The attack on the Parliament is a direct attack on the heart of the Indian democracy.




So did I say anything new from what the media has been tirelessly ranting the above line for more than 24 hours after the incident? Trust the media to elevate an average line to a cliche. We all know that the attack on an institution of the State is an attack on Statehood itself. So we, the common folks with more common wisdom then our ruling (and opposing) netas and babus don't need to be told that "The attack on the Parliament is a direct attack on the heart of the Indian democracy."

Ask any kid on the Kaun Banega Crorepati-Junior:

What do you classify the attack on the Indian Parliament on the 13th of December 2001 as?
a) Attack on the Parliament building
b) Attack on the ruling (and opposing) netas and babus
c) Attack on Mother India
d) Attack on you and me

Aap ke paas koi bhi lifeline baaki nahi hain kyon ki aataankwaadiyon ke paas hain AK-47 assault rifles. (Excuse the Hindi but I am the son of a certain Mr Pallath Balakrishnan, a malayali from Kerala down south and not the son of Harvansh Rai Bachchan. So I have a right to speak screwed-up Hindi...)

Anyway, the kid will ask Computerji to lock "d) Attack on you and me" as the correct answer. And correct he will be.

For starters, more than half the MPs in the Indian Parliament have criminal and corruption cases pending against them. I don't care if the terrorists bump off those the courts couldn't. Unfortunately, here the terrorists failed. The result: innocent security persons fought valiently to repulse the suicide attack and martyred their lives to save scum.

The scum came out after the firing and instead of thanking the Government and the security apparatus for having saved their lives screamed "Security lapse".

Now I wonder how many of us have been watching the media intently for pictures and news. From a glance it was clear that the outer perimeter of the so called 5-ring security perimeter was very poorly armed. It was manned mostly by constables of the Delhi Police. Given the situation, the fact that a constable of the Delhi Police actually managed to close the main gate and rush away to raise an alarm and a lady constable tried to stop the intruding car (and was in the process shot dead) are deeds that merit the PVC (Param Vir Chakra) - the highest military award for gallantry beyond the call of duty (I feel policemen who die in the line of duty protecting the Parliament during a war-like situation --remember the terrorists were alien nationals; the attack therefore could be termed an invasion or war-- deserve the same medals of gallantry presented to the armed forces.). Newspapers, television channels and websites showed pictures of policemen with antique .303 Enfield rifles crouching behind trees and taking positions. Now, let me tell the scum that screamed "Security lapse" after the attack, that if you were a policeman with an .303 Enfield (or worse - the ubiquitous lathi), you are plain doomed. Before you can insert a cartridge into the rifle, cock it and fire, you would have been dead from automatic fire from the best assault rifle on earth - the AK-47.

Let the scum of the Parliament (who shout "Security lapse" after such incidents) realise that it is WE the common folk with our infinite common wisdom who elect them to the pinnacles of power. Let them realise that it was not their lives that were being targetted in the fidayeen attack, but the lives of common folk like you and me that was being symbolically threatened. The message was simple: We can strike terror where we want and when we want to. And what better way than to hit the Parliament complex itself to prove the point. Let not the scum assume that we elected our netas without understanding what we expect of them. Personal security is the most fundamental of our concerns.

Internal party wrangling, corruption, scandals and plain inefficiency - netas know little else than these today. Let them beware that we the common folk are losing patience. If they do not reform their wayward ways and return to the art of governance...we the citizens of this soverign nation might have to accomplish what the terrorists yesterday failed to achieve - to ensure our own safety...

Jai Hind.