Terror attack: Delhi down but not out
Yesterday's terror attack in Delhi came as a cruel reminder of the times we live in. A terrorist group based out of Kashmir has taken responsibility for these attacks. It is unclear to me how their motives could be achieved by killing innoncent people. I was out in Gurgaon when the blasts occured last night. There was no panic as such in the malls there, but the crowd did start trickling out.
This morning, Delhi woke up in a defiant mood. Both the Sarojini Nagar and Paharganj markets - where blasts took place last night - opened for business at 2 PM. The markets remained closed in the morning as a mark of respect for those who lost their lives in the blasts. But after 2 PM, it was business as usual. TV footage showed decent crowds thronging both the markets. The electronics goods shop in Paharganj which suffered maximum damage yesterday was also open, even with broken windows and signboads. Some foreign tourists left flowers at the Paharganj market to show their solidarity.
In my opinion, there is no way to fight terrorism. Violence or retaliation certainly doesn't work as is obvious from America's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Talks don't help either. A terrorist will not listen to reason. The best we can do is what Delhi did today - each time they try to pull you down, get up and get back to work.
Comments
I don't agree with you. If you can't solve an issue that doesn’t mean you should start ignoring it. Terrorism is an issue and no way we should ignore it and get back to our life. If we keep on doing this, it will never end, and so many lives will be lost. I don’t know how we can stop it, or how we can solve this issue but if we start ignoring it, this is the worst we can do.
Posted by: The Dot | October 30, 2005 08:52 PM
I don't agree with you. If you can't solve an issue that doesn’t mean you should start ignoring it. Terrorism is an issue and no way we should ignore it and get back to our life. If we keep on doing this, it will never end, and so many lives will be lost. I don’t know how we can stop it, or how we can solve this issue but if we start ignoring it, this is the worst we can do.
Posted by: The Dot | October 30, 2005 08:52 PM
Let us understand the underlying process of making of a terrorist, or better still a suicide bomber. Heart of a terrorist knows the reason which our reasoning faculty the mind can not understand. How can we fill everyone's heart with love and a sense of belongingness.If "I belong to you" becomes our mantra then probably we can eliminate terrorism from the face of earth. Let us try towards that goal .AOL has been conducting free courses in Indian prisons (I was associated for Tihar Jail in Delhi)and trying to instill this sense of belongingness among the most hardened criminals ,and believe me there has been a perceptible change in their behaviour and thinking. Ask Kiran Bedi,or read her books on Indian Prisons .
Posted by: ashok | October 30, 2005 09:15 PM
Gaurav,
I have been in the US for almost 6 years now and have thought about this several times. I think it is the philosophy of forgiveness that makes us Indians stand out. If these attacks occured in the US or for that matter any country in the middle east there would have been such a retaliatory attitude in the people. Ofcourse the attitude of people is mostly hidden behind a facade of Govts. I do however agree slightly with "The Dot". We cannot sit and do nothing about it. There needs to be an urgency as far as the IB is concerned. This is my first time browsing your site and must say that I really miss Delhi alot...Cheers...
Posted by: Mohit | November 2, 2005 03:56 AM