Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Yet another loss

Yesterday India lost yet another dutiful son to the guns of the Maoists. This time the killing was extremely brutal. The unarmed policeman was beheaded ! During such times I wonder if compassion and mercy really exists in this world or is it just in the fables. The media stormed the house on hearing the news and captured visuals of the bereaved family. A little kid whose age was probably 7 or 8 was interviewed! The sobbing kid says “When I grow up I am going to be a policeman” and then addressing the killers he says “You guys killed my father and I am going to kill you”. This visual will probably stay in my mind forever.
As I understand, the Maoists believe that the capitalist economy has denied justice to them. They have not been provided land or any means by which they could earn their living. Hence they are fighting for their share in the pie. Does economics drive away the feeling of compassion or mercy or during instances as these “the concept of humanity”. I no longer understand what they are fighting for!
I am also totally appalled by the response of the govt. Platitudes such as “I totally condemn this attack….” no longer make sense. It probably made sense at a time when such attacks were uncommon and the perpetrators of the crime were not known. This is a blatant inhuman act and the perpetrators must be hanged.
Probably the victory of the Maoist movement in Nepal gave their counterparts in India a new confidence. They however fail to understand that while there was popular sentiment against the monarchy in Nepal, we Indians love democracy. After all we can do anything and get away with it scot free! By committing such acts, the Maoists are going against the sentiment of the very people they are supposedly fighting for.
So what next ? Do we continue to mourn? No. All of a sudden we hear about a heroic act by a teenage girl in J&K who single handedly kills 2 terrorists. We forget about the dead policemen and star thinking once again “Life in Beautiful” and “there’s no country like India”. The govt goes back to its old ways, policemen continue to fight with lathis and we live our lives until the next Maoist attack when we mourn yet again.

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