A Rude Awakening

Not even more than two decades of terror had prepared us for the kind of assault Mumbai has suffered. We were used to bomb blasts, not rampaging gunmen across streets, platforms, bars and five star hotels. Unlike anything before, the dangerous drama has unfolded in front of our eyes for two long days on live television planting fear firmly in our living rooms. For us, the educated elite of India, it never happened so close to us. Terror strikes were reserved for trains, crowded markets, courthouses, mosques and temples - not the kind of places we went to. Not the Taj or Oberoi, not a Unilever board meeting.

It is not just that the targets were upscale, they were the theaters of a confident, aspiring superpower. The protective veneer is broken, confidence shaken. We are angry, very angry. Never have we been so infuriated with our politicians and their utter lack of intent to protect our lives.

But we also need to introspect and apportion some blame to ourselves. These incompetent politicians are sitting in seats of power because we let them get there. We, the educated upper classes have been so acutely apathetic towards the country's problems, that it is now coming back to bite us.

First we ran away from the process in order to secure our futures. Then we closeted ourselves out in the safety and comfort of sanitized, gated communities insulated from the problems of the common man. We remained mute spectators as the system degenerated. We prospered and we thought we could buy our way out of every problem. Many argued that the rot was so deep that we can't make a difference but the truth is we have hardly ever tried. If we don't step out now and become involved in the political process, we will continue to be misgoverned by the Shivraj Patils, Modis, Deshmukhs.

The last great generation of Indian leaders were western educated lawyers who planted and nurtured the roots of Indian democracy. Time will tell whether the anger with the Mumbai attacks will spawn a new generation of leaders from our midst. The terror victims, commandos, cops and firemen risking their lives this very moment, deserve a lot better from us than calls for POTA from the comfort of our living rooms. For a start, let's vote and make ourselves count. An active role in public life would be a lot better.

Obama and the End of Racial Bias?

Barack Obama's election is just the kind of advertisement America needed. The flurry of celebrations across the globe suggests that finally the world may again look up to America. It sets to rest months of speculation whether Americans can ever elect an African American as President. Even the cynics are forced to acknowledge that America is not just about Stupid White Men with guns and SUVs.

But countries and their media tend to give more credit to themselves than they deserve. Just like we in India took pride in the diverse minority power troika of Manmohan-Sonia-Kalam, it cannot mask the utter lack of equality of opportunity in the country.

While Obama's election is being hailed as bridging the racial divide, fact is that that any white male half as good as Obama would have won as a Democratic candidate (and Obama had to be that much better than a white to do it). If it was not for the anti-incumbency wave against the Republicans bolstered by the greatest shrinking of American personal wealth in years, Obama wouldn't have had the kind of resounding win he did. As somebody said that "when your house is on fire, you don't care if the fireman is black or white". Not many cared if thr President would be ideal company for a backyard beer and barbecue. So there isn't enough evidence that this marks the end of racial bias. Also let's not forget that he is only the 3rd black senator. Arguably this election will help in dismantling racial barriers and prejudices much faster than anything else would have.

But there's no case whatsoever for US bashing . Obama is the first black Head of State in the entire developed world. A sobering thought for Europeans so fond of deriding America for being "racist" among other things. It also underscores that no other country on the planet offers the equality of opportunity that America does

And now for a little pat on our own back. While we are still some time away from a popular elected Prime Minster with Hussein in his or her name, there is probably no country as accepting as India of people of any background in positions of power. If only we could find more like Obama who did not exploit their identities for political advantage!