Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Empty statements

The emptiness and futility of brave statements such as "no one can make India kneel" made by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after the Mumbai blasts only accentuate the agony of those who have lost their kin or friends, causing anger to simmer. For how long this can be kept under a tight lid, nobody can tell. It is time all political parties arrived at effective measures for combating the recurring menace of terrorism and agreed not to compromise the safety of the general public for any reason whatsoever.

R. Vasudevan,
Chennai

Every time terror strikes, the country is placed on high alert and leaders vow to fight terrorism. After some days, security at key installations slackens and everything becomes normal for the politicians who are safe in their houses with top class security paid for by the taxpayers. It is the people who suffer. The Prime Minister should go beyond words and do something substantive.

Bobby Roy Chowdhury,
New Delhi

Yet another blast, yet another chance for our politicians to indulge in rhetoric, and for world leaders to call our Prime Minister and express grief and solidarity. Don't all these sound meaningless when they are forced on us every time we lose our loved ones? It is time to change our image of a soft state. All diplomatic stunts such as confidence-building measures and people-to-people contact are absurd.

Chandan Suravarapu,
Hyderabad

Our leaders should resist further temptations of flagging off trains or finding new bus routes to Pakistan. They should instead order the South Block bureaucrats to stop all negotiations with Pakistan until the ISI dismantles the terror factories. It is worth recalling what John F. Kennedy said: "Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate."

Vijay Mohan Swaraj,
Chennai

The victims' lives have been permanently affected, children rendered orphans, and families suddenly driven to penury. And the Prime Minister congratulates the people of Mumbai for maintaining normalcy. Can anything be normal for these families hereafter?

B.N. Gururaj,
Bangalore

When all nations are strengthening anti-terrorist laws, the UPA Government repealed POTA. Those responsible for the 1993 blasts are yet to be convicted. Many have fled or have been allowed to flee the country.

Contrast this with the U.S., which suffered its first and last (as of now) major terrorist activity on September 11, 2001.

Krishna R. Kumar,
Udupi, Karnataka

It is a pity that the police and anti-terrorism cells have not been able to prevent terror strikes. That there is heavy rush on trains during peak hours is no excuse. If it is difficult to detect terrorists before they attack, it is equally so after the attacks as proved on all previous occasions.

S.B. Narayanan,
Thiruvananthapuram

The fact that Mumbai has been a victim of bomb blasts many times shows India is a soft state. The grim reality that terrorists can strike at any place with impunity exposes our obsolete punitive laws, the partially defunct nature of our police force, and the incompetence of our leaders.

V. Sankaranarayanan,
Coimbatore

To say that the Mumbai blasts were waiting to happen fits in with the typical defensive logic of intelligence agencies. Similar was the situation when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in 1991. That he was a target of terrorists of different hues was well known and publicised long before he was killed. Similarly ever since the 1993 serial blasts, it was clear that a financial hub like Mumbai was a predictable terrorist target.

A. Arjunan,
Bangalore

Over the past few years, terrorists have been attacking various places in the country in a well-planned and phased manner. They cannot do this without the support and help of locals. It is the duty of patriotic citizens to assist the security forces in nabbing such elements as a positive step towards fighting terrorism.

C.V. Subramaniam,
Wichita, Kansas

It is perhaps time to sensitise the people on terror threats, so that they can be on a natural alert. A van parked on the roadside for days together, an unoccupied kiosk, etc., should invoke suspicion in the minds of the public.

M.S. Venkataraman,
Chennai

The entire blame for increasing acts of terror cannot be laid at the Government's or intelligence agencies' doorstep. We have also failed in our duty by not being vigilant. We should come forward with any information we have on anything we think is abnormal. We must shed our `who cares' attitude.

Rahul Bishnoi,
Panchkula, Haryana

While it is almost impossible to track every passenger on a train, such horrendous acts can be controlled if the railway stations have limited and guarded entry and exit points. Unauthorised points should be blocked and high vigil maintained. There is no room for complacency.

B.P. Upendra Roy,
Srirangam, T.N.

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