In many ways, given the profile of those present, the debate should have been exceptionally moving. There was a young widow whose husband had just lost his life in a terrorist encounter and another woman whose son, also in the armed forces, had similarly lost his life fighting insurgents in Kashmir.
She told me something I will never ever forget. She told me how she mourns her son every day, yet she is proud that he died in uniform and gave his life to his country. Her heart went out to the families of innocent civilians who had been senselessly killed in terrorist attacks. I stared at her in awe. Here was a woman who had lost her son, an unthinkable fate for any parent, and she had it in her heart to feel both pride because her son had died in uniform, and sorrow for innocent civilians who die in terror attacks. There are simply no words to describe such simple goodness. It was an extraordinarily humbling moment for me.
Then there was another older woman who had brought along her 12-year-old granddaughter whose parents had been killed in the Sarojini Nagar blasts. While she wept talking about her son and daughter-in-law, all she could hope for was no one else to suffer like her. A man whose niece died in the Jaipur blasts spoke about how the agony was not just his but the collective angst of an entire society. This should have encouraged deep soul-searching. But, for some reason, the discussion became predictably dissonant and an exercise of apportioning blame.
This is, perhaps, the measure of the times we live in and how the recurrence of violence and our perception of it has somehow become a little unfeeling and cynical.
The response of political society to terror has to be both constructive and united. At no point in time should an internal blame game commence, which will only have an effect of dividing society. The Indian National Congress has always offered a spontaneous and constructive support to the government of the day at times of national crisis, such as in the aftermath of the attack on Parliament.
Unfortunately, the BJP has chosen not to follow the constructive path. It lost no time in launching a blistering attack upon the Prime Minister and the Union government. The chief minister of Rajasthan made snide remarks about the Congress president’s visit to Jaipur with L.K. Advani standing by her side. For some reason, it was wrong for the Congress president and UPA chairperson to visit Jaipur to offer condolences to the injured and to victims‘ families, but it was perfectly fine for Mr Advani to do the same thing.
It is nobody’s case that the principal Opposition party should not point out the mistakes that they might perceive the government has made, but, there is a time, a place and a constructive manner in which that can be done. Sadly, the BJP does not understand or observe the “Laxman rekha” between constructive and destructive criticism. It is also very important that terror should never be communalised or used for political propaganda, particularly in the immediate aftermath of an attack.
The shock, horror and trauma following a terror attack are a time of great human suffering and the victims need the entire nation’s support. It would be cynical and insensitive to muddy waters at a time when society has to present a united face against terrorism.
The response of civil society and institutions such as the media are also very important at these times. The ordinary Indian has shown exceptional qualities of humanity and concern during moments of crisis. Whether following a terror attack or a communal riot or a huge natural calamity like an earthquake or tsunami, local citizens have rushed to the aid of the injured and affected without a moment’s hesitation. It is always the nearby villager who wades into the devastated area and renders all possible assistance to people who need it. In the aftermath of the tsunami I was humbled by the sight of simple homemakers who cooked whatever food was available in their homes and fed those who were stranded or had lost their homes. The resilience of our people is legendary, as is our capacity to bounce back to normalcy. In far more developed countries we have seen images of looters and vandals taking advantage of the shock and disruption of a natural calamity.