Remembering the Mumbai Heroes

The city of Mumbai is slowly recovering from the terrible shock of the Wednesday gone by. Many of the dead have been buried. Families and friends of those who lost their lives in the Mumbai siege are slowly coming to terms with the reality. The firing is over but the lives of Mumbaikers transformed forever.

This is the time to pray for the deceased souls and a time to remember the brave people who saved others. Some of those brave men are lucky to be alive today, othere were not so lucky.

Hemant Karkare- The moment the ATS chief heard of the attack he took his constable's helmet, wore a bullet proof jacket, took a service revolver, and headed straight to face the terrorists. This one act summarise the brave man who never shied from his duty under any sort of circumstances. The 58 year old IPS officer was well informed and a vociferous reader as shared by Hassan Ghafoor, the Commisioner of Mumbai police, on NDTV.

Though his death is in no way related to the Sadhvi Pragnya case but he did receieve death threats in connection with the same. A man of few words when questioned about the death threats to his life, he just gave a smile. The smile will live on as the brave man's name will.

Ashok Kamte- A product of St Xavier's College, Bombay, he was the additional commissioner of Mumbai Police. Kamte also served in the United Nations peace-keeping police force. He also represented the country at the junior power-lifting championship in Peru in 1978. During the communal riots in Karad, Maharashtra, he himself led the police lathicharge. He was again in the midst of action on the fateful wednesday, 26th November 2008, only to die in the line of duty.

Vijay Salaskar- The encounter specialist who reportedly killed around 75 dreaded criminal was heading the anti-extortion wing of the crime branch. He joined the police force as a sub inspector. He once said in an interview, "In a shootout, no one has time for niceties. Either you kill or you get killed. I am plain lucky to still be alive." He was until this wednesday.

Salaskar yearned for recognition and official acclaim during his life. He got it all but a trifle too late.

Karambir Singh Kang- The general manager of Taj Mahal Hotel lost everything in the hotel he worked for. His wife and two sons aged 14 and 5 perished as a result of asphyxiation in the hotel. Inspite of all this he stayed back to help those stuck in the hotel.

CST railway staff- The scene at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus could have been even more dreadful had it not been the proactiveness of the railway staff. The staff at the inquiry desk used the public address system repeatedly to warn people from using the front gate, and instead use the last gate. They were lucky enough to survive the bullets.

Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan- An NSG commando, Unnikrishnan was an alumnus of the National Defence Academy. He was the only son of an ISRO official. Coming from the Bihar regiment to the NSG, his sacrifice should also give Mr Raj Thakery a reason for some serious introspection on his policies.

Gajender Singh- A hawaldar with the NSG, Singh also lost his life fighting the terrorists. He was a member of NSG's 51 Special Action Group.

Mumbai Fire brigade- The firemen of Mumbai had to brave both fire and bullets to rescue lives, something they never experienced before. Their services were even used by the NSG commandoes to gain access to the Taj hotel.

The list is not exhaustive. There are many others whose names don't figure but their sacrifice is equally commendable.

Tears for Mumbai!

I saw the news of the Mumbai firing and thought it was one of those stray attacks. Being a working day we switched off the TV set a little early. As we were planning to go to bed, I got a call from a friend. It's only when I listened to him that I understood the sheer scale of the attack. I came downstairs immediately to swtich on the TV once again.

Sad but the images were true. My country was in flames again. But this time it was different. Terrorists came in boats carrying explosives and ammunition that they used at will. No timer bombs in this attack were used, just rifles and grenades. And what places to choose - Taj and Oberoi Trident hotels, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Santa Cruz airport, Cafe Leopold, Metro Adlabs multiplex, police headquarters, couple of hospitals and a dockyard. All centres of late night activity. The sheer audacity of the attack makes it all the more terrifying. The agenda seems to be to target the foreigners and the elite class. 'Deccan Mujahideen' is more like a coverup, the bigger picture could be entirely different.

Whatever the case maybe, the people of India and our foreign guests lost their lives!

It has now become imperative as citizens of India to report any suspected activity to the police immediately. Just yesterday I was hearing a caller on a Dubai radio station mentioning some people who carried some food stuff a day before the attack to the Taj hotel, and how his manager doubted them. I fail to understand why is he mentioning it now, why didn't he report it to the police then? As long as our own home is safe we think everything is allright. My anger is directed to such people also.

Let's not come up with any wild theories at this juncture. It's an attack on the people of India, plain and simple! As for those who want to terrorise this peaceful land, like I always say, "May the curse of Allah be upon you." You have succeeded today but nothing lasts for ever. The sacrifice of our policemen won't go waste. Wait till we catch you!

The New Team India

Indian cricket has rarely seen so much of talent. Who would have thought that Irfan Pathan has to sit out to give another promising youngster a chance. The Indian cricket today is brimming with confident and aggresive players. Much of the credit goes to controversy's favourite boy - Sourav Ganguly!

The 2002 memorable Natwest final saw Sourav removing his shirt, as he stood in the player's balcony, to celebrate an outstanding Indian win. It was a refreshingly new sight. An Indian captain ready to give it back two folds - a watershed moment in the history of Indian cricket! The gesture sybolises the end of a timid India and the birth of a hungry-for-more pack of cricketers.

Ganguly has retired but his legacy lives on. As he himself said, he sees a lot of him in Dhoni. Although I still feel Dhoni is very lucky in that everything clicks for him. But then even even luck favours the brave. Either way the lord has been very kind to him and so the sun shines brightly on the Indian cricket.

Zaheer's second coming is lethal, Harbhajan can test the best of opposition with his turn and his resolute batting, Sehwag and Yuvraj can butcher any bowling attack, Tendulkar has still some runs left in him, Ishant is a tremendous potential, Yusuf can change equations with his batting lower down the order, and a captain who has everything going for him - what more can we ask for!

This current Indian line up has the potential to beat Australia in Australia. And should we win a test series there, it would leave little doubt as to which is the greatest indian cricket team ever. I know one thing for sure, that day is not far off!

An Open Letter to Mr Hope Obama

Dear Mr Obama,

Your election has been the most followed event in recent memory. I for one did support you right from the time of your nomination.

You are an inspirational speaker and a leader who could be trusted. It was a pleasure listening to your public speeches during the campaign, and your victory speech was a fitting ode to an extraordinary election. Everything worked for you in this election. You had the best funded campaign of any US Presidential candidate ever, and a strong group of loyal supporters worked for you passionately. The natural tool of change in any country, the youth, was on your side and it was their record turnout to vote that changed the equations in several states. You've a great family, and like you, they stood the test of times.

Naturally you won!

And now that you've won comes the serious part, how to put things back on track and all that you promised! The people have given 'change' a chance by electing you, please don't disappoint them. The world is passing through difficult economic times and the US, being the most powerful nation in the world, is looked upon to sort things out. You are their hope Mr President!

The foreign policy of your country has been a disaster during the last two terms of Mr Bush. It was a major election issue during your campaign as well. Your victory has shown that people agree with you. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have been a failure. You've to stop them sooner or later. With a tumbling US economy I don't see the logic to fund such operations. Please use that money to put your economy back on track. And if even then you have money to spare, please feed those hungry souls in Africa and elsewhere.

"Winning the hearts and minds of people," has been the most overused phrase by your country in its war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Do you seriously think you can win over people by occupying their lands? It's like the Palestinians thanking Israel for powering Gaza's only power plant providing electricity after occupying their land for more than half a century now. The sooner your troops move out of those areas the better it would be for the countries involved and the rest of the world. Rather than finding the source of poison (read Osama) why not dilute it! Make friends with the Arab world, not slaves. I know it's a tall order but if hope can bring a black President to US, it can certainly help you overcome these obstacles.

Five years is not a long period to change the world but it can surely lead to a better start.

Wishing you all the best in your endeavours,
Inam Abidi