We forget too soon and forgive even before forgiveness is asked for. Our tolerance has brought more and more marauders and murderers. Our virtues have been taken as a mark of cowardice. Remember December 13, the day our Parliament was attacked. Everyone said it was an attack on India. What happened later? Afzal, the terrorist accused of waging war against the Indian state, has found patrons in Delhi.
Let’s not forget our fellow citizens who have been victims of brutal terrorist attacks. On the eve of December 16, when the arrogant Pakistani marauders surrendered before our armed forces in Dhaka in 1971, let’s revive the spirit of victory and firmness to punish the Pakistani terrorists, even if it means bombarding their hideouts.
Sometimes to take revenge becomes a pious duty, synonymous with righteousness. Sometimes to be intolerant to the barbaric attacker is the path of virtue.
Sometimes using constitutional instruments for silencing the homegrown shields of the terrorists masquerading as secular human rights advocates and apologists for the Batla House module is the only way to protect the meek and plundered classes.
It’s our politicians’ deeds or misdeeds that brought us this day. As guardians of the state and its people, it was their duty to strengthen the security and keep assaulters away. Surrounded as we are by failed states, which are exporting jihad and Marxist terrorism, it was the first and foremost duty of the rulers in Delhi to make the nation’s security their first priority, no matter which party they belonged to.
They failed us collectively and became spineless chroniclers of a nation’s misfortune. Or the registrars of the unending agony of a people. They would simply present reports every year — banned terrorist organizations, number of citizens killed, number of security persons killed, number of bombs and rifles unearthed or captured, number of infiltrators estimated to have sneaked into our territory, number of terrorists eliminated, number …
What a game they played.
And now they are talking tough.
They used the same language whenever there was a terror attack. Gauge the mood of the people and speak what they want to hear. Soon everything will be normal. Public memory is always short.
I am sure the way Kasab, one of the perpetrators of the Mumbai mayhem is being presented in the media, soon there would be committees demanding his release, for the sake of India-Pakistan relations. Or his trial may be delayed to another decade, or maybe he is exchanged in a deal. That’s what our past has been. How can we have a different future unless we have a different set of rulers?
We are all familiar with the denial mode for the invasions we bore in the past: Aurangzeb didn’t demolish Kashi temple, Babar didn’t build mosque over Rama’s birth place in Ayodhya, Kashmiri Hindus were not driven out by jihadis but were pushed to leave their home and hearth by Jagmohan, the Godhra train was not set blaze by Muslim terrorists but by Hindus themselves, there are no Bangladeshi infiltrators.
This attitude isn’t going to help anyone — neither the “bigots” nor the Muslims nor the nation. Rather it will increase the bitterness and reinforce divides. So how does the black ribbons help Hindus, the principal targets and the victims of a pogrom that pronouncedly bears the identity of a religion? Or Deoband’s ambiguous fatwa against terrorism? They look, unfortunately, more of an effort to buy a civil space in a Hindu majority country than a serious attempt to make jihadis desist from doing what they are doing quoting religious books.
Protect plurality, fight unitedly
This can be successfully carried on only if every Indian joins it irrespective of his faith. The naked truth is that the last two decades have seen a terrorism which is called Islamic in its contours by the very perpetrators and is powered by Pakistan’s military agencies including the ISI. It needs an Indian response, ruthless and decisive.
Time to wake up and wave your tricoulour against the marauders. Show a profound solidarity for soldiers. And remember, every single person, whether in olive green or in khaki, fighting the terrorists is a soldier in times like this.
Defeat the homegrown shields of terror
Phrases like “zero tolerance” mean nothing. The state must be intolerant to the terrorist and merciless in its dealings with those who shelter them and provide a workspace or a kind of legitimacy through religious covers and secular columns.
Now, how to combat this situation?
Rise united as Indians forgetting parochial, religious, ideological and language fault lines. Those who raise such issues to garner votes must be treated on a par with these terrorists and handed over to the ATS. Any party or organization raking up or assaulting religiously sensitive issues must be discarded and condemned. This can be done through non-political organizations and leadership. The temples, churches and the mosques can’t be bigger than the nation, all gods need a space to be identified and worshipped. The nation is the space that counts more than anything else. The Lok Sabha elections are fast nearing. Prepare the entire democratic arsenal for that and choose young fresh faces on the basis of their patriotism and brilliance. Hanif or Hari, doesn’t matter, what matters is that they are ready to take on terrorism head on.
December 16th, 2008 at 11:25 am
bala srinivasan,saginaw.mich.usa.,says:YES TARUN’S WORDS ARE TRUE&CORRECT.BUT IT SHOULD NOT END JUST IN PUBLISHED WORDS.ACTION INDIANS,ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS,UNTIL EVERY INDIAN WHO READS ENGLISH GOES OUT IN THE STREET AND TALKS AND VOLUNTEER TO HELP VOTE THE GOOD CANDIDATE WHO PROMISE TO DEFEND INDIA AND FOLLOW THRU HIS PROMISES THEN INDIA IS TRULY FREE.
[16 Dec, 2008 0419hrs IST]
December 16th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Nat,Canada,says:Tarun’s prescription for india’ ills are all too evident to patriotic indians. However, he is deluding himself similar to a large number of ignorant indians including Muslims -about Islam’s place in india and the loyalty of their followers towards the integrity of India. Islam’s first and foremost objective is to establish India as an Islamic country and make her part of their Ummah which will be governed by Shariah laws and where democracy and man-made laws have no place. Any friday sermon by mullah in any masjid and preachings/brainwashings of young kids against Hindus, Jews, Christians etc in any of the numerous madrassas in the Indian subcontinent, will provide enough evidence of that.
[15 Dec, 2008 2318hrs IST]
December 16th, 2008 at 11:26 am
padmesh kumar varma,USA,says:Dear Sir,There are two types of openions to deal with the Mumbali attack. One pleades for an all out military attack on Pakistan as retaliation and the other pleades for a deplomatic action with the co-operation of USA,UK,France and Israel so as to force Pakistan to itself destroy all the militants working or hiding there and make it to hand over to India all the 40 ‘most wanted’ criminals. The first option may or may not destroy the terrorists but it will definitely harm a large number of the civilians in Pakistan and has every possibility of flaring up a war between the two countries. The second option will serve the purpose of destroying the terrorists in Pakistan without causing a war and winning an all out support for India. A third option is that the patron society of the columnist, the RSS, train a suicide squad stealthily and send it to Pakistan to avenge the Mumbai attack.Will it be done?
[15 Dec, 2008 2224hrs IST]
December 16th, 2008 at 11:27 am
A.S.CHAUHAN,USA,says:If not now ,when ? Strongly worded article indeed ,bringing out anger/factualities/sans practicability !The write up does ,of course, speak volumes about the considered opinions & helplessness to a large extent ! Deafs ( not really ! ) are not suppose to hear,( leave aside listening ) rather just pretend , only to make some noise & create chaos to ensure in drawing the attention of the media,both paper & electronic.One should remember the forthcoming elections ; just keep mark-timing. The public has the will to punish the erring politicians ,& if the circumstances so warrant ,can go ahead even in dislodging the rulers ,irrespective of any party or any combination thereof ;who failed to come up to the set goals/agenda before / during the elections .Sheer quality diction is not going to do justice. No doubt the masses have the right to know & need to be made conscious about the wrong policies being persued . Even the poor handling of the difficult situation unintelligently ,resulting into hell & havoc ,must be taken very seriously.Time is approaching fast enough to gird up your loins to decide ;now or never !
[15 Dec, 2008 2142hrs IST]
December 16th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Anil Kumar,New Delhi,says:Another Billiant & Thought Provoking article as expected from Mr TARUN VIJAY. Your articles are always touch the heart. We have to rise above all Party & Religious line to defeat the enemy. Our Nation is above all religions. It remind me of an incident Japanese Students were asked, “There are three majot Religions in Japan Buddhism, Confusiousism, Christanity. The students when posed a Question, If there is an attack on Japanese soil and the attack is Lead by Lord Buddha, Lord Jesus, Lord Confucious, What will you do? Their prompt unanimous answer was that we will kill them”. That should be the Spirit towards our nation. God bless our Country. JAI HIND!!!!!
[15 Dec, 2008 2006hrs IST]
December 16th, 2008 at 11:28 am
Neel Sinha,Noida,says:Atleast someone after the Mumbai attack has come up with words which every Indian heart is looking for….Even we don’t want blood shed and terror anywhere in the world…but that clearly doesn’t allow anyone in the world to think of India as a country of words and not deeds. Why are we begging Pakistan to believe that the terrorist are from his region…why not punish those terrorist and straightaway give ultimatum to demolish the terrorist camps running in Pakistan….
[15 Dec, 2008 1835hrs IST]
December 16th, 2008 at 11:28 am
Sabina,USA,says:Good write up indeed. I also appreciate your effort in hiding the role of RAW in making Nepal a failed states. Marxims in Nepal was imposed by India, although it may seem like they voted for them. Dont forget, when the Maoists in Nepal were declared terrorists, as Naxalites are in several states in India, they were sheltered by the Indian government in and around Delhi. Just the way ISI is not taken with good taste in India, Indian intervention is hated in Nepal.
[15 Dec, 2008 1803hrs IST]
December 16th, 2008 at 11:28 am
Sridhar,UAE,says:A leader of Sardar Patel’s calibre is sorely missing. The Iron Man of India was quick in thinking out solutions and ruthless in carrying out his plans, but always with the national interest uppermost in the mind. Let us remember how much the Sardar achieved in less than 2 years he was alive after Independence, inspite of considerable opposition from Nehru and Gandhi. He dealt with more than 500 princely states and successfully integrated them into the Indian Union, without any use of force. He never hesitated to use strong measures when required, like sending in the military to get the Nizam of Hyderabad to fall in line. Unfortunately, Nehru kept Kashmir affairs with himself and till today we are suffering. Tarun Vijay raises a very good point – the time has come to strike Pak in the areas where all the evil is breeding. This will also help Pak because their civilian govt. appears to be incapable of doing that even if they desire, for fear of reprisals from their army. What is the use of having a strong army if we cannot defend ourselves? The strikes should be made in such a way that the enemy will think twice before sending the terrorists into India again. There will no doubt be noises from Pak and other countries like China but we have a strong case now and the support of the West. If we delay, such a fine opportunity may not come too soon and we will continue to be seen as a soft state and targetted again and again.
[15 Dec, 2008 1743hrs IST]
December 16th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Nikhil,Pune,says:Hi Tarun. Cant agree more. What surprises me is people actually vote the current goverment in centre. I mean operation parakrama is talked as a failure but the paki goverment was strict on these outfits then as an outcome more 10 times more than their current actions. When I interact with people from other countries it feels like putting my face down when they ask me what is India doing about it,? The answer is nothing neither would India (goverment) do about it neither would Indians(you and me) do anything about it. It is important to kick out this goverment is what I feel.
[15 Dec, 2008 1734hrs IST]
December 24th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Dear Tarun,
Could you contact me on the email given as I am very keen to publish your articles in the Spectator magazine, which is launching and Indian edition in April.
Thanks,
January 7th, 2009 at 12:11 am
Sadly, the BJP is refusing to widen its appeal to rural folks, artisans, farmers and Dalits.
In Gujarat, they have been gifting farmers’ lands to big corporations and SEZs and congratulating themselves as being the most investor friendly state. They think India will become a SuperPower only when Ambanis and Tatas get richer and even richer.
January 13th, 2009 at 7:30 am
No deal with Delhi, nuclear or strategic, can change a basic fact. As long as America is in Afghanistan, India is a friend and Pakistan is an ally.
This alliance has been integrated into firm institutional relationships, beginning with the Cold War when Pakistan bought into Pentagon goodwill by offering Peshawar as a base for spy reconnaissance missions across the Soviet Union on U2 planes. This was further honed during two Afghan wars, against the Soviet Union and now the Taliban, into an intimate interaction between intelligence services. The CIA and the ISI are sister agencies.
Washington gives the ISI and Pakistan a great deal of leeway in deference to ground realities. The FBI has already said that it is not interested in picking up suspects from the Lashkar-e-Toyeba, noting that Pakistan is quite capable of trying them in its own courts.
http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Jan122009/editpage20090111111969.asp
April 20th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
let me know what kind of this magazine is. And your introduction.Normally an article published with due courtesy is ok.
May 20th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
This is very true, this is the time of self analysis. One more thing i want to include that BJP has to review his policy. This mandate has come, beacuse of the Muslims community has voted to congress , they have rejected Lalu-Paswan-mulayam’s combination. This is to understand that Muslims would not vote for BJP in any situations. They have to be concentrate on their agenda , which was a dream of Dr.Hedgewar, Dr.Shyama Prasad and Pandit Deendayal Upahayay.
June 8th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
SIR TARUN VIJAY
I AM WORING IN KUWAIT,YOUTH , FROM RAJASTHAN & KNOW GOOD ENGLISH . I AM WORKING GOOD COMPANY WITH ALL RELGINE PEOPLE. I KNOW WHAT THEY FEEL ABOUT OUR PARTY . I WANT REMOVE ALL BED FEEL . I AM ALSO BELONG TO RSS . PLEASE TAKE MY INTERVIEW IF I PASS AFTERTHAT YOU WELL SENDT TO DELHAI IN BJP . I WILL PROMISE TO YOU WILL CHANGE ALL BJP AS A POSITIVE WAY. PLEASE BELIVE ME AND GIVE CHANGE FOR SERVE TO OUR PARTY ON DELHAI.
KAMLESH PATIDAR AGE 30
KUWAIT
IN INDIA
DUNGERPUR RAJASTHAN
June 11th, 2009 at 8:46 am
BJP did well in only those states where the RSS has a significant presence, for eg; MP and Gujarat. I belong to a city in Uttar Pradesh which once had a sizeable RSS presence but these days its very hard to find a person wearing khaki shorts and going for the morning shakha.The youth seems disillusioned from the RSS.