Friends,
Last 2 weeks saw all of us glued to our television sets witnessing the outcome of the terror attack in Mumbai. We all watched in horror the unleashment of wanton and unprovoked terror attacks on our fellow countrymen.
We Indians have been witnessing such attacks from the past so many years and we have certain fixed reactions to them, we blame politicians, we blame the intelligence, we blame the security agencies and then in a few days we forget all about it.
This attack on Mumbai has shaken awake the citizens of Mumbai and they have woken up and said NO to the politicians, they have said NO to the laid back attitude and "Chalta hai, hota hai" attitude and are trying to rouse from slumber the various authorities and have tried to put in the message that no longer will they be mute witnesses of wantonness of any kind and they want a better and safer India.
As citizens of a resurgent India, we should think and act proactively. We should say NO when it is required. If we remain silent, we put across the message to the perpetrators of such heinous crimes that they have succeeded in their mission.
It is time that we think about this and put forward our feelings to our bretheren that we will and we shall prevail over these agencies of terror.
We at ALSOC have been deliberating as to how we can think and devise a response mechanism amongst us and other citizens and bodies so that we can react to such incidents.
It may be that the current attacks have not touched us personally, we may feel that it has happened in Mumbai and that Kolkata or Bangalore or Delhi or London is safe and we need not bother. But, we should look beyond the current and visualise and put ourselves in the shoes of the family members who have lost a brother or a sister or a spouse and then think how we would feel and react and what was lacking.
It is time that we ponder and give our ideas as to what we feel should have been done or should be done in situations of terror like these otherwise we shall remain but mute spectators and remain in our imaginary fortresses of safety.
Friends, we want your suggestions, thoughts, inputs, concerns so that we can plan and devise a mechanism or a plan of action to react in situations like these.
Please do spare a few moments and provide us with your inputs as a reply to this mail (we are in the process of setting up a blog on this).
We also urge you to share this mail with your friends, colleagues, acquaintainces so that we can reach out to all of them and get the feel of the pulse of others.
Nihil Ultra!
Last 2 weeks saw all of us glued to our television sets witnessing the outcome of the terror attack in Mumbai. We all watched in horror the unleashment of wanton and unprovoked terror attacks on our fellow countrymen.
We Indians have been witnessing such attacks from the past so many years and we have certain fixed reactions to them, we blame politicians, we blame the intelligence, we blame the security agencies and then in a few days we forget all about it.
This attack on Mumbai has shaken awake the citizens of Mumbai and they have woken up and said NO to the politicians, they have said NO to the laid back attitude and "Chalta hai, hota hai" attitude and are trying to rouse from slumber the various authorities and have tried to put in the message that no longer will they be mute witnesses of wantonness of any kind and they want a better and safer India.
As citizens of a resurgent India, we should think and act proactively. We should say NO when it is required. If we remain silent, we put across the message to the perpetrators of such heinous crimes that they have succeeded in their mission.
It is time that we think about this and put forward our feelings to our bretheren that we will and we shall prevail over these agencies of terror.
We at ALSOC have been deliberating as to how we can think and devise a response mechanism amongst us and other citizens and bodies so that we can react to such incidents.
It may be that the current attacks have not touched us personally, we may feel that it has happened in Mumbai and that Kolkata or Bangalore or Delhi or London is safe and we need not bother. But, we should look beyond the current and visualise and put ourselves in the shoes of the family members who have lost a brother or a sister or a spouse and then think how we would feel and react and what was lacking.
It is time that we ponder and give our ideas as to what we feel should have been done or should be done in situations of terror like these otherwise we shall remain but mute spectators and remain in our imaginary fortresses of safety.
Friends, we want your suggestions, thoughts, inputs, concerns so that we can plan and devise a mechanism or a plan of action to react in situations like these.
Please do spare a few moments and provide us with your inputs as a reply to this mail (we are in the process of setting up a blog on this).
We also urge you to share this mail with your friends, colleagues, acquaintainces so that we can reach out to all of them and get the feel of the pulse of others.
Nihil Ultra!
6 comments:
REALLY SIMPLE...............
India has 28 states and 7 union territories......... the following needs to be done asap........
each state to provide 2000 men as per profile to be built in consultation with experts in urban geurilla warfare to be purchased from ISREAL / U.S.A./ BRITAIN........ all have advanced systems............... union territories to provide 600 men ........ women eligible...
cetral govt. in collaboration with indian army to give these guys a crash course and by rotation get a fixed number to come back regularly for updates........
no politican can ever use these personal security guards........ they are exclusively to serve the public in the state...... transfer all locals to other states.........
all these personell must roam around in plain clothes carrying special passes for i.d. proof with their full equipment in hand bags so that they cannot be identified and can within a very short time counter any terrorist attack.......
remember...... fighting terrorism is both a defensive and offensive plan..... i'm not an expert......... hence buy the best technology from 1) isreal 2) u.s.a.3) britain.....
do we need rocket science for this..........
reverse the 1995 order by I.K. GUJRAL and begin covert activities in pak including intelligence gathering.........
local cops to infiltrate all extremists organisations and all such lethal s.o.b.'s must be dealt with severely regardless of being hindu / muslim or otherwise.........
DON'T DO ANYTHING I WOULD NOT DO...
I went to attend the "shraddha" or funeral ceremony of the mother of an old friend of mine last week. During the ceremony, a purohit sat in a corner, reciting the Gita. How many of the guests present were following, I wonder? Or even thinking to oneself that I must go back, get a copy of the Gita and see what is written there? It is all very well to be indignant after injury, but we shall remain unable to carry ourselves before the world if we are ignorant of what makes us Hindus, mere fanaticism will not do here. Fanaticism gives the one indulging in it the courage to face a gun, but to have a presence which all feel is precious and must be preserved gives any terrorist pause; it has always been so in history. Greatness is nothing before barbarians, but we have no friends in the world today because no one feels India has anything to give to the world other than erotic half naked Bollywood heroines, esoteric sadhus in fancy wear or no wear at all out by themselves for a kick, and yoga, which arguably gives good health, No one reads Swami Vivekananda, he is considered a fish eating Bengali who is best spoken of in posh club discourses. Ramakrishna is too far for us yet.
Aggression is a reaction well justified but not a solution to any problem.
Providing relief to tragedy victims only shows our acceptance of terrorism as a way of life and getting ourselves geared for unfortunate occasions.
We cannot sit back and accept the attrocities meted out to our citizens and have to do our little but major part of voicing our opinion and saying a firm NO.
In my opinion, we should harness our members to form a team to form a delegation to visit Pakistan and organize a sit down silent protest to prove
We care..
We object..
We know "u" are involved..
STOP IT
Why go to Pak? We know for certain that the origination and support of these terror group organizations and our effort should be to strike the roots and not the stems. Let our Indian Government alsow realize that if they are complacent and afraid to do anything concrete, we Indians and Xaverians are not.
I am ready to book my flight tickets and apply for Visa at the drop of a hat...
Rahul Welde's message through Yash Poddar :
My heartfelt thanks to you for your support and wishes during the horrific experience. I havent yet had a chance to connect with everyone and hence this bulk mail - this is so not my way of doing it. My apologies for that.
I want you to know that this is NOT a mindless forward but a straight message from someone you've known.
I wont go much into details of what happened that night. To cut the long story short - I was holed up in my room at the Taj hotel the fateful night of the terrorist attack. Managed to escape by the skin of my teeth at around 4 am - in sheer denial of allowing fire and smoke to swallow me. By God's grace I managed to make the run down 6 floors and some few metres without the devil in my way.
You can imagine how happy I am to be here typing this away. ( For anyone who wants to know the gore - let me know. I have the full story and transcripts of my SMSes recorded for posterity - to keep my anger burning and reminding me of my purpose)
I thought I'd leave a few messages which might be of help to all good people.
In the modern day world, risks are a plenty. Terrorists, tsnunamis, earthquakes - the list can go on. None of these check on your profile, company, religion, class or seniority when they hit. They just hit. And we know now it can happen anywhere. Here are a few things we could all do to keep it safer and better.
Firstly, value your family and friends. Two things I strongly recommend you check on
1. Make sure you are covered well by insurance. Even if you are well off - leave them better off if the unfortunate were to happen.
2. Let them know details on things like bank accounts, investments etc. Keep a folio with your spouse and close family.
3. Use every waking moment to cherish what you have - family, friends, nature. Stay smiling, laughing and caring.
Admittedly these arent things I thought about deeply till now. I shudder at the thought of what if.
Lets move from the philosphical to the more practical.
There are a few lessons that I want to share
1. When in a hotel or a new place - please NOTE where the FIRE EXIT is. The fire exit route saved my life. I had no clue of where it was and why I ran where I did. Why I turned left or right. Providential escape for me - nothing more. I've stayed in hotels for years and dont remember ever paying attention to this. Its a few seconds invested that can save you from big trouble.
2. Insist on taking a room in the outer periphery - where the fire brigade can reach you. My room was on the inside and I tell you what - there was no chance the fire brigade would ever reach me. They would have always been a few yards but several hours away. Ever thought of this detail.
3. A key item on your survival kit is your cellphone. I give it to Apple for developing the Iphone - a real smart gadget. Whatever your phone - a critical checkpoint is battery life. Often we wait for battery to go down before charging. Dont ! Keep it full charge all the time. All the SMSes saved my senses and maybe even my life.
4. I learnt for the first time that when running through fire and/or smoke - run bending down and wrap a wet blanket around. I did that thanks to a friend who advised me. Its a different story I chucked the blanket thinking that the cops would gun me down mistaking me for a terrorist. Good tip nevertheless.
5. Dont miss the aspect of staying fit - in running shape. Can help you and maybe even you can help someone.
Last few days I have heard/read a lot about peace marches and candles and politician bashing and police bashing and whatever else. I am sure a lot of energy will go in all that. Having been there I can only say that every soul - the cop, the fireman, the medico and even the common man on the street was doing the best he could. I dont blame anyone. I am sure good will prevail over evil in the long term. The short term blips we cannot avoid.
I have a lot to say and yet not much more. God is the greatest and leads to the ultimate destiny. I am thankful for all that has been and all that there is now.
Happy to be writing to you and wish you and the family best for times ahead.
Am sure we will be in touch. Till then.
Regards
Rahul
Decisive action is needed as the scale of this tragedy is horrifying. As true Xaverians and true Indians there is always something constructive to be done, ideas put forward and views spread. The web is vital for spreading awareness as well as a discussion forum where everyone can contribute.
I believe social networks such as Facebook and Orkut can be well utilised to this effect - spread our intentions and determination to act against terrorism along with other like-minded people.
Given the go ahead, these could be started and linked to this blog as well as the official Alsoc site in a matter of hours.
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