Not an Intelligence failure … they said!

“The Pune blast was not the result of any intelligence failure but an 'insidious' planting of a bomb in a 'soft' target establishment, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said.”

Whoa, not so fast Eddie!

If this is not a failure, I shudder to think what would an actual intelligence failure be.

Maybe we are being too hard on the old guy. Maybe this was a success after all. Maybe they alerted the local authorities a couple of days in advance. Nope that did not happen. Maybe they asked prime targets in Pune to be on the alert. That did not happen either.

Maybe they did warn the old, respected home minister in time for him to take cover under his desk, in New Delhi. Probable.

For the benefit of those who are linguistically challenged, like yours truly, ‘insidious’ means ‘beguiling’, ‘treacherous’ and ‘producing serious harm’. This proves that the home ministry is hard at work to come up with (not plans to counter terror attacks) better worded statements post the mayhem.

We need to give credit where it is due. And it is definitively due here. We were not dished out the stale “I salute the indomitable spirit of the people of City X”. This is a bigger relief than you think, by the way!

Yet another IIT graduate lay dead, while our intelligence agencies celebrated their ‘success’ with the home ministry. Yet another terror attack, while ‘Aman ki Asha’ continues to spread ‘Asha’ through its song, dance and fart sessions!

WTF?

Is this fair? Is this justifiable? Are we not forgetting something?

TOI on the left hand side features a couple of articles on terrorism in India. The first article talks about over 700 terrorists in J&K waiting to kill and maim innocent civilians in the name of religious war. The second article talks of a young, successful IIT graduate whose life, love and family was riddled with bullet holes, by the 26/11 perpetrators.

On the same page is ‘Aman ki asha’, the grand TOI initiative to bring the people of the India and Pakistan together. Their argument is that the establishment is different from the people of Pakistan. People are essentially similar, culturally and emotionally. Hence we can be friends. No harm done!

I can almost picture a crazed L-e-T terrorist having fits of laughter. They will take this not only as another sign of weakness but also as an opportunity to further their designs. This initiative will have a real positive impact on terrorist confidence. Way to go!

Coming back to the point of ‘being friends’. Ultimately, it is the people of the nation who are responsible for a nation’s misdeeds. They are not different from their nation’s establishment. The uber-romantic notion of Jai-Veeru-dosti between India and Pakistan is counter-productive and directionless.

Will this stop another smart IIT graduate from being gunned down? Will this make the crazed L-e-T terrorist any less crazed? Will this bring any real peace, even for a month, week or day? I sincerely doubt.

Friendship is between equals. We … are no longer equals!

A message in Public Interest!

An article in the Sakaal Times this morning, on the police imposing fines for driving without a seat belt brings up a very important, albeit frustrating, point. Yesterday, I was at a crossing in Pune where I saw people being fined for driving without seat belts on. Yet the same policemen allowed two-wheeler drivers without helmets to go free. This incident reeks of discrimination and has unfair written all over it in font size 200. 

In the article the correspondent asks if it is logical to impose a fine on not wearing seat belts when not wearing helmets (which is definitely more serious) is overlooked. Accepted this stinks of discrimination, but is in no way wrong, legally or otherwise. 

Haha. The article also goes on to question the validity of the law. In a city where average speeds do not exceed 25 – 30 kmph, it asks, what use is a seat belt? It may be useful in cities (like Delhi or Mumbai) where speeds can exceed 80 – 100 kmph. It may be useful to check for seatbelts on expressways or highways. Not here. 

This is a very serious concern. It is this very attitude of questioning laws that has prompted drivers from not wearing helmets or seat belts. They think “Why should I wear a helmet when I am Valentino Rossi’s cousin twice removed” or “Compared to me Schumacher is co-ordination challenged hobo on a tractor!” 

These laws have been mandated not just in India but across the world for a reason. Even if we have 2 PhDs in neuroscience, we should not be questioning the validity of laws that are put in place by lawmakers. These laws are meant for our safety. 

Now let’s look at a logical construct at why seatbelts are required at all speeds. Countering the argument “Seatbelts are not required when speeds are low”. 

Let me elaborate. 

• What if you are driving at 30 kmph and are involved in a head on collision with a 10 tonne truck driving at 30 kmph. You will realize that, with belts, maybe you can escape with a whiplash injury. Without belts, severe concussions, fractures and a face that will look like a Ramsay brother’s movie prop. 
  
• What if you are standing still at a crossing, (According to your logic, it is even safe to remove your seat belts) and you are rammed by a truck from behind. Same consequences. 
  
• Seatbelts are extremely useful at preventing minor injuries and even deaths in low speed collisions. Especially if there are women, elderly or children in the car. 
  

You might have gotten the drift by now. I accept the current drive by the authorities is discriminatory, but nevertheless absolutely necessary. Do not forget to wear helmets, seatbelts and clothes.