Saturday, September 20, 2008

Unsung Heroes

Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma of the Delhi Police gave up his life today in the line of duty, taking four bullets in his stomach, arm, thigh and shoulder, in an intense encounter that ended with two terrorists killed and one arrested in a crowded locality of Delhi.

The first reaction of the media to the encounter was that it's fake. Until news of the death came in. If the Inspector hadn't died, we would have the media and the public screaming at how the Delhi Police faked an encounter to show success after the blasts. Are we really being fair to those heroes who give up their lives to keep us safe? We had a very safe Ganesh Chaturthi - do the police get credit for that? A hero dies, giving up his life for our safety? How many will remember his name tomorrow? What about those bomb disposal squad members who put their lives in grave danger every time they defuse those bombs?



For the last week, I have heard time and again, how the government needs to do more to stop terror. How the police is helpless, how our intelligence needs to be strengthened. Really? And how do we do that? Scan every nook and corner every minute? Someone suggested we should make sure no one enters through the border? Really? So what's a border? How do we "seal" it? How many thousands of kilometers? It's easy to criticize and make motherhood statements, but are we thinking straight? I am sick of hearing the news anchors screaming - why don't we declare an all out war against the terrorists? When will the government wake up? Damn it, shut up, and stop this drama!

Does it mean we can do nothing, that we will always have to live in fear? No. We can do more. But it will be a long and bloody battle. We need to accept that. We need to be strong, but patient. Governments need to go after the funding for these organizations. We need to strengthen security drills, get more CCTVs, more budget for the police and intelligence agencies. But probably, most of all, we need to be sensitive. We need to make sure our fight against terror doesn't become a fight between two religions or communities! We cannot afford to alienate our people!

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