And after 4 days when the terrorists terrorized, the media went ballistic and people watched a spectator sport – it ended today, 3 years ago.

This morning I tried to look for the names of the police and the NSG men who died in the terror attacks. difficult to find the names in one place. Almost nada. Nothing. Zilch… there is something to be said about a culture that doesn’t mourn its dead, doesn’t feel a sense of loss … maybe that is why we get attacked – time and again. Not just because we have inept and venal politicians, but because the people don’t care.

The dead

JCP Hemant Karkare

ACP Ashok Kamte

PI Vijay Salaskar

PI Shashank Shinde

PSI Prakash More

PSI Baburao S. Dhurgude

PC A.R. Chitte

PC Vijay Khandekar

APSI Balwant C. Bhosale

APSI Tukaram S. Ombale

PC Yogesh Patil

PC Jayant H. Patil

PC Ambadas Pawar

PHC, RPF, M.C. Chaudhari

PHC, SRPF Rahul S. Shinde

Constable, Home GuardMukesh B. Jadhav

Major Sandip Unnikrushnan, NSG

Hv. Gajendra Singh, NSG

you read the addresses of the police who died – not the officers but the men -chawl x and chawl y. Do we even think about how the police live and work … to dismiss them with the ‘sab chor hai’ is so very, very wrong …

Ask… think. Reflect …

———–

The list of all  those who died- police, security forces, civilians  –  in the terror attacks – Mumbai 26/11 via @onlysilly on twitter

12 thoughts on “29/11

  1. This entire blog seems to be an exercise in how its author is holier than the reader.

    Yes, people died. But why should I remember these people specifically? How about those who died in a road accident because the RTOs in most Indian Cities take a bribe and let poor drivers drive? Should I not remember them too? How about those who died because the carcinogens in most materials being dumped caused cancer in many people?

    If you want to, remember these people. But the approach of this blog and the column seem to be — look I have greater concern for my country/ City because I remember X, Y & Z. Well, some of us do not care and have valid epistemological arguments against that.

  2. @ gargi:
    This is exactly what I mean. Your smug response that does not treat the argumentation and instead delves in platitudes are a serious problem. This is possibly the effect that Social Media has on some where the default response is smugness because argumentation isn’t a a worthwhile proposition when the argument is from position as opposed to first principles.

  3. so? you want to mourn the dead in a traffic accident – go right ahead… i have the right to mourn who i want …
    and, maybe if people like you – didn’t chose to remain anonmymous and made a hue and cry about the people dying on the roads because of corrupt RTO’s .. things could improve…. but, there is a whole bunch of desi’s who would rather revel in how miserable the system is, and how miserable they are in the system, rather than do anything about it… even write or raise awareness..
    why should you remember those dead in the mumbai attacks – no reason at all
    why should i remember them, because i want to…

    I still don’t know what your point is – except argumentaion, which is great if you are a philosopher which i am not.

  4. @ gargi:
    How do manage to conflate such absolutely irrelevant things?

    Plus, I don’t care that people die on the road either. Well, that’s moot. The point is, it’s irrelevant whether I do or don’t for the argumentation in question.

    And I have no issues that you mourn or that you generally write poorly and incoherently. My only concern is that you seem to think it’s somehow relevant that everyone has the base assumption of what is a Utopian framework in your perception and work to that. Worse, you seem to have the audacity to exhort others based on that assumption. I as a reader felt that needs correction. But then as you claim, if one does not care for argumentation, one just made an excuse for being illogical. I’d have nothing further to add then.

  5. And and, “ask, think, reflect”? Seriously? For someone who questions the merit of argumentation?

    You should’ve written “Read what I write, and don’t think because you won’t come back if you do.”

  6. like i said thank you for your comments.
    nice of you to drop by…
    if you weren’t anon, i would come by to your virtual home and comment on what you write.. but thank you for taking the time out to read. and, more importantly the time to comment.

  7. @nilu
    there are three things you can’t hide
    a) a writing style
    b) an intellectual snobbery that may or may not be warranted
    c) an IP address

    time to grow up kiddo ..:D

  8. @ gargi:
    How does any of this answer the previous comment(s)? How do you manage to consistently stay irrelevant?

    1. gotcha 😀
      how have you been…
      the point of a column or even stuff on the blog is to provoke thought, idea, comment, angst etal…
      it has worked …
      i am not an essayist. never claimed to be Hobbes or Locke. I pen what i feel. sometimes this is the only outlet – can’t do this in the real world.
      sometimes it is well written, manytimes it is a quick jot…
      point remains, it worked 😀

      when i read the first comment – i thought it sounded like you, but wasn’t sure. the last comment was a sitter, went back thro’ many comments to confirm the IP … so tell me why post anon ? we can have the same conversation under your real name ?

  9. To claim that someone saying “this is silly” has provoked thought is analogous to Barkha Dutt claiming she’s correct because some people from either end of the spectrum disagree with her.

    If the aim to flagellate the self, there are better ways.

  10. Hey, you guys are good at some fantastically hard to understand English words. But, why are you 2 fighting for the right to express…both of you expressed yourselves here…that’s exactly the right that internet has given you…good you use it.

    But guys, you are doing exactly the same thing our politicians do in the parliament, i.e. deviate from the actual topic.

    Its nice to find the names of all our Martyrs and heroes at one place. And its helping me in my project on 26/11. Thank you.

    But seriously, “If rain drops start to think that they are too small to change anything in this world then we wouldnt have any more rivers flowing in India”….Similarly, mourning the death of Martyrs by one individual is very small, but could prove to the a part of a bigger inspiration in the near future.

    Yes people dont care nowadays…BAD…VERY BAD…

    But some who care just need a little motivation and you are doing just that…thanks Calamur…good night

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