I took a skeptical peek at the markets expecting the Sensex to open lower (again) today! I was glad that the so called "experts" who were claiming that the recent terror strike in Bombay will be disastrous for the markets (read it here, here and here) have been proved wrong.
The Sensex opened strong - markets are up 2% and unless there is bad news from some other area, they should continue to hold the gains. The terror strike is not going to change the way business is being conducted in Bombay or in rest of India. People will continue to work with the same gusto as they did prior to the attacks - even those who narrowly missed dying!
Being the optimist that I am - I'm glad to see that Its business as usual at Dalal Street!
Now, things WOULD be different for the Sensex if we had a plan to go after the terrorists and their bases! And in the interest of long term peace and safety - that would not be such a bad thing to do.
On a different note, people are protesting to stand against terrorism by wearing black today! I am not that kinda person - I'd rather wear white to stand FOR the NSG commandos who were ready to take a bullet to end the siege.
Has anyone come up with an action plan to give them a raise and medals for their bravado? Or will we continue to honor our Men in Uniform only posthumously?
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"if we had a plan to go after the terrorists and their bases!" If only....
Am one of those people who is wearing black today. A friend of mine asked me, will it help matters? will things change? I said no, but then there is no harm in showing some kind of unity....
Action plan, Ha!!! They (politicians) are busy making these funerals a ground for garnering more votes. Not only that they are busy saving their asses and trying to find a scapegoat to blame their follies on...
The state of affairs is really really sorry...I don't see a hope anywhere...do you?
A lot of people are advocating a tough stand against Pakistan, no less than war. Though I am not a pundit, sometimes such an argument does make sense.
Afterall, it was after Gill waged a hidden war against the terrorists, that he finally succeeded in weeding out terrorism in Punjab
Smita - Unity is always good... such things have happened in the past during the serial train blasts and the BEST bus blasts. At that time too people wore a band on their arm and soon the icident was forgotton.
A lot of things have changed in the past couple of years - Its high time people demand answers and hold the Govt. accountable for their (mis)deeds.
Hope is prevalent - the flurry of activity seen in the Govt. in the aftermath of the terror strike is proof that they know people are not going to keep mum like in the past - there is anger. In a way I'm glad the incident happened in the business district of India and that the target were hotels frequented by the rich n elite. Had the same incident happened elsewhere, the reaction would have been very different.
At the same time, irresponsible behaviour by the elect was widely prevalent with the Deputy CM shooting callous words off his lips and the CM going to visit the site with a movie director. The former should be flogged if not shot and the later should be disbarred from politics for life after being fired!
Avdi,
The example of Punjab is very apt. No doubt the terrorism n/w in Punjab was dismantled after the tough stand taken at that time. However this time things are different as we are talking about a country that is a nuclear state. Also, the fact that US has shown India so much backing is disturbing.
I doubt that a war will happen because it will cause instability in Pak. This is dangerous because Pak is a nuclear state. Also, the terror camps are not stationary, but are moving targets. If a war happens, then it'll be the soldiers that will be killed, not the terrorists. A bad thing, but a necessary evil under these circumstances.
I feel a war like condition will be created and then diplomatic pressure will be put on Pak to act on the terror camps. Because US is already monitoring activities in Pak, they can check and confirm if Pak has really acted on these camps.
However, it has to be noted that (a few) people in Punjab still call it Khalistan. The symptom has been treated, but the idea is still alive.
Ein, War is also funded out of the pockets of the taxpayers, these are games for rich boys.
Unless the world unites, sincerely, against terrorism, I feel it will not stop.
But even as I write, I feel these are all useless exercises by us, just yakking on the issue, and feel helpless.
Avdi, I agree - on the yakking part and on the feeling helpless part. I was talking to a friend yesterday and we were discussing the very same thing - will anything good come out of these discussions? or will we talk about it till its no longer a fad and then move on to something else?
I want some concrete action this time and I hope others want it too.
6 days over and what came out so far. Apart from the usual blame-game, debates on the elite English news channels, candle march down the streets. Thats it. Nothing else.
Well, I am feeling cynical and totally bereft of ideas. If it were a movie, we could have all put on commando gear - like Schwarznegger or Van Damme and gone out to 'get' the terrorist, and would have had a script writer to help us find them. But alas, our Script Writer is not helping.
Oxy,
You are right on target! This seems ti fizzle out in yet another (non) event!
I hope Condi Rice and the US will put pressure on Pak and atleast some terrorist camps will be wiped out.
I personally dislike the US dependency and view it as interference in out internal affairs, but then it seems to be a necessary evil.
Avdi,
Although this is no laughing matter, I will indulge you by saying - A new script writer from Hollywood by the name of Condi Rice has been dispatched your way.
A sweet little surprise for you here..
http://books-life-n-more.blogspot.com/2008/12/when-its-khiccdi-post.html
Hey, Times has a few good initiatives -
1) Guts before Glory - for the 'unsung heroes'.
2) Mumbai Cares - for the victims/inflicted.
Should check them out :)
There is something for you here: http://blessed-curse.blogspot.com/2008/12/time-to-show-off.html
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