War

Perhaps more has been said on the subject than is required.

I don't want to say anything about mourning and grief, about shock and loss for few, and voyeurism for many, about an impotent government machinery, treacherous neighbors or moles in the midst.

For one, I don't think the government -  its intelligence and police departments are entirely to blame on detecting this one. Rahul Gandhi's statement may have been insensitive but not entirely untrue. And in any case, the BJP is a complete ass to go and stage protests over this and even stoop down to the ridiculous level of suggesting primary and secondary education for him. If the BJP thinks that the people of India entrust it to lead the country into a more peaceful and developing era, it is delusional – it may have forgotten Babri Masjid, but we haven't. Furthermore, we don't tend to recall all those times when danger is averted through vigilance and swift action. Search online and you will find at least a couple of these every month, many of them in the chronically troubled regions of our country. That is another sad truth – a majority of us wake up to terror once in every two years (barring the people who lose their family and friends for whom every day must be a struggle), but there is a significant number of people in this country who live like that constantly. So much so, that civilians are trained and armed by the government to fight such terror (Salwa Judum in Chhatisgarh being a controversial example).

No. The government within the sphere of its present defense mechanism and policy could not have done more. Of course, the fact that the proposal to create a body called the National Counter-Terrorism Center has been gathering dust since the time it was proposed in April 2010 by P Chidambaram, reflects an utter failure of the government to create new policy and redefine how India should battle terrorism.

I don't claim to know a lot, to be very intelligent or a supreme visionary. But I have had enough and I don't believe that the answer lies in knee-jerk reactions, or a change of government.

India needs a complete overhaul of its defense and counter-terrorism strategy. A new policy that will trickle down to the very grass-roots, affect you and me in its execution. Gone are the days when only the government and its military, police and intelligence departments could be expected to blow the winds of change. The enemy is attacking me and my family and if things are to change, we have to be equally involved in that change. Maybe take a few pointers from nations like Israel, who are surrounded by enemies on all borders and are still one of the most developed nations in the world with the highest life expectancy and usage of solar power. Israel is also the highest spender on defense as a proportion of its annual budget. 

Yes, we could adopt a thing or two.

We need better border defense, better equipment for tracking invasions, more advanced technology and weaponry. Case in point - the high-tech boats that were purchased after December 2008 to patrol the seas are lying unused because of the huge amounts of petrol they require.

We need to be ruthless and perhaps inventive in cleansing our own territory of terrorist elements. Like cloud computing, we should enlist the support of civilians for doing this - encourage citizens to report suspicious activities and characters, which are then investigated thoroughly by the authorities (a thorough investigation does not mean giving every suspect the third degree - remote surveillance and background check should be enough to eliminate many of these suspects). We should give civilians easy access to the police for reporting any irregularities they encounter - like unattended bags, abandoned vehicles, etc. We should make that a way of life - I see a bag lying on the railway platform and if nobody comes forward to claim it, I call the police. There will be false alarms, but even one successful detection is enough to justify the manpower expense. Further more, we need CCTVs at railway stations, bus stations, airports, cinema theaters, crowded public places. And personnel manning these CCTVs at the HQs.

We need better infrastructure and disaster management. I read someplace that the CM of Maharashtra could not get in touch with the police commissioner after the blasts due to network jamming. Fire trucks, police, ambulances should be the first to reach ground zero, instead of the media.

Finally, to effectively execute all of these, we need more militarization in our people. Compulsory conscription for both males and females over eighteen years of age.Military service for all doctors and engineers even. A reserve army of trained civilians at all times, who can rush to the scene of attack and provide relief and rescue, or even combatant services till the time the police, army or the Black Cats arrive.

All this may sound radical and unsavory. All of these suggestions require huge levels of commitment from We, the people. We are a nation that loves our food, songs and Bollywood. But this new reality is a game changer. And the first step towards killing the enemy is to acknowledge that there is one in our midst, even now as I walk towards the bus-stop to go do my non-controversial job of selling soap. India is no longer living in peacetime. There is war underfoot.

Doctor Who?

We live in a strange country. Like no other.

The other day I spent close to three hours in a medical shop. Have I ever before disclosed here on this blog that I love shops? Apart from them being pretty much my office space most days of the week, you get to know so much about a city, a town, the people that live in it by standing around in a shop. It is full of things that people buy, take into their lives. More insightful is to see how they buy.

I urge you to spent ten minutes the next time you go visit a shop, just standing around inconspicuously, observing folks as they come in with their kith or kin, browse, ask for things - at times very specifically, sometimes leaving the decision-making to the shopkeeper, haggle, occasionally socialize, leave.

And let me know how it was. It fascinates me.

So anyway, I was in this medical store. Never mind why. Run by a patriarch and his two younglings. Handing out relief to patients and relations with the flourish of a doctor. Two instances which stuck -

A man walked in - I can only guess at his profession - blue-collar for sure, in his thirties, rough and stubbled, he said - Aurat ko cold aur fever hai.

The shopkeeper - Aurat ki umar kya hai?

Our man - Aurat hai.

The shopkeeper - Haan, aurat hai toh theek hai, lekin badi aurat hai ki chhoti?

The man - Abhi aurat hai meri. Humse thode naa badi hogi.

The shopkeeper - Haan haan, aapse kaise badi hogi. Yeh lo.

The man - Theek hai. Waise fever se zyada cold hai.

The second one is more telling. A woman hesitatingly sidled in, looking like a frightened deer caught in the headlights with a bear at the wheel. She spotted me and called me to her - half-beseechingly, half-shamefacedly. I went - this happens sometimes, people think I am part of the staff - she hissed into my ear - Ek mahina das din ho gaya.

I was at sea. I asked her - Kya matlab?

She whispered - Ek mahina das din, nahi hua.

It dawned on me. And simultaneously also on the shopkeeper. He came to our part of the shop and gently prodded her for a bit, before she told him the same thing, poised to jump into the nearest pothole all the while. He handed out the remedy, with the practiced ease of a gynecologist. Told her how and when to take it and what to do further if it did not bring about the desired results.

Such instances make me suddenly aware of the length, breadth and depth of this country and how little we know of it. About how much we take for granted, which some people can only have substitutes for. The chemists. Part-shopkeeper, part-doctor - handing out ointment minus lozenges to the great unwashed. And probably making a more honest living out of it.