Reactions on Mumbai's terror attacks!

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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Farah Khan Ali writes her heart out against terrorism and politics

By: Farah Khan Ali
Date: 2008-12-01

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Mumbai: Farah Khan Ali’s open letter

Dear Citizens of India,
I’m angry, frustrated, upset and emotionally distraught with the terror attack that struck our city on the night of November 26, 2008. How dare this happen to us? How dare these people are allowed to enter our land with arms and ammunition without the government taking any respons- ibility for this major catastrophe. It’s about time people realise that this will keep on happening until we get together and put a stop to this.

How many more Osama Bin Ladens, George Bushes, L K Advanis, Narendra Modis, Bal Thackerays, and Raj Thackerays do we have to endure until we realise that each one of these people have their own agendas and preach hate. I remember our country pre-1993 as a peace-loving country with the exception of the riots that took place after Mrs Gandhi’s death. Mr L K Advani, just to gain some political mileage, took out a Rath yatra to demolish the Babri Masjid and razed it to the ground to prove Hindu supremacy. Bal Thackeray followed that up by using inflammatory speeches that gave way to riots where innocent people were butchered and as a result, we all became the victims of the terrible bomb blasts that shook our city. Since then we have only experienced terror and more terror in the name of religion and politics.

I was in Dubai the night terror struck and was sitting next to an Arab woman while watching the news. She was cursing Osama Bin Laden as saying that how dare he call himself a “Muslim” because no religion allows you to kill another human being. She was angry with him for allowing the world to believe that Islam preaches hate and that people wanted to believe that terror had a religion: Islam.

Terror really has no religion. How can the God that created all of us equally give us different names and love us unequally? It’s like asking a parent which one of your children they love more.

Back home, our political leaders play us like pawns and constantly rave and rant about Hindutva and how we need to throw the Muslims in our county out and back to Pakistan. If the very people who are supposed to be our so-called leaders make someone from a minority community feel insecure, why won’t he join hands with another who promises him a better life as all he wants, is to give his family and himself three square meals a day and a roof over his head.

I even got an SMS from my friend Sharmila Thackeray saying that “All those who had lost their lives while saving this city are Marathis and that MNS workers are busy donating blood and helping police for rescue operations.”

At first, I was shocked ,then angry, as I had just heard the news that my friend Ashish Chaudhary had lost his sister and brother-in-law. I sent her back a message telling her to get a life as in times like this one does not care from where you come from, it is a humanitarian loss as the people who lost their lives came from different religions, countries, states etc. I could not believe that at a time like this, Raj Thackeray and his wife were trying to promote party politics. I also know that after she reads this she may never talk to me again, but ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. I’m not going to take this lying down anymore and not show my outburst to these politicians because a member of my family or I know them personally.

Kudos to Mrs Hemant Karkare, the widow of an exceptional officer, when she refused to take any compensation from Narendra Modi. After all, this was the same man,who along with LK Advani, had called her husband anti-national because he was investigating the Male-gaon blasts where terror had been caused by members of the majority community. Frankly in a country of ONE BILLION people we do not have ONE person,who can truly be called our “LEADER”. We need young, dynamic politicians, who are not afraid to put their lives on the line for the people, we need a person who can make a difference.
UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL. JAI HIND!
Farah Khan Ali

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Arjun Rampal doesn’t blame Pakistan
By: Sarita Tanwar
Date: 2008-12-01

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Mumbai: Make India terror-proof instead, says Arjun, who wants to make a difference

http://www.mid-day.com/imagedata/2008/dec/rjun.jpg

While most actors were running scared of making comments while Mumbai was being held at gunpoint, Arjun Rampal went live on a TV channel and voiced his anger, hurt and disappointment.

When he emerged out of the TV studio, he received many congratulatory messages for speaking his mind on national television. However, he also received some hate SMSes abusing him for not bashing Pakistan.

Blame game
And all because on the show, he questioned, ‘why do we Indians always politicise everything and blame Pakistan?’ Explains the actor, “What I meant was, why blame someone? Why do you expect better from the neighbouring country? It’s been happening for so many years. What has the blame game achieved? Instead, why not ensure that we are terror-proof? Look how no attack has happened in the US after 9/11; why can’t we ensure that our cities are safe?” the actor wonders.

Like the rest of the city, he stayed glued to his TV for three days till the nightmare ended on Saturday morning. The actor concludes with, “Mumbai collects the highest income-tax in the country, and yet we don’t have NSG or its equivalent to protect us. They have to be called in from Delhi; this despite so many terror attacks on the city. Why can’t the government give land in Mumbai, where we can train our own commandos and also arm them adequately? The terrorists come with AK 47s; our cops only have rifles to defend themselves and us.”

Wednesday terror attack coincided with his birthday. He rues that he will never be able to associate November 26 with happy memories now.

The actor is not all talk. He is planning a big movement with his friends and film industry folk to ensure that the citizens of the country are protected against terrorism. He is reluctant to talk about it, “I will talk about it when it’s all in place,” is all he’s willing to say at the moment. More power to you, Arjun!

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Irrfan Khan has a lot to say against the violence
By: Upala KBR
Date: 2008-12-01

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Mumbai: **

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Accountability and reforms are needed, says Khan**
Irrfan Khan’s Dil Kabaddi releases this week but he’s “angry and cynical” about what’s been happening in the last few days. Reluctant to talk, the actor later agrees and says, “The basic ground rule for any such incidents should be accountability and transparency.”

**Who’s responsible?
**He adds, “There have been so many situations in the past, so many lives lost but who has been held responsible or punished? It’s not just the responsibility of the government. Every department who knew about what was happening should be held accountable and punished! Jo nuksaan hua hai woh bharna padega. And I am not talking about the government paying that will be covered by the insurance companies.”

The actor feels that though Home Minister Shivraj Patil has resigned because of the attacks, it’s not enough. He says, “It doesn’t matter. Those accountable have to pay through their noses till the rest of their lives. We have to understand that we have been surviving on British laws for more than 200 years and are these laws really helping us or should they need to be changed? Is having a democracy paying us or do we need to change everything from the basic system to the political structure?”

Why Copy?
Irrfan’s also upset that we borrow everything from the USA. He says, “Are we intellectually so bankrupt that we need to do that? The politicians are so bankrupt that they have to woo us with religion. We should take lessons from China and learn how to function and protect ourselves.”

Irrfan adds, “The common man is dead. Yeh jo log Mumbaikars spirit bolte hai it makes me disgusted! People have no choice but to keep working. Yeh logon ki majboori hai, unko kaam karna hai padta hai. We are a dead society.”

Irrfan is also all for police reforms. “That’s the only way to eradicate corruption. We have to pay them good salaries and improve the quality of their working conditions. What we give them is pathetic. We are still following the British Raj.”

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Re: Reactions on Mumbai's terror attacks!

If "true followers" of Islam are able to wreac havoc in this world then where are the true followers of Islam who can make this world a better place to live in.

One thing is sure politicians...learnt it that no peaceloving person is willing to see their faces.

Terrorists and their masters had a non-stop free airtime on several TRP driven run-of-the-mill channels...media it seems got over the top

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All i got to say is that its a shame even after having such countless events where Muslims living in their so called own country have been blamed for all these attacks, yet some people have the nerves to say having the independent country Pakistan was not a good idea. YA RITE!!! only if you guys have to live through the hell these muslims do whenever any such event takes place in India and otherwise too. Howcome big stars like Saif have not been able to get a home for them in a porche area? just because he is a muslim. It's a shame.

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Re: Reactions on Mumbai's terror attacks!

Famous stars not able to get accommodation...well, I would like to take that assertion (eventhough reported in media) with a pinch of salt.

Well there is an old saying...nami chor hi baar baar pakda jaata hai. Moderates in muslim community, unfortunately have to grapple with this issue ad infinitum.

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Re: Reactions on Mumbai's terror attacks!

^ Why exactly do you say so?.

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Re: Reactions on Mumbai's terror attacks!

I say that because I have very good muslim friends in India who say that Quranic verses are being interpreted in opportunistic and subjective manners...thanks to all those self styled custodians of faith.

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Re: Reactions on Mumbai's terror attacks!

huh? who exactly is this related to what i was saying....dont confuse me just cuz u urself r already confused!.

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I say sorry and stand corrected: Simi Garewal

Bollywood’s veteran actress Simi Garewal, who kicked up a storm with her comment on a TV show that slums in Mumbai can be seen sporting Pakistani flags, has apologised, saying she was wrong and stood corrected.
“I was wrong on that count and I apologise for that. In the slums near the Race Course in Mahalaxmi in central Mumbai which I was talking about, they sport Islamist flags; and you know it closely resembles the Pakistani flag. This was pointed out to me by somebody. So, I say sorry and stand corrected,” Garewal told IANS, after Mumbai’s 60-hour terror siege in which at least 183 people were killed.
Stating that she stood by her views, verbalised in NDTV’s We The People programme anchored by Barkha Dutt Sunday, that India must dismantle the militant camps in Pakistan if the Pakistani government was incapable of doing so, Garewal asked: “Hasn’t the US Army gone in and uprooted the training camps situated in the tribal areas of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan?”
She said the government must stop being soft towards terrorists and emphasised that she was “not all disrespectful towards Pakistan’s sovereignty”.
“My suggestion is that the Indian Army should go into POK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir), do the job and come back back without harming the country or its people.”
Garewal said she was “still angry and frustrated because we are all so helpless in the face of terror”.
“When the terrorists from across the border strike India, the Hindus and Muslims suffer equally. We have seen that happening again and again,”
Excerpts from the interview with IANS:
On the TV programme, We The People, Sunday, you made very strong suggestions that India should bomb militant camps in Pakistan. Do you think it’s easy to transgress the sovereignty of a country?
I still stand by what I said in the “We The People” programme." India knows where these militant camps are located in Pakistan. We have the video footage and proof. If the Pakistani government is unwilling or incapable of dismantling them, I reiterate that, for our own safety, India should.
But Pakistan is a sovereign country. If India does what you have suggested, it might lead to another war between the two countries?
But can’t we do that invisibly? Hasn’t the US Army gone in and uprooted the training camps situated in the tribal areas of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan? If the US can do that, why can’t we?
It seems you are being too emotional to suggest that.
Perhaps I am being emotional. Like every Mumbaikar, I am angry and frustrated. How long can we live in fear of being attacked by terrorists from across the border? Are we going to be sitting ducks forever, waiting for the next attack?
What do you want the government of India to do under the present circumstances?
I want to tell the government, stop being soft towards the terrorists. Act and act swiftly.
The Indian government has already put tremendous pressure on the present Pakistan government to dismantle the terrorist camps there. The country is also under international pressure in the aftermath of 27/11.
But it’s not working, is it? Has the Indian government received even a modicum of a favourable response from the Pakistan government in this regard? And anyway, will any country ever admit to it? Has Pakistan responded to India’s request to hand over the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts accused Dawood Ibrahim after all these years?
Don’t you think India has done its best to make Pakistan understand the consequences of terrorists being let loose? The country itself has been a victim of terrorist attacks.
You are right. And yet it is not doing anything to rein in the terrorists and that is exactly what has angered me, like everybody else. If Pakistan is unable to do it, it must allow us to do it.
Here, let me emphasise clearly, I am not at all disrespectful towards Pakistan’s sovereignty. Nor am I suggesting that India should invade Pakistan. No! My suggestion is that the Indian army should go into POK on a mission, do the job and come back without harming the country and its people. We cannot afford to suffer anymore because of Pakistan’s inaction.
Aren’t you aware that both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers and such an impulsive act, if one would go by your suggestions, would assure muted annihilation for both the countries.
As I have said, I am not a war monger, nor am I a politician and I do not know anything about handling clever military operations. But the time has come for us to take some drastic steps, so that the citizens of India can live peacefully.
On that programme you also made a remark that slums in Mumbai sporting the Pakistan flag. Have you actually been to a slum and seen any of these flags?
I was wrong on that count and I apologise for that. In the slums near the Race Course in Mahalaxmi in central Mumbai which I was talking about, they sport Islamist flags; and you know it closely resembles the Pakistani flag. This was pointed out to me by somebody. So, I say sorry and stand corrected.
**Do you believe all Muslims in India are anti-national and support Pakistan? **
Oh no! Not at all! Absolutely not! I have never said that. When the terrorists from across the border strike India, the Hindus and Muslims suffer equally. We have seen that happening again and again.
**But the statement you made on that widely watched TV programme were very provocative. Do you regret your comments? **
I don’t. I never intended to provoke anybody. I made those statements as a patriotic Indian, and a Mumbaikar I was worked up. I am still angry and frustrated because we all are so helpless in the face of terror. I am only putting forward an agenda to let ourselves be out of the grip of fear. Because, as I see it, there are no other solutions left.

**** u simi :mad: