By Rohit Singh:
India has been shaken by yet another attack on the famous ghats of Benares on the eve of 7th December, 2010. The Ganga Arati, which stretches across the Shitala, Dashashwamedh and Prayag ghats, is a daily ritual attended by 2,000 to 3,000 people, many of whom are foreigners. The Ghats are near the famous Vishwanath temple.
The terrorist group Indian Mujahideen (IM) has claimed responsibility for the blast in emails that it sent to media houses. The message claims that the blast was in response to the Babri Masjid case of 1992.The blast happened at 6:30 pm on the ghats. An IED (Improvised Explosive Device) was found near a metal dustbin, according to the police. A 2 year old girl died and 25 people got injured due to the blast and the stampede that followed. A couple of foreigners were also among the injured lot. A state-wide alert was sounded, Additional Director General Law and Order Brijlal said.
Several cities including the national capital were put on high alert. A state-wide alert has been issued across Uttar Pradesh.
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has appealed to the people to stay calm. Every time a blast occurs, the public is asked to be calm and then it is shown that investigations are underway. Everyone in authority starts playing the blame game, finally the citizens are assured of the strict measures being taken for security and again, after sometime, another blast happens and the cycle repeats itself. So are we big fools to get trapped in such never ending cycles? When will our pains and agony actually end?
When will we step out of our house fearless and with the confidence that we are safe? We keep shouting and boasting that we are no less than our western counterparts but let us do a reality check. For instance, the 9/11 attack on the U.S. was the first of its kind but then, that nation has made sure that it remains the last one and that they do not accept any intruder creating a menace in their homeland. While here, forget about the guarantee, we are not even sure whether there will be a blast in the same city again or not and we know that cities do get blasted over and over again, no matter whosoever is behind them or whatever is the reason. Wise people say we should cast our vote properly for such reasons. Very true but then there is hardly any difference. The nation’s security is tampered with over and over again.
So will we ever find ourselves in safe hands? Is the conscience inside every authoritative person dead? Are the anti-humanity, anti-social groups stronger than the state of India? Are we really so helpless? Are the authorities so carefree that they are just not affected by an anti-human activity? Are they still waiting for another attack on the elite class spot like the one happened at the Taj Hotel? Or is the government waiting for these terrorists to actually start barging inside our houses to terrorize us? Many questions; no answers!
Time and again, innocent people are being killed and assassinated by a group of barbaric people who take advantage of the hollow system. Even time is mocking at us now. We are the ones who are not learning from our past and wait each time for another example of debacle of our system. Arise Indians, wake up. Because now is the time to prove that we will not tolerate any unwanted activity in our motherland and that we are capable of defending ourselves.
The writer is a Correspondent of Youth Ki Awaaz.
Image courtesy: Sun Pictures / Lakshman