I guess that’s what is there on everyone’s mind today – feeling very livid and very helpless as we can’t do much other than sparing a moment about the whole tragedy, the innocent victims who laid their lives and may be lighting a candle. Feels very upset over the sad state of affairs.
I was in Bangalore working with my laptop when I first heard the news and that too on “Financial Times” website of UK and since then never got away from the TV and the web, and was feeling sick in the stomach to do anything and could not concentrate on anything – felt really sick L
In the same space I wrote way back in June about the possibility of the same under the title “A Safer India is a MUST : IT power of India and Protecting ourselves”; I was very convinced that then that for a vibrant growing economy like India only ways to break the progress and even reverse it was through terror and I was very sure then that this will be what used against us. I wish I predicted wrong but unfortunately all became true.
I read in an article that the loss was more than Rs4500 crores in those few days and obviously much more in the business that would not come our way because of this, and wish someone in the higher ups would have thought about this. Even if they had spent some part of that money towards securing our nation, this day would have never happened.
US was also hit similarly and yes it bounced back but there were almost none terror attacks. When we compare ourselves to US, the numbers just doesn’t add up:
India supposed to have only 3,500 intelligence agents for 1.1 billion people. Compare that with the U.S., where the FBI employs 12,000 agents for 300 million population. Add this to the new home guard security agency and the elaborative measures they have taken to prevent another 9/11. Same goes with UK too.
I feel today terrorism is the biggest obstacle for the Indian business and its economic juggernaut. India is being tested as never before. In the coming months the world, and in particular the global business community will be watching us for the answer to a crucial question: whether India can overcome its greatest obstacle to advancement, whether India can bring about concrete action items and execute it, can India respond the way US did post 9/11 etc. This is I feel the most important phase in our history and we need to stand tall and reply with very concrete actions. No I am not talking about a war, no blame game either but pure fool proof security system in place so that next time when they try again we can defend ourselves.
On a positive note, I feel that people are asking for a serious no-nonsense concrete action plan from the government and I feel people are more united today. Will this day be remembered in history as the day which marked the real unification of all Indians across the length and breadth of the nation without worrying from which state he hails from or which language he speaks or what caste/creed he comes from? Hope so; tragedy has happened but let’s take the positives of it and move forward with vigor, resoluteness, oneness, dedication and with lots of hard work to build a India the world will envy.
Jai Hind
Manjunath M Gowda, S7 Software
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