I was returning home from college today and on my way i took the metro. After i bought my ticket i was expecting that the cops deployed at the spot would search me or my knap-sack (and i would have been extremely assured and relieved if they had done so) but they didnt,as i passed by and one of the cops kept looking at me as if he had scanner in his eyes, because of which he gave me a clin-chit. This incident sums up the mood of what Calcuttans feel towards the recent Bombay Terror Strikes. Even after such gross mayhem such callous, aloof and lackadaisical attitude shows that how
1.Apathetic we are towards the people who have died in the attacks. How heartless we are towards the Cops,NSG,Army,Navy and ATS personnels who have laid down their lives to rescue hostages from the clutches of terrorists.
2.The current theory which is doing round in Calcutta is that since the city has not had a terror strike record. It can never happen to us.We are so complacent, that our contentment has made us it almost hostile towards the Bombay 26/11 attack.
3.Calcutta loves cliches.Like the much exploited,over-done,over-said Bombay spirit.We love our 'cholche cholbe' attitude and we think a magic wand swung by some heavenly creature would continue to guard us against such security lapses and we just lie in our couches and discuss whether Manmohan Singh should stay or go. Moreover, wearing black to express silent (read fashion) protest has become style statements. I get messages wear this colour to college, join this group in some social networking site.
My question is WHEN CAN WE STOP BEING JUVENILE AND SHALLOW?
Who cares what one should wear, when there are important tings to worry about? We should stop investing our time in such mindless, inconsequential activities and should do something which would coerce the government to get into some serious action. I agree as students we are in some ways restricted to do so but in more ways than one we are so liberated. We are the most unprejudiced voice in our society.We who are not tainted with any political hue,are capable of doing this my writing incessantly to PM so that we he is deluged with letters and would thereby notice how the young public opinion is against his government and the minute he sees, us the new franchises disabused with the UPA,he would be left with no option but to take action.I ask all of you,to write one letter each to the PM.Please do it.
The another cliche is we need to stop glorifying the deaths of our brave heroes. People like Hemant Karkare,the pride of our nation whould be celebrated across the social,cultural,political spectrum but their demise shouldn't be romanticised.We are proud of them but not of the fact that they are dead.So stop chest-beating quoting their demise.
The disillusionment,disgust,wrath towards the political class is extremely justified and understandable under the prevalent circumstances but that shouldn't be a deterrent for us not to vote in the next elections.I know we will voting for the lesser of two evils in the next election but we need to make a statement with our franchise and a resounding one at that the political clas who will mess around with us would not appreciated for that.
Action is the call of the day we should focus on that not on trivialities whether our protest against Congress will align us with BJP. I ask who cares when people are falling on the ground like a pack of cards. We should look into whether action is being taken or not, should keep us updated with the developments in the political scene.
We Kokattans think that change would be created overnight, if there is a military dictatorship or one-man autocracy. We need to do nothing as our relatives have not started dying. We can sit back in the couch and express plastic remorse at what's going on in Bombay. We dont understand that change in the political and national mindset, if we only take our voting, our country seriously. You dont have to be political to be aware and a responsible citizen of our country, you can be aware and apolitical at the same time.
And lets not talk about the role of CPIM and our honourable chief minister. Buddha Babu doesnt realise that if the security level is so lax as it were today when I entered the platfrom with policemen mutely looking at me and with usrestrained infiltration from Bangladesh we are not very far from Kolkata's first and the most decisive tryst with terror. So Kolkattans keep sleeping, keep writing symbolic poetry and keep discussing politics in CCD.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
well, the day after the attack i found the entrance to the Kalighat metro station unmanned, curiosity led to the revelation....our grand old police dada was busy sipping tea! its not that i have much faith on how much of a deterrent a man armed with a bamboo stick would have proved for anyone who wished to attack the subways but still....
wonder when the fuck are we going to get off this callousness that has now almost become a trademark of this city.
Don't know which is worse, the fact that we calcuttans live in some separate universe from the rest of India or the fact that we take pride in doing so.
The city has become an haven for armchair critics in every field be it cinema or politics. Funny that this is the very place which provided some of the most prominent revolutionaries, people who did, rather than speaking and thinking of doing so. The passion is dying my friend, its dying inside the coffee houses,ccd's and baristas....it needs fresh air, lets take it back to the streets!
Its high time we do that.I have been suggesting ways of non-violent but effective protest like signature campaign for aletter to PM in which we would state that if such inactivity on part of government continues we would not vote for UPA,active campaigns to make people aware of their voting rights etc. It's high time we becomeaware of our basic rights and start exercising them.
Post a Comment