The social media is flooded with chest thumping proclamations of patriotism, urging one and all to unite and create pressure on government to attack Pakistan and "take revenge". How can I forget the "intellectual elite" and their self-proclaimed "secular" breed with their opportunistic methods trying to gain fleeting moments of glory with endless debates?
There is wave of overwhelming outrage created by utter helplessness and frustration in people who have raised questions after watching macabre scenes of this tragedy. The answers however uncomfortable need to be answered. We must also understand that national pride is remarkably beautiful sentiment albeit when used as a tool to malign other race/country/religion/culture it loses its very essence. Patriotism is not about getting a high from titillation of spewing venom.
Dealing with terrorism is not easy and looking at pictures of grieving families of our martyrs, I fail to comprehend perverse mindset behind any religion demanding people from other faiths to be killed! What kind of religion endorses killing in name of its God and honours the culprits as martyrs/heroes? It is difficult to fathom politics of hatred that encourages inhuman acts of violence not a regrettable obligation but the whole point and make people who subscribe to such ideology barbaric savages! Deeply ingrained hatred, mindless greed and filthy power games are exercised to settle personal, social or political scores. With insanely high stakes invested in terrorism it has become new industry to establish religious, political and economic power games for global domination. My real concern is deeply disturbing trend of cult of hatred becoming a global epidemic endorsed by religious extremists.
We have witnessed a paradigm shift world over post 9/11. Entire political climate changed forever, establishing terrorism as legitimate tool for politics and religious fundamentalists globally. Terrorism from Islamic fundamentalists has compelled us to live with the nightmare changing our psyche.
The Pulwama terrorist attack has united our nation in grief, pain, anger and helplessness but soon the high decibel angry, intellectual debates, candle light marches, protests, signature campaigns will start waning and the media coverage will become nothing more than just an archival data till such tragic events occur in our backyard again! And before we go back to our normal life and Pulwama terrorist attacks and its aftermath is pushed to history, let us not forget the supreme sacrifice of brave sons of India, our martyrs and their families. It is easy to demand revenge from comfort of our homes without realizing price our forces and their families pay in wars.
For any healthy democracy it is crucial to have more voices in open to question with erudite judgement as to what is wrong with the system of country. But we have to be mindful about not letting our voices espouse animosity and discord that alienates people further.
Terrorism, the unfortunate reality of current times, needs to be handled in strategic manner and let us remember, there are no quick fix solutions to it. The first step would be to concede truth. Fortunately, we have strong forces in defence capable of taking any challenge and the government that is determined to fight terrorism and has will and courage to take necessary action. Going forward, the only way I find possible is through compassion and reconciliation. But before we take that path, we must quell the disruptive forces. I know it is not a simple task but the onus is all the more on enlightened minority, the educated class to ensure we walk towards path of constructive solutions instead of useless rage and damnation devoid of humanity. If we as nation can't achieve that we can't call ourselves a proud nation.
If we are truly angry about the loss of our brave hearts at Pulwama, let us at least assure we become a nation worthy of their sacrifices.
Rest in peace Pulwama martyrs. Our battle with terrorism continues to ensure no other precious life is lost.
Jai Hind!
