Hello Chrissie,
You wrote superbly. You alone spoke for many minds. However, my response is also here, in blue colour. 1) Why was Hemant Karkare, the chief of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), killed? Who killed him and two other top cops? [As per the media reports, the terrorist didn't kill them knowing their status. They were not even aware of their identity. So, any further question on this is simply meaningless. The Late Major Unnikrishnan and Late Gajendra Singh from NSG did a more heroic job and they really fought bravely with terrorists than those police officer. And we (media ki to chaandi ho gayee) are still obsessed ONLY with Mr. Karkare's death. What is this???] 2) Where were the self-proclaimed protectors of Mumbai, the Shiv Sena and the MNS when Mumbai was attacked? These political parties repeatedly attack ordinary, hardworking, poor people from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and other states of India who come to Mumbai to seek a living. They recently disrupted life in Mumbai for days by unleashing violence against unarmed North Indians working as taxi drivers, security guards, construction workers, street vendors, etc. Why did these bullies cower in fear instead of flexing their muscles in the battle to defend Mumbai? [It is high time media should bring this more to the public but it is not happening. Media is worse thing happening to India. They are equally biased and corrupt as compared to politicians and officers. In fact they are the partners to them. They either seem to have a horse sense of what really should be brought to the public or they are just SELLING news.] 3) Why were the TV journalists immaturely and irresponsibly reporting not facts but bytes of information that had a life span of one minute in the imagination of the journalists? These people made a spectacle of the tragedy and the rescue operation. Were the journalists trying to convey their anguish or their excitement? They seemed to be narrating the unfolding drama of a theatrical performance. [Media ko jitana curse kijiyee kam hai.] 4) Do the celebrities invited to speak on behalf of Mumbai represent the people of Mumbai? Their glitzy lifestyles are alien from the daily existence of the masses. Those who pride themselves as the elites are untouched by the misery that plagues the lives of the majority. In normal times their indifference is cruel and their ignorance deliberate. But on the TV channels these past few days it was garbage that was arrogantly spewing out from their glossy lips. Their statements were inane but definitely not innocuous. The ageing TV star urged people not to pay taxes and suggested brutal attack on our neighbouring country. It is a well-know fact that India has several upper crust tax defaulters who manage to creatively dodge the tax system and to get away with. By not challenging the hatred and violence against a community and a country that these painted faces were preaching, the journalists are guilty of endorsing such vile views. [Actually, it is a pure business for journalists also. Like politicians, for them also country is second and their own business supreme. So, when once channel brings some actor, the other channel immediately tries hard to get some other actor. It is pure competition and not the concern for the people...it is just means to remain in the business. None of the media asks Govt, what happened to the verdict on Sanjay Dutt case? Media, never publishes list of Top Tax defaulters consistently.] 5) Why did the media focus largely on the tragedy unfolding at the five-star hotels? The newspapers too are filled with stories of the ordeal of the elites. It seems as if there is no need to grieve the killing of more than 50 ordinary people at CST station or the sweeper at Cama hospital. Are some lives more precious than others? [A valid point Madam. It would a mere repetition, but media is just a business and nothing else They will present what sells.] 6) Are these luxury hotels Mumbai's icons? India's journalists seemed to think so; that's how they referred to these places. They surely know that ordinary folks in Mumbai are rudely barred from straying into these areas. That hardly matters to them. The editor of a national daily, the Indian Express, tried to stir up the sympathy of his readers for the loss of his "second home" (his words), the Oberoi - Trident hotel. [That is an icon is right but making an emotional issue out of that is just a business madam.] 7) Shouldn't we overhaul our security establishment in terms of training, equipment, job specification, salaries, resources, and way of functioning? Large sections of the security forces are poorly trained, badly paid, inadequately equipped, wrongly deployed, politically controlled, and harbour communal biases. We need a security set-up to maintain law and order, to enforce the rule of law, to tackle crime and to punish the guilty without prejudice or fear. Instead, what we have is a system that is almost completely rotten and that thrives on exploiting the weak and the defenceless. And the few upright personnel are quickly sidelined or eliminated. [Madam, You have not left any issue untouched.] 9) Can a fractured society outsmart a well-synchronised team executing a meticulously- planned operation? A rigid hierarchical system is at the core of the Indian social matrix. Thus social relations between sections of society are unequal and based on power, status and connections. Your position on the social ladder determines whether you are treated with respect or with contempt. We are unable to express solidarity that transcends caste, class, regional and religious barriers. People considered to be on the lower rungs of the hierarchy are alienated from human society. It's not too difficult to tear down a weak, rotten, divided society that does not value the lives of all its people equally. [It will be a surprise if someone do not agree to your views Madam.] Regards, Avinash.
