Welcome to the New, Tough India!

The Indian government has got really tough with the sole surviving Mumbai-attack terrorist it has in its custody. In a ruthless move designed to hurt, they have put him on an all-vegetarian diet. That’ll teach the bastard!

While they’re at it, how about learning something from Guantanamo Bay? To really show all those wannabe terrorists out there that India means business – and that they’ll suffer beyond their wildest imagination if they ever dare target India again – why don’t we subject Kasab to some music? Specifically, a strict regimen of Himess Bhai, Bappida and Altaf Raja, coupled with vegetarian food, should not only break the prisoner completely, but would be the most powerful deterrent India has against terrorism.

Sometimes I can be so evil, I scare myself.

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Mumbai Hit by Terror Again

So there’s been yet another terrorist attack, and this one has clearly upped the ante.

My condolences to the families and friends of the people dead, and sympathies to those injured, as well as to the hostages and their families. Yet again, we have been attacked. Yet again, we shall pick ourselves up, gather the tattered remains of our lives together and move on. C’est la vie, unfortunately.

Two very disturbing takeaways from this attack. The first is the renewed parroting for more draconian laws like POTA – as one commentator on Indian Homemaker’s blog demanded. The other is the sight of crowds milling about the Taj and the Oberoi, as if there was a circus in progress. Why add to the madness? I am mystified – surely these people know that they aren’t helping any by being there – in fact, they’re only adding to the chaos and confusion. Why are they there?

The easiest reaction in a situation like this is to call for tougher laws, all of which aim to circumvent the adherence to due process. Due process anyway gets short shrift here in India, and do we really want to legitimise that? This is an issue I had touched upon in this post of mine. Shouldn’t better investigation, more co-ordination and better training be looked at first, instead of giving the police arbitrary powers to harass citizens? I am no expert on these things, and would welcome your views. I am just terrified by the knowledge that by bringing in such laws, we have pretty much capitulated to terrorism – their objective of destroying the civil and democratic fabric of India will have been achieved. And contrary to what people feel, these won’t be effective deterrents. Simply because, in my mind, they do not address the root of the problems plaguing our law-enforcement esablishments.