The recent terrorist attacks at the Pathankot Air Base in India have been in the news for several days now and has shaken the entire country for sure. Whether it is a bomb blast, a gun firing or an attack on the army in any corner of the country, it surely means a loss of many innocent lives and destruction of humanity and peace. The same happened a few days ago when the air base in India was attacked by terrorists who opened fire on the soldiers and commandos inside the camp. Needless to say, the death of our brave soldiers was the biggest loss the nation incurred in this attack.
Terrorism has not been alien to India. In fact, in the past, we have witnessed ghastly terrorist attacks such as the serial blasts in Mumbai in 1993, the 2008 Mumbai local train attacks, the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai and more. Several thousand people have lost their lives in such attacks so far. Of course, these attacks have been condemned by all of us, not only by Indians but by the entire world. But how many lessons have we learnt from them? The Pathankot attack shows it all!
Terrorist attacks, firings and bomb blasts are grave crimes that not only shake a nation but also kill humanity and brotherhood around the entire world. These attacks need to be countered with effective and efficient strategies if we don’t want our innocent civilians and braveheart soldiers to fall prey to them. But following the several attacks in Mumbai and around India since years, we don’t seem to have learnt any lessons. Terrorists are still entering our country along with arms and ammunition and Indian security has failing to stop these attacks. Why?
The major question that arises here is how strong is the security system in India? How prepared are we to stop these attacks, prevent them or tackle them? Investigations are being carried out now to probe the Pathankot attack and establish the flaws in the security system that let the attack happen in the first place. And, the articles that I read about this investigation clearly state that some important clues were ignored by top officials that let the entire thing happen.
Reportedly, one of the police official’s car had been hijacked by the terrorists who used the vehicle to transport their arms and weapons and travel from one place to another. When the police official complained about it to one of his seniors, the senior ignored the clue and asked the police official to go home and come back on duty the next day. This step, reportedly, had been taken claiming that the record of the complaining official had not been good. But, my question here is, even though an official’s record isn’t good, is it right to ignore such a big clue and not even make a single attempt to investigate or look into the matter? Had the clue not been ignored by the senior official, maybe our security system would have been successful in nabbing the terrorists and stopping them from carrying out the attack.
But, nothing of that sort ever happened. Yes, it is brave of the senior official to admit to his mistake and ignorance. But what about the soldiers who got martyred? What about their families, their widows and kids? Who will take care of them? What about us civilians? Do we have any guarantee of our lives once we step out from the house every morning to head to work? How secure are we in our beloved country? The fact is, no one knows the answer! We don’t know when we can be attacked upon, or when and how we would breathe our last. And, this is a grave situation indeed!
Yes, India is a vast country and managing and securing such a huge nation is difficult enough. Agreed! But it is up to our government, whom we have voted for our own security and betterment, to think of the country and ensure that no citizen dies an unfortunate death like this. We have our soldiers guarding our borders 24/7 and the work they do is commendable. No wonder, their job is to protect the nation and its citizen, even if it means sacrificing their own lives. But, does this mean they will continue to lay their lives in every attack and drown their families in grief? Unfair, isn’t it?
And, if we have our soldiers guarding our country day and night and doing their job loyally and commendably, how do terrorists enter our country in the first place? There has to be some loophole in the system that is allowing these killers of humanity to enter the country, kill innocents and serve their purpose. And, even after so many attacks, why is India failing to discover that loophole and cover it up so that such attacks can be prevented in the future. Surely, this needs a lot of attention and consideration, doesn’t it?
Some people are requesting free basic internet services, but I think finding out this loophole in the system and tightening the security throughout the nation is our prime need!
A salute to all our brave martyrs!
