Mumbai Terror Attacks: A Boon in Disguise?

Mumbai recently had one of the worst terror attacks in the history of India. Nearly 200 killed, more than 300 injured and invaluable property ruined. But Mumbai is not new to terror. There have been innumerable incidents in the past 2 decades that have been equally devastating. Bread earners have been killed, women widowed, children orphaned and businesses have been ruined. There would be a hue and cry for a couple of days and then? Then Mumbai is back to normal. People rushing to catch the very trains, busses and taxis that have had bombs exploded in them. Its life as usual. People more worried about promotions and inflation than about security. Who has time for dead men anyways? Politicians get back to their business of corruption just as quickly as people get back to their daily struggle to survive. That...is your famous "spirit of Mumbai"!!!! But something went wrong this time. Something that got heads rolling got people protesting and left the common man more powerful than the politician. The empowerment of the people was evident in the incident of Major Unnikrishnan's father. He actually had the guts to kick out the politician who had come to create a media event out of his son's death. And that politician was the chief minister of Kerala. Power to the people.

Then there were the resignations; the forced resignations. The seemingly feeble Prime Minister of India was suddenly a man of action. The ministers who had failed were forced to put in their papers, no matter how strong his political clout. The deputy chief minister of Mumbai who had become the laughing stock after his famous dialogue of "Such small incidents always occur in huge cities" was immediately kicked out. The chief minister, who had a famous film director accompany him to the Taj, was shown the door next. Even Ratan Tata, the owner of the Taj had not been allowed in and the chief minister had to guts to take a social contact with him as if he was on a casual visit to a historical site. So much for the callous attitude of inept politicians! But this has always been the case. That is, till now. So what went wrong this time? The common man went off to work the next day. As usual. The Businesses were up and running the next day. As usual. The stock market kept falling. As usual. The rich were angry. Unusual. That had nailed it. The entire situation had a positive side. The rich had been victims this time around. They had lost loved ones, they had lost money and they were hurt. And the effects were obvious.

If in just three days there have been so many changes to the management of the country, imagine what could happen in the next couple of months. Already there is hostility towards Pakistan, the neighboring terror incubator. There's talk of military action. Suddenly India is no longer a soft target. And why? Because this time the attack was on the people who really run the country; the businessmen and the people with influence. Another surprising fact that has come to the fore this time is the location of the commandos. The NSG is located in Delhi, the capital of India. And their job; protecting the ministers and the so called VIPs. The financial capital, Mumbai, surprisingly does not have a single unit of the NSG. But already there is talk of having a unit of the special commandos in the four metros across India. Thanks again to these latest terror attacks. Till now, nothing of this sort had been done. Further there is supposed to be an elite force especially to tackle terror. Another first. The ministers have been especially benevolent announcing cash rewards and compensation to the martyred policemen.

Help has been pouring in from all states and the centre as well. Till now the government would declare a measly compensation which in most cases would never reach the victims. A lot of unprecedented events have been taken place in this peace loving country of India. Gandhiji showed us the path of non-violence. But the esteemed father of the nation seems to have taken a back seat. And rightly so. The very people who preached his teachings are now up in arms. And why? Because the terrorists struck at the right place. But they failed horribly. They failed to instill terror but they definitely managed to bring about the changes that so many honest men failed to bring about. They failed to destroy heritage sites but they managed to create history. They failed to bring awareness to their cause but managed to make the world aware of the common man's issues. They managed to kill people but failed to kill the spirit of the people. They went out to be a bane on the city of Mumbai but ended up being just the opposite. Thank you losers!!