Mumbai: The Last Post and after

The dead – heroes and the innocents – have been buried. The smoke from the funeral pyres have merged with the air. The haunting notes of the Last Post have faded away. A shell-shocked nation is slowly coming to terms with the Mumbai holocaust.

And, as the battle sounds subside and the smoke clears, what is the picture before the country and the world?

The father of Maj. Sandeep Unnikrishnan refuses to meet the Kerala Chief Minister and Home Minister who come on a condolence visit. Snifter dogs had preceded the CM and party to sanitize the house of the brave soldier who had died fighting the terrorists.

The wife of Hemant Karkare, the Mumbai Anti-Terrorist Squad Chief who was killed by the terrorists, refuses to accept financial assistance offered by the Gujarat Chief Minister. The CM’s party had been virulently attacking the outstanding officer for pursuing investigations that it found inconvenient.

The Opposition leader and his party president refuse to attend an all party meeting convened by the Prime Minister to discuss the aftermath of the Mumbai crisis. They have more important things to do.

The Maharashtra Chief Minister takes a jaunt of the devastated Taj with his actor son and a film maker. The producer claims he has no plans to make a movie based on the tragedy. The Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra goes one step ahead. He announces what happened in Mumbai last week was a small incident – the only man in the world who seems to think so. This person is the Home Minister as well.

Reports come in that the Central intelligence agencies had forewarned the Maharashtra government about terrorist strike, citing Taj and Oberoi as specific targets. Who received these communications? Were they passed down the pecking order? Gathering information is important; reaching it post haste to action centers is critical.

The National Security Guards (NSG) is blamed for delayed arrival at the distress sites. Possibly the deployment could have been much faster. There is criticism that the commandos rushed into action without sufficient intelligence backing and information. Another view is that since the terrorists had started shooting indiscriminately, immediate retaliation was necessary.

While the experts discuss the point, there is another question that needs to be addressed. While waiting for the NSG, did someone bother to collect floor plans of the buildings targeted and provide them to the commandos on arrival? That would have made the operation less risky and more efficient. The details would have been available at the Municipal Office or the headquarters of the companies owning the properties.

Analyzing the details of the recent terror episode and planning for the future certainly cannot be left to the various departments of the governments where action would be buried in red tape. The job has to be entrusted to duly empowered professionals.

Hopefully one silver lining seems to be emerging from the tragedy – the realization that Mumbai is geographically situated in Maharashtra state, but the great city belongs to India.

Ends.