No Solutions


As I write this, Karnal Singh, JCP, Delhi Police has had his second round of press conference, detailing the complex web of SIMI and Indian Mujahideen, time and again to an inattentive, misbehaved, mike thrusting media. The core perpetrators of most recent blasts have been the same people. A good number of them have been accounted for, the rest are at large.
Meanwhile opinion among the public and experts are rife about root causes of terrorism. Many have talked about the marginalization of the minority, the ineffective policing of states and the failure of our intelligence network. Some analyses have been commendable and state the truth, with ample support. Others have been emotional diatribes, scathing but hollow. On the solution side, it’s been a repeat of the most popular POTA equivalent which enables arrest without evidence and trial. As someone said, it might only lead to Idgahs in jails and nothing else.
As with most other areas, India’s ability to analyze far surpasses its solution ability. This is cultural, with the journey always being as important as the destination, if not more, for the average Indian. So the analysis of events, the labeling of scapegoats, the arguments and counter arguments are celebrated, with no one really looking objectively at how closer are we to the solution. In board rooms, meetings are full of data, anecdotes, jibes and accusations. The ability to create an aura of progress, through descriptive analysis, storytelling is usually more impactful than progress itself. Then there is the karmic cycle explanation which underlies most Indian phenomenon. If something is destined, it will happen. And what’s happened can’t be overturned so let the cycle of life churn and let us play our rightful parts and move on. So memory is short, and gets frequently overwritten by the immediacy of things. It also gets crowded out by noise (such a calling for the Home Minister’s head because he changed thrice), mob mentality, generalizations (all Muslims should be sent to jail) and a need to find solace is some argument, however shallow. This cultural trait feeds everyone’s hunger conveniently and sadly also serves to drown out the real voices of reason and solution.
As we seem to move from one blast post mortem to another, there is a constant feeling of déjà vu. The same groups, the same arguments and yes the same ‘no solutions’.

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