A Year Gone By...

It's been a year since the ghastly terror attack on Mumbai which stunned the not just India but humanity at large. But one thought still lingers among all Indians - ARE WE YET SITTING DUCKS FOR TERRORISTS???

From the initial sloganeering (to attack Pakistan militarily) to promises to shore up our defences (intelligence and modern equipment) to rolling of heads in the administration (though they've all been rehabilitated since), we seen them all but none of this has been reassuring to the people who matter most - US - THE AAM AADMI...

What started as a direct threat to Pakistan ended up with a senseless joint statement at Sharm el Sheikh (truly a shame just as the name of the city)... On the other side of the border, we have the Pakistani Government which keeps rejecting the several dossiers that India has provided them with. Hafiz Saeed still remains a freebird fueling the anti India sentiments through the length and breadth of Pakistan. While on the Indian side, the 26/11 trial still continues... Ajmal Kasab continues to live on the Indian taxpayer money (Rs 31 crores and counting... at a time when Indians are unable to purchase their dal chaaval) despite all the video evidence we have against him.

Our police (whether in Mumbai or elsewhere) still remains ill equipped to counter another Mumbai like situation. In 2009 when we have the terrorists equipped with AK-47s, our policemen carry antique bolt action rifles (hats off to these real brave men... they all deserve awards) - .303 calibre (originated in 1895), SMLE Mk III (originated in 1907) and Ishapore 2A1 (originated in 1962). The terrorists possess gadgets like Sat Phones and GPS', our brave men still make use of VHF radio sets (these radios don't work in cities like Mumbai with high rise buildings) nor do they possess aids like night vision devices, sensors etc

The fallout of the attack saw the "honourable" CM Vilasrao Deshmukh and Home Ministers Shivraj Patil (Centre) and R.R Patil (Mah) (remember the famous line - Aisa nahin hain, itne bade shaher main ekadh hadse ho jate hain, isliye total intelligence failure hua aisa nahin hain) get the boot. Just when we thought we'd seen the last of them, they've made spectacular comebacks - Vilasrao as Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise(guess we'd rather see him as a eunuch in a Bollywood flick... no offence meant to eunuchs here) and R.R Patil once again as Maharashtra's Home Minister(guess we'd rather see his ass whooped in Mixed Martial Arts contest... Brock Lesnar / Tito Ortiz / Chuck Liddell / Ken Shamrock do you wanna piece of Mr Patil???)

In the past few days, we've seen a lot of discussions on TV with Page 3 personalities preaching on what should be done, where the government has failed etc etc... My advice to them is to stop this Chatterati and do something concrete (sponsor training / equipment for our brave policemen, pay taxes first, stop using religion to create a divide etc)...

To the folks who lost their loved ones last 26/11, words will not undo / heal your wounds... May the good God bless their souls and help you overcome your grief...

Jai Hind!!!

Sources - Wikipedia and an Article by Maroof Raza