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.