Adil Najam
I, too, am a Mumbaikar today.
I wish I could reach out and for just one moment hold the hands of the woman in this AP photograph. Maybe shed some tears on her shoulder. But I do not know what I would say to her. I do not think she would want me to say much. The expression on her face matches the feeling I have at the pit of my stomach and in the depth of my heart. I think – I hope – that she would understand how I feel. I can only imagine what she is going through.
And so, in prayer and in solidarity, I stand today with Mumbaikars everywhere. In shock at what has happened. In fear of what might happen yet. In anger at those who would be so calculated in their inhuman massacre. In sympathy with those whose pain so hurts my own heart but whose tears I cannot touch, whose wounds I cannot heal, and whose grief I cannot relieve.
The solidarity I feel with Mumbaikars is deep and personal.
The first time I ever visited the Taj Mahal Hotel was with my wife. We had been married just weeks and were not staying at the Taj but went to the historic “Sea Lounge” at the hotel for tea and snacks during a short visit to Mumbai. We went to the Oberoi Hotel the same visit in the naive and mistaken belief that we would find Bollywood bigwigs hanging out there. In later years I would come back and stay at the old wing of the Taj – down the corridor from where Ruttie Bai Jinnah and stayed – I would even present in the grand ballroom whose pillars, supposedly, had been brought from her father’s estate. Each time I passed through Victoria Terminus I stood in awe of the pace as well as its presence. In awe of the architectural structure, but also of the sea of humanity around me. I cannot hear of terrorists attacking these places without my own muscles twitching in anger.
But my feeling of solidarity with Mumbaikars is much much more personal than these few fleeting visits over many years. Deeply etched into me are the horrific echoes of 9/11 in New York and the string of terrorist attacks on Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar and all over Pakistan whose reports have become all too familiar – but never bearable – on this blog. I know what living with terror feels like. I have thought too much and too deeply about what it feels like to be the target of violence propelled by hatred. I know the pain of helplessness one feels as one stands stunned in grief, wanting so desperately to do something – anything – but not knowing what to do. This is why I identify with the expression on the face of the woman in this picture. This is why, like so many others in the world, today I too am a Mumbaikar.
This is why I stand with Mumbaikars everywhere, in prayer and in solidarity. At a loss for words but with an urge to speak out. My words of condemnation will not change the actions of those who have committed such heinous murder and mayhem. Nor will my words of sympathy diminish the agony of the victims. But speak out I must. In condemnation as well as in sympathy. To speak against the inhumanity of hatred and violence. To speak for the humanity in all of us that we all must hold on to; especially in the testing moments of grave stress.
But, today, I have no words of analysis. What words can make sense of the patently senseless? I do not know who did this. Nor can I imagine any cause that would justify this. But this I know: No matter who did this, no matter why, the terror that has been wrought in Mumbai is vile and inhuman and unjustifiable. And, for the sake of our own humanness, we must speak out against it.
And, so, to any Mumbaikar who might be listening, I say: “I stand with you today. In prayer and in solidarity.”
I think some Pakistanis and Indians are getting carried away, as they always do, trying to play diplomat or politics. Yes, there are Pakistanis who have deep distrust and even hatred of Indians and who blame every bad incident on India. No, not all Pakistanis are like that. Yes, there are Indians who have deep distrust and even hatred of Pakistan and blame every bad thing on Pakistan. No, not all Indians are like that. Yes, Pakistan has probably helped bad events in India. Yes, India has probably helped bad events in Pakistan. No not everything bad in Pakistan is because of India. No not everything bad in India is because of Pakistan.
All of the above is in the comments above but I guess people will keep repeating that paroting of the propaganda again and again and again and thee can be nothing that can be done about it.
The point is that at some point pain and grief should be bigger than propaganda and we should act just as humans. I am glad that Adil Najam has done that in this post. I hope, one day, more will do so without responding like mere Indians and Muslims.
My list was only meant to demonstrate that all people have same capacity of certain actions when put in similar circumstances. Anyways, I think its probably not right to turn this comment section into a debate. I may answer on your website.
Babar, You got so engrossed in your own arguments, that its you who are now putting ‘words into my mouth’.
If you check you will see that I was careful to include all religious beliefs in the ideology that feeds terrorism “the majority, of the many acts of terrorism in the world, are carried out by adherents to, or in the name of religion” and I only added that one particular religion was most often involved
Hi i am an indian but i was surfing pakistani blogs to get pakistani view of the whole episode.
I have a story to share.
Few years ago my brother who is an salesman visited Kashmir regarding his work and he died there in firing from a militant group. Now if you pakistani people believe that those terrorist are not trained in pakistan and not financed from pakistan, i think you need a serious reality check guys.
On the contrary i am sure India has never trained militants to go and created terror on pakistani soil. If some pakistani has this experience where indian militants have killed pakistani on pakistani soil please share it with me.
A lot of pakistanis are saying that it was past and it doesnt happen any more, But no one is ready to come forward and accept that we did breed terrorists and accept the fact that killed several innocent people. I firmly believe its payback time now for pakistan.
I may also look like toeing party line but beleive me that nowadays anti india sentiments are quite low in Pakistan. Yes during the 90’s “Crush India” was a popular slogan. But lately people here have learnd a lot of lessons and are no longer interested in fighting with india. One proof is that issue of India is not taken up by any party ( except JI which doesnt participate) in any election except for the usual line in manifesto of building good relations with india. May be the internal problems have hit Pakistanis very hard or their attention is more focused on the western border right now