Mumbai - A City of Miseries

Havoc caused by rain, violence webbed by mad politics, bomb blasts in trains, gun battles in hotels, terrorist attacks in temples – disasters created by nature and men continue to devastate Mumbaikars. The public sphere which is supposed to put things in proper shape is totally deshaped. Everyone tries to score political points. There is no differentiation of tragedies. Even in the bomb blast spots, politicians and media drive their own agenda rather than addressing the grievances of the victims.

Whenever the monsoon strikes Mumbai and the rain puts the people in trouble, there is a sign of helplessness. The city gets paralysed totally. What are the business magnets and Bollywood stars doing? In case the government is not doing enough the bigwigs should come forward to build their city to the comfort of common men and women. Those who have money can fly in helicopter and land their own terrace. But what about those poor people without basic means for survival? They are the good catchments during elections. How many times this monsoon menance is troubling the people? Every time the politicians and business class promise to mend the fences and make the city fit. But that remains as the paper promise. Till the rain strikes again everyone forgets. The option for the common people is to change the bad ones in power. The alternative is worst. The choice is between the devil and the deep sea. In between the people of Mumbai suffer infinitely and undergo nightmare every day of their lives.

Adding fire to the fuel is regional chauvinism spearheaded by a mad man calling himself as politician. His uncle did the same trick four decades ago and captured power. This encourages him to test the same formula again and puts the people of Mumbai to untold misery. No government wants to touch him fearing backlash. Can we call them in spineless power holders? Both the state and central governments play cat and mouse game over the arrest and release of MNS chief. The activists get emboldedened because of the power of the politics which can get them out of jail. This lawlessness and no fear strengthen the regional chauvinists and put the city is trouble forever.

More sadly, Mumbai is the frequent target of terrorists. Its value as the commercial heartbeat of India encourages terrorists to bomb often. They don’t differentiate between children and women, elderly and sick people. Without discriminating people, without seeing their religion, region, caste, creed, terrorists kill innocent lives. In the last twenty years Mumbai lost 20,000 lives to violence created by men. There is another 20,000 killed by the fury of nature.

The city Mayor seems to be dead. The local administration is the puppet in the hands of state and central politics. Without a bit of vision to protect the city and its people, the Mumbai corporation members are sleeping. Whenever there is a tragedy happens in any city, we can find its Mayor talking. In Mumbai, none from the corporation comes forward to console people. There is a decentralization of power despite name sake local administration. The local administrators are engrossed in power politics and waiting to bid their chance for assembly elections.

The multiple wounds created by many players totally destroy the cosmopolitan beauty of Mumbai. Once it was known for the broadminded spirit of its citizens, cool life with hard work as its trademark. Today Mumbai is pitied as the city of miseries. Many irresponsible people are manning the city and bringing down the glory of the golden past city. Till a group of people or an individual comes out to safeguard the charm of Mumbai it will continue to consume bomb blasts, gun battles, monsoon troubles, regional chauvinism and petty politics.

Stateless Actors

Terror and violence are crossing national boundaries. This may be a half fact and a half fiction. Fact because of the power of terrorists to weave a global network to wreck mayhem at any place. Fiction because of the helplessness exhibited by the governments to control such terror groups. After the Mumbai attack, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari had washed away his hands by saying that it is the handiwork of stateless actors. Yes, directly President of Pakistan may not have involved in aiding and abetting the terrorists. But the fact of the matter remains that they came from Pakistan. It is the prudent on his part to take stock of the situation and bring all institutions both state and stateless under his control. If stateless actors can destroy people and places at their own sweet will then the purpose of the state is lost. No wonder Pakistan has been branded as the “failed state” by the international experts for not able to control its own institutions and terrorists.

When terrorists strike any innocent life or a place I pray to the Almighty that their power should be curbed and not allowed to grow. I was thinking that the terrorists are using all the possible and impossible means to achieve their target. But the governments and civil society organizations have failed to utilize even bit of their own resources. The increasing number of terrorist attacks are due to the failure of the state and society to instill confidence in the youth. With the growing social problems like unemployment, family crisis, poverty and many other troubles, the problem facing people are prone to the temptations of terrorists.

In the do or die situation very few can think about the national cause. These are very vulnerable people who can fall prey to the terrorist networks. On the other hand, a scientific investigation in to the background of the terrorists say that they come from rich backgrounds. It is true that they all have resources yet they lack adequate socialization through family and educational institutions. Religion here plays the dirty role in recruiting them. Especially with the Islamic terrorists who got hooked to the violent network. The massacres in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan are shown in video and internet to gain sympathy for the terror operations.

Even a medical student who is in the verge of completing his highest degree in the profession can control his religious emotions when the message comes from the highest religious authority. That’s how many have become victim to the terrorist gangs. Even Osama Bin Laden and Al Zawahari possess hi fi professional degrees in engineering and oncology.

The stateless actors are growing in large numbers. For a very long time there was camaraderie among the terrorist groups across the world. Arms trade, drug peddling, human trafficking and other income generating business were the connecting points for terrorists. After 9/11 the cyberspace has become the medium of connection. Not only they webbed contacts across the world, terrorists were able to utilize it to the fullest extent to deliver deathblows to the state. The anti cyber crime bureaus of the state started late. Yet they have not equipped themselves to handle the terrorist games. Despite all these drawbacks the state has not faced heavy intensity terror strikes. It is due to the common people’s help and vigilance. The people must be credited for withstanding these pains and moving forward. It is the politics of pettiness which is blocking the efficient handling of terrorists. When the people in the government are spending most of their working time in safeguarding their job and chair of power, where is the time to think about tackling terrorism?