Lessons from the Mumbai incident

We are always apt in giving shallow thoughts to any problem and come to hasty conclusions. In the wake of recent law defying incident in Mumbai and surrounding areas of Maharashtra; it’s easy to dub Raj Thakre as perpetrator but if we give a logical thought, we’d realise that he has done nothing beyond common practice of Indian politics. All the parties follow same agenda in a different posturing. Nowadays, political parties either buried their ideologies or got them restrained to their speeches and manifestos, but have so many ideas to play divisive politics and mislead the innocuous hoi-polloi. These politicians dupe the common man for their political ambitions, and we blindly follow them without delving into the hidden intentions. A society should have a strong immunity to fight these disruptive elements. Besides, administration and Government of state should also be held responsible for putting the nation’s integrity on stake. Mumbai Police have tarnished the image of best cop of the country by showing inertia in taking punitive actions against wrongdoers. Had the preventive steps been taken in first couple of days; situation would have not been degenerated. State government too has not shown allegiance to the constitutional ethics and should be blamed for blending the politics with governance and playing politics at the cost of state’s harmony. Another aspect which we can’t forget is the roll of media which is in question for blowing the issue out of proportion. Especially electronic media made situation worse by their repetitive coverage of sporadic incidents. A responsibility quotient should be fixed for media as well, but the method of implementation can be a matter of debate. Idea of regulating the press is not at all accepted in a democratic country due to its resolve of freedom of expression, but self-regulation by Media itself could be a way forward. Government, Police, Media and common man; they all need to introspect themselves and realise their inseparable identity from the society, if anything goes wrong, directly or indirectly, they also have to bear the brunt and face the repercussions. I believe lessons are always crystal clear to all; it’s only the matter of learning.