Three Months after the Bomb Blasts in Bombay

Yesterday I passed over the spots that had recently (three months ago) been rocked by bombs that exploded simultaneously in many stations along the western route of the suburban Bombay railway. Stations such as Borivli, Andheri, and Mira Road where the bombs had ripped through steel compartments. There was fear in my heart as I passed these stations, crowded with people, their anxiety like a mask on their tired faces, returning from work, weary and exploited. There was nothing to remind one of these ghastly incidents, not even a trace. In fact, I was thinking, "God, don't let anything happen now, let not anything happen now." Security was visible only at the entrances, nothing to deter a determined terrorist.

I wondered how vulnerable we have become to hostage situations where bargaining is done under threat of killing innocents. How can they kill innocents and gain anything. I am talking of Gujarat as well as Bombay. Many theories have been bandied about about the causes of the explosions. If there is peace, it is an uneasy peace, a tentative calm. A few days before the explosions a communal party had burnt and looted many shops in Bombay as a statue of their founder's wife was desecrated by vandals. I guess the bombs were a sort of retribution for that, coming as it did immediately after the provocation, as a sort of "hands off" warning. I could be wrong here, I don't know.

Anyway, the deed has been done, the seeds of fear sown, and the harvest has been bitter, unproductive. There is smouldering bitterness in the look on people's faces, as I could gauge from looking at them. Today's papers front paged the news that the CBI (the Indian FBI) has found clear evidence of the the ISI's (Pakistan's Secret Service) hand in what they call "the 7/11 blasts." Ever since 9/11 entered the human conscience there has been no end to the "dash/dash" phenomena, most of them related to terrorist or natural calamities. I can hear mouths glibly verbalizing "7/11" as they dissect the acts no end, in a greed to get their own opinions across the hungry, and scoop-crazy media. "7/11 happened because of this, this and this," I can hear them.

What about the victims? Some of them are still in hospital, in a comma, some of them have had multiple surgeries performed and don't know whether they would be able to live a normal life again. Amen! (No offense is meant against any community or governmental agency from this blog posting.)
Tags: 7/11, Borivli, Andheri, Mira Road, Terrorism, Gujarat, Bombay, Victims, Media, CBI, ISI