26/11

(Published in Banking Services Chronicle January 2009)

Dear reader,

Wish you a happy New Year! But even as we wish you happiness, it is difficult to forget the sad past we have witnessed in recent times. First, it was the global financial meltdown symbolised by the collapse of Lehman brothers. But I don’t consider that to be too big a crisis. As long as one is alive and in good health, one can strive to overcome poverty.

What I am concerned much deeper about is the second and far graver crisis. 26/11. When terrorism brought us to our knees. It seemed to be the culmination of the bomb blasts carried out across the country so frequently that one forgets the statistical trivia — how many cities, how many blasts, how many lives lost?

It is truly alarming when the number of lives lost becomes for us a part of the statistical trivia. And it leads me to two conclusions — we are either a callous society or an effete one. Callousness is on the rise with our material pursuits often overriding emotional and spiritual ones. But it has not gone to the extent that our quest for a northward GDP and per capita income has detached us from our near and dear ones. We still love them and care for them. Moreover, even a callous, purely money-minded person would love oneself at least. Terrorism threatens even this love.

Which means we are an effete society deservingly represented by an effete government. We are fond of celebrating secularism but unwilling to labour for its maintenance. We are good at gathering intelligence but poor at disseminating it and poorer at acting on it promptly. We have lost the power of non-violence and we are yet to acquire the power of the strong arm.

This is a wake-up call for us. We have to fight the enemy whether it is within the country or without. And we must be prepared for all kinds of warfare — military, psychological, economic or educational. A bunch of misguided people should not be allowed to hold the world to ransom.

Whichever path we choose, act we must. Heed to the alarm. Don’t press the snooze off and sleep until another attack wakes us up.