came the horror of 2008 when the 26/11 attacks by a small band who came in from the sea and created havoc in South Mumbai and held hostages and laid seige at three locations,the Israeli Chabbad House and nightmarishly at the grand 5 star Icon Hotels of the Taj Group and the Oberoi Group…We lost several people,some we knew quite closely…..attended several funerals,prayer meetings over a few days……. I have blogged on this before….check out

26/11…A year later when Terrorism struck by stealth from the Sea and carved out the heart of South Mumbai

Thursday, November 26th, 2009   

 

What’s the Difference between ‘MILITANT’ and ‘TERRORIST’ ?…BBC needs a Brain Transplant!

Friday, December 12th, 2008

 

  

MISSION MUMBAI : TACKLING TERRORISM : IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED IN THE AFTERMATH OF THIS 26/11 TERRORIST ATTACK

Monday, December 1st, 2008

 

Feel the Anxiety,Anguish and the Angst of all those affected by yesterday’s Bomb Blasts

And Yesterday was Wednesday,July 13,2011….and Yesterday was a Tragic Wednesday for Mumbai….three chain bomb blasts across crowded areas in South and Central Mumbai at peak time near 7 pm evening…At past midnight count and as reported by the newspaper,21 killed and over 100 injured,many critically

Am Praying for all those affected in yesterday’s blasts…..May God support his own flock in this trauma ……Keep the Faith….don’t become Atheists or Agnostics  

Wife and I were at Sion,very near Dadar,where the second blast took place….stayed put there for an hour and a half and then drove back tentatively and anxiously to return home in South Mumbai…the choice of the route would normally have been through Dadar…but assessing the situation we drove through the Sea Link via Dharavi……the rational and logical choice was the latter…..the journey through Dharavi…a known trouble spot and arguably one of the biggest slums in the world….. and then the sea link was fast and safe….everything appeared routine….shops,restaurants and establishments were open and all Public Transport Modes were functioning….but then we drove through unaffected areas

……but Mumbai continues to be an easy target for these Cowards with no Conscience….

……feel pained,sad and angry and bitter and helpless to a great extent…any one of us could have been on that list of Dead or Injured…..perpetrators seem to come in and leave at will….common man faces the ire and fire of fanatic fundamentalism on both sides

…..with such man made tragedies,it is near impossible to spread Gandhiji’s message that “An eye for an eye will only make the whole world go blind”

…..we really need to tighten our security like US did after 9/11 without fear or favour and fast track conviction and execution of sentence for those pronounced guilty…but here there is huge skepticism on both intention and ability of our Establishment and those who lead us to do so because of the existence of a strong,vested and dangerous nexus that is a law above the law and therefore mocks at the law….keeping in abeyance convictions for years and linking it to other consquences only brings out this fact that there is an evil nexus or that we live perpetually in fear and our Establishment has little control and cannot protect us  

…..I strongly wish there comes a ‘Shahenshah’ (Amitabh Bachhan Starrer) who fearlessly,clinically and convincingly cleanses our system and deals effectively and permanently with all perpetrators  

…..Ironic that yesterday was a Wednesday….try and see the movie,if you have not already ” A Wednesday” where Naserruddin Shah plays the role of a common man in Mumbai who takes the law into his own hands to deal with perpetrators of such crimes against Humanity 

…Ofcourse Mumbai continues to breathe vibrantly and will continue to survive and withstand such provocative attacks…..some may call it the great spirit and resilience of a great City and it’s people….others may decry it as Fatalism and Apathy or even Compulsion

Do Mumbaikars take the law into thier own hands ? Do we now be distributed arms to protect ourselves ? Should each one of us get trained in warfare! ?…..are we a civilised and mature democracy to handle this freedom and responsibility ?…or will it create more danger and chaos ?…and how will this help us combat the cowards who deal by stealth…we cannot be shooting in the dark…..

…..but we are being provoked…but ‘Gandhigiri’ would dictate we should just send Flowers to the Terrorists…Address well known but unknown !   

….now our netas will come on panel discussions on TV and politicize Terrorism…sick

….another angle….government cries and screams that it has scarce resources to set up effective armed and trained forces to combat Crime & Terrorism in major cities like Mumbai….in this context just think of the scale of Financial Terrorism unleashed by the likes of A Raja when he was the Telecom Minister or the huge Swindling of Funds in the Commonwealth Games or the Thousands of Crores of Black Money stashed away overseas….one can cynically argue that even if these resources would have come in officially,they would have been drained out and filtered again through corruption…..I would say that it is a better an lesser risk to take,now with RTI and Supreme Court supervision and also increased public awareness and anger…so get back these monies fast…..

Mumbai is a vibrant,buzzing,financial and industrial world metropolis and the Face of India really….It needs to be governed like a Corporate…..History provides evidence that it cannot be managed by Politicians who come from the hinterlands of Maharashtra…maybe Marathas of the State Soil…but lack the skill sets and vision required to govern a thriving cosmopolitan Mumbai….. let them manage the rest of Maharashtra…..Many of them have vested interests…are aligned in a dangerous nexus with builders,criminals,bureaucrats and Business….are selfish…and couldn’t care a damn for Mumbai….our City needs a Professional Tough Act to manage it and be led by a Fearless,Visionary and Competent CEO

So how do we deal with the ugly reality of Terrorism and the Cowards who are brainwashed from childhood to become bigots ?……difficult to fight a hidden enemy….one who pepetrates cowardly strikes and then flees…..or one who is prepared to be a suicide bomber and die for a cause……for one,secure,sanitize and protect our towns and cities to prevent these  ! @ # $ % ^ & * from striking at will and without fear or apprehension of being apprehended….and for another,and here I reiterate and repeat myself,for god sake execute the sentence for those convicted for such dastardly acts quickly and without Fear or Favour…send a strong message….that India may be a Hospitable and Tolerant Land but it should not be mistaken for being Weak….Tongue in Cheek,the Government should Protect Us like they Protect 26/11 Perpetrator Kasab !       

I am sure I speak for each and every Mumbaikar…every Common Man and Woman of our Great City…

“Join Politics, Gaurav” some would say ,if you want to make a difference…..I have observed that most who do join Politics have vested reasons for doing so…either are celebrities with just lip talk of making a difference ensuring their tokenism is covered well by the media or want to  protect and grow their Business and themselves or avoid going to Jail !…..even those who are morally and socially awakened  and who join Politics…and you must join one of the big parties to make a difference as Independents are powerless and achieve nothing,they say……well,even these right minded Individuals melt into partyspeak and lose their original thrust and drive to make a difference….they profess they are good or great friends and are erstwhile colleagues in the Lok Sabha and  Rajya Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies…like Peas in the Pod….but are demagogues and polemical and sanctimonious  in House and TV Debates      

Our Great Vibrant and Centuries Old Nation deserves better………sadly even the younger crop is growing in the same polluted and corrupted soil….we need to overhaul and replant completely…and only the Force of the Citizens equipped with effective tools like a comprehensive RTI and a strong LokPal Bill will be able to accomplish this…forcefully dislodge and drain away the Old Soil and strengthen the Nation with a new Morally superior Soil…..

Maybe a People’s Revolution is inevitable !….Hope it happens in my Lifetime !

Ironically we have seen in recent months how people power is ousting Dictatorial regimes in Islamic Countries in the Middle East and Africa……and India is the world’s largest Democracy !…so we have a natural right to Revolt too !

Tell me I’m thinking right !