Evening. My final talk. I feel a terrible sense of disconnect with my city. There has been a barrage of e-mails from friends from all over the world asking how I was, and if any of my close relations and friends had suffered. However false it may sound, isn't everybody in Bombay my friend and relative in this time of crisis?
Dinner. This can't be possible. This has been my mantra for the last 48 hours: How can those poor hostages survive through this? The commando spokesman talks again. They are closing in, but there is no end in sight. I have little doubt that the terrorists could have been blown to bits many hours ago if we didn't care about what happened to the hostages. The Jewish centre crisis has come to an end. I had no idea the rabbi and his wife had come to India two years ago. They are no more and so are many of the hostages. But as far as the foreign media are concerned, it would seem death is no longer the great equaliser. As Orwell would have put it: The foreign dead are more equal than the Indian dead.
Friday, November 28. 60 hours. There was news that finally all the hostages were freed not just from the Oberoi but also from the Taj, and that the crisis was over. But it was not. It went on for another few hours, because the terrorists were still there and their stockpiles of ammunition were going off as if every single country in the world was celebrating its independence on the same day and at the same hour.
The blame game is being ratcheted up in India. The political parties of the country are blaming each other. I doubt whether they really give a damn about what happened and about the people who died and the hostages who were so brutally killed. Their only focus is the elections next year and how they can turn these events to their own advantage.
Indian media in general—though there must be some exceptions—are baying for blood. No prizes for guessing whose blood. But can we now, at least temporarily, chop off the hand that points the finger at our neighbours and instead call on theFBI, Scotland Yard, Israeli intelligence and Interpol, along with a member from Pakistan and, of course, Indian representatives, to get to the bottom of some major questions: Who were the culprits? Who was financing them? Which country had given them shelter? Having come to a conclusion agreed upon by representatives of the major democracies of the world, we can then unitedly point our finger at whoever is responsible. Whether it be Pakistan, the Taliban, Al Qaeda or anybody else, India will then be in a position to take a very strong stance.
But here again, all talk of war would be utterly counter-productive. If, by any chance, it is Pakistan which is the guilty party, then it will be our duty to make the nations of the world realise that India was the victim today, but they themselves will be victims tomorrow or the day after. Hence, the most draconian sanctions must be enforced against the culprit until they sign a pact that they will never again support any terrorists within their country or finance them. If they are not willing to do this, and God forbid that the Pakistani government or military will be so foolish as to not accept these terms, then India would have a moral right to consider retaliatory measures.
As to the foreign media, for whom the world begins and ends with the West, just a word of caution: Empires collapse, superpowers become underdogs. Wake up, guys, one of these days China or some other nation is going to be at the top. And then don't be surprised if one day you find you don't exist for them.
