Two months ago, millions of young innocent people were killed mercilessly in the name of jihad, two months ago, the world stood in shock and shame, two months ago Mumbai saw its worst ever terrorist attack, 26th November 2008 will forever be etched in our memory as the most unprecedented and horrific act of human carnage ever.
It was on a blood- splattered Wednesday night that the commercial and financial hub of India, city of dreams Mumbai was attacked. about ten terrorists entered some of the city`s best hotels and commercial points like the Taj, Oberoi and Nariman house. They carried with them automatic weapons and grenade. That night they opened fire on countless innocent people, not only in the hotels but even in public places like railway stations and roads. This was an open war cry, where for the first time the upper crust of society was targeted. An Islamic militant outfit called lashkar –e-toiba claimed responsibility for these attacks.
As I watched the coverage on the internet, along with the angry media many questions arose in my mind also. As a young Indian I was scared but more than that I was angry, sitting helplessly and watching my fellow Indians die these horrible deaths. As the siege continued, our brave soldiers and policemen kept fighting tirelessly, sacrificing their lives for our safety. My tears were all I could offer them as respect.
After the siege was over I became very angry, like many other Indians. Our country has suffered through so many attacks, and we have always taken it in our stride and moved on. We have always reacted but never acted. I as a young Indian have had enough; I want to see change before its too late, how much bloodshed we need to see before we combat our enemies.
The after effects of this attack show that perception is truly social constructionist. Social constructionist perspective means that the environment creates who you are. Because of the news that was being shown on the television the whole nation reacted in an aggressive manner for the first time demanding direct action.
Some people say “jihad against jihad” is the only answer, but to them I would say what Gandhi believed, “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”. War is definitely not the answer; we need to find a middle ground. These cowards are firing on the forefront of religion, no religion advocates killing innocent people.
They might have been successful in weakening our economy, affecting tourism, aviation, hospitality and even foreign investments. But this is my answer to them, the aftermath saw the funerals of many nsg commandos and policemen, not one of them was referred to as Hindu or Muslim, they were all “valiant” soldiers. And this to me is the biggest defeat terrorism can have. They plundered us to break our unity, to disrupt our peace but I want to tell them that even today every single Muslim or Hindu in India is an Indian first and will always remain so.
