What Next?

I was thinking of something cheerful and fluffy to write but I can't after what happend a week ago. Its hard to see this blank page and not want to write about happened, how angry it makes you feel and how powerless and fateful life seems to have become. Its just a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it could just as easily have been me or you. That's what we were robbed off last week. The right to feel safe. Because till then, terror strike was just a random link on some news page. Oh 30 people died in a bomblast somewhere, really sad that...Its not that any of us are callous, its just that we'd become soo immune to it all till this audacious attack happened. I think that's what shocked us all - the manner in which it happened and not that it happend at all. I say this because just yesterday there was a blast in Assam and 3 people died but that wasn't important to our news channels who were busy listening to the latest volt face by the Pak PM and it wasn't important to any of us either - there were no Facebook updates mourning the loss of these people. I feel sad for us. That we've become so immune that we need a heinous act to pour our anguish over.

But that's not what I wanted to write about scores have other bloggers have articulated the frustration and anger a lot better than I ever could - a few links here and here. But what I wanted to add my two cents to are the next steps. What do we do now? I want to offer some solutions because I don't want to go down as one of those people who complained but did nothing. So Mr. Prime Minister, if you are listening, a few pointers.

Firstly, had this situation occurred in a business corporation, not would I have been stripped of my job a long time back, but would have been incarcerated for eternity for bungling up so badly. Thats what I decided to - analyze this from a corporate mindset.

Its clear we need an organization change - too many mini institutions and too many turf wars, resulting in chaos and non cooperation between teams. I could hardly believe the appalling leaks that are coming out of RAW. It seems that they warned of an attack in september but didn't care what happend to it after. Every department is putting its hand up and excusing themselves from the blame. Its like saying that you knew the competition's price and you told some random person about it and your responsibility ends there. In any business, thats grounds for sending you home. We not only need a simpler organization structure that unifies internal security and intelligence agencies. I read an article on the TOI recently on the next 10 steps to take and I thought it a fairly good overview of the organizational change needed. But sadly in our country organization change isn't enough. Decision making authority is important too. If ever we do get an agency for internal security, I hope it gets a faster, quicker decision making authority too. This is what happened on the night of the tacks. Mumbai Police calls ATS who then call the chief minister who called the home minister who called the NSG chief who then called up the unit in Harayana!!! they lost close to 5 hours in the interim. Bureaucracy and hierarchy prevented the call from going to the right person.

Thats another pet peeve of mine. Why is everyone baying for the blood of ministers? Didn't we all read history in school to know that our ministers rarely stratetegize and that they just blindly sign files. period. Their handlers are the IAS officers - the secretaries. They are the ones in charge, what file should be sent, who should get transferred to where etc. Why is no one baying for their blood goddammit??? I think they are more responsible than the ministers. No ministerial secretary has resigned over this and I wonder why? Powerful IAS lobby perhaps? This is aking to firing the non executive board member of a company instead of the CEO. I heard someone saying on CNN-IBN that most IAS officers consider the home ministry a "punishment posting". Internal security is a punishment??

Apart from organizational change, we need the best and brightest minds working for internal security. But that isn't possible with the salaries and the equipment that our forces get. I think our forces did a stellar job that day despite the poor equipment that they had. Tells volumes about our misplaced priorities isn't it?? I don't care if I have to pay a special tax on internal security but can we please pay them a million times more so that they are motivated to protect this nation??

I'm tired. I'm really tired that it takes over 4100 terror attacks to act tough. We are worse than a soft state, we are a country with no balls whatsoever. Call me unpatriotic if you will but thats what I think. Whoever in the world can come and fuck us over and over again and all we do is issue " a strong condemnation". Mr. Prime Minister, do something goddammit!! Show them that nobody messes with us!