Peace in Surat
Dear all,
Suratis must congratulate each other today on evading about 20 live bombs and being safe despite a huge chunk of explosive material, enough to make about 50 bombs, plying within the city boundaries. It’s great to be alive today, indeed.
We cannot move out today–a sort of self-imposed curfew. Educational institutes and public places are officially declared closed. Of course, one can go out, but who would dare and why? What is more important than being alive?
Well, when indoors, one becomes philosophical. Or sometimes cynical. Or both, as in my case, at different times of the day and depending on the mood. Sometimes I felt a little uneasy to think how a person can plan such a savage attack–secretly planting bombs and running away from that place. It is a heinous crime. Such a well-planned and dastardly act cannot be the result of one man turning wild. There must be about a thousand people involved–some of them may be in our neighbourhood. How to spot them? I wonder.
During the cynical phases, I wonder whether gruesome acts should be considered as terrorists’ success or our failure–failure of administration, police, society or education. It is childish to believe that terrorists have no religion. They are extremely religious, and their interpretation of religion is squarely wrong. I doubt if any religion vouches for and propagates murder, crime or terror. It is our task to be on the look out for such people, and inform the authorities when we spot them. We must be alert to the possibility of danger. We all. Today it is Surat, tomorrow it may be some other part of our country. The need for constant vigilance can’t be stressed more.
Let peace prevail!
Best wishes,
Dharmendra.