Opinion - News Analysis   

Have we become a nation of moaners?

Harish Khare

We seem to have perfected the art of whining, moaning, wringing hands, always looking for the downside.

IN THE early hours of Thursday, three militants were shot down whey they tried to storm the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in Nagpur. The armed police guards at the RSS headquarters were ready for the murderous intruders, because for the last six months the intelligence agencies had been warning that the place was one of the targets, zeroed in on by the jihadi forces.

In the event, the Indian security forces proved equal to the challenge. The only advantage a militant has is the element of surprise, as he can choose his target and time of attack. Minus this element of surprise, there is no reason that the militants should succeed in their murderous venture. The Nagpur police did an excellent job.

But instead of applauding the security forces' success, the nation is being administered heavy doses of whine and whimper by the political leaders and the noise-makers in the media. Predictably, the tone of the media coverage of the Nagpur incident is as if the anchorpersons have been unfairly cheated out of a genuine tragedy. This professional cussedness, of course, is now part of the institutional scene.

What is inexplicable is the reaction of the RSS and the Bharatiya Janata Party functionaries. An RSS spokesman went on before television cameras to bemoan that the militants were well-armed. "It is a matter of concern," he wailed. Not a word of praise for the security forces, not a word of commendation that the intelligence agencies were right on top of the situation. Instead of being seen as adding to the collective determination to defeat the jihadi designs, the RSS man could not resist the temptation of taking pot shots at the Government. Here is an organisation that takes pride in its muscular ideology and its equally muscular organisation.

Equally curious is the reaction of the Leader of the Opposition. He too has no inclination to applaud the intrepid police personnel; nor did he show any appreciation for the collective synergy among various governmental agencies that defeated the jihadis.

Instead of celebrating a moment of triumph of the security forces over the jihadi guns, L.K. Advani joined issue with the Prime Minister for insisting on "zero tolerance" for custodial deaths in Jammu and Kashmir.

A man who was Home Minister of India for six years and during whose regime the jihadis succeeded in carrying out a number of audacious attacks — including the defining assault on Parliament on December 13, 2001 — now attributes this foiled attempt to the "soft approach" of the United Progressive Alliance Government.

BJP president Rajnath Singh's reaction predictably pointed fingers at the Manmohan Singh Government. He saw in the repulsed assault an attempt to intimidate the majority community.

Even the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister deemed it necessary to appeal for maintaining calm and keeping communal harmony, rather than praising the brave men who fought off the jihadis.

These similar responses from disparate personalities and sources indicate that as a country we seem every day to perfect the art of whining, moaning, wringing hands; our media are always looking for the downside, perpetually searching for villains and culprits.

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