This is in response to the plethora of articles in general in the media and the blogs on terrorism, criticism of Indian Govt.s poor response and comparing it to the US response to 9/11 attacks and so on..
Huge sections of Indian population have more pressing concerns than terrorism - employment opportunities, natural disasters like floods, droughts, basic amenities like water, living conditions, and so on. Basic infrastructure improvement and transparency in governance go a long way in improving the lives of peoples. Even after almost 60 years of independence and democracy, the politicians, the bureaucrats and the police still have an attitude of the colonial masters rather than the public servants they actually are..
Terrorism, considering so many more people die almost periodically every year due to rains/droughts, is not a significant issue for these sections and hardly anyone remembers/cares for such things by the time the elections come around! For the reasonably well off people like in most of the blogging community, a fitting response to terrorism, strong posturing of our Govt. in international forums, strong military capabilities - all serve as a source of national/cultural pride. While I don’t deny the importance of these issues, I also feel that there are much more important issues handled much more badly which often don’t get enough attention, from the blogging community or popular media!
Before applying the standards of US response to terrorist attacks on its soil to our response, we can’t ignore the fact that for the people of US, the basic stuff are almost taken for granted and hence such attacks are the most pressing concerns!
National security is no doubt, an important issue, but not the only one. Just as an example, I have seen only a handful articles (almost all of them in The Hindu) on the farmer suicides happening across the country, which I believe is a more important concern and affects more number of people than terrorism.
Disclaimer: These are just the observations of a single individual during the course of his normal life.. No scientific basis obviously!
Saturday, July 07, 2007
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ReplyDeleteTotally Agree.
ReplyDeleteFurther, US never had trouble on its own soil. Of the two world wars in which it played "key role", the attack that came nearest to the mainland was on Pearl Harbor. Canada is a yes-man for all practical purposes. The southern neighbors have very severe (indian-like) concerns like employment, development and health.
The only attack on US soil was Sep 11.
India on the other hand is second only to Israel in terms of "friendly" neighbors. We have (almost) seen it all. Troubles from China, Pakistan, Srilanka and even Bangladesh. Further, we have our own brands of "internal friends". Causes and Reasons apart, its the same violence and terror for a common man.
With the staggering numbers that reside in the country and innumerable points of entry, it would be undermining to call the situation as an "Intelligence Nightmare".
The current situation is so, because it logically (starting with axioms such as corruption, indifference etc.) has to be so.
Kudos to you. Added another nice blog to Favourites.
I agree with most of your statements:)
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