Sleepless in Chandigarh

“Mumbai under siege”, “Mumbai at war” and many such headlines have been flashing on our tv screens since the past 28 hours or so. The attacks have shaken the entire country. Many of us are glued to our television screens keeping a track of the situation, following it perhaps for its “breaking news” value or simply concerned by the sheer audacity of the attack and the implications it brings along with it on the security situation of the country. I, being someone who makes it a point not to be a part of the 24 hour news channel culture, had managed to maintain a fair distance from the tv set during all the other blasts that took place a few weeks back but not this time. I have tried my best to gather every ounce of willpower in me to turn off the tv but with no success. The sight of the Taj burning has probably clogged my brain and disrupted normal functioning of my limbs for it has become almost impossible not to revert back to the news channel just a minute after every attempt made to move away from it. Sleepless in Chandigarh, I am bound to Mumbai – the city where I have spent probably the most memorable years or my life.

In God’s Debris, Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame), cooks up an interesting alternate theory of the universe. A rather interesting argument that comes up in the book is related to our understanding of what is real and what is imaginary. What we may consider real and what we may consider imaginary are both impressions in our memory and are, thus, equal. In the present context, I started thinking about the Mumbai that existed in my memory, the one I rooted for and felt for with all my heart. That will be the Mumbai for me no matter how many blasts or riots take place there. If tomorrow someone bans me from entering it on account of my North-Indian background, my caste, my religion or the language I speak I shall be hurt but that will not be the Mumbai that exists in my memory. It will be another city that simply happens to occupy the same geographical position as Mumbai.

The gunshots continue to reverberate in my mind. “What is happening to Mumbai?” was all that I could manage as a first reaction to the initial reports pouring out of the tv. Those for whom Taj was a synonym for Mumbai or probably the first visual that formed in their minds when they thought of Mumbai, it is probably the memory that has been scarred.

There is, however, another thought that is keeping me from getting any sleep. Why? Why would a bunch of people be so highly motivated to commit the horrendous sin of killing hundreds of people? We obviously need to look for solutions to deal with the immediate security threat but from where is this hatred emanating? What is the root cause? Is there no solution to plug that hole? When shall this civilization emerge above defending borders?