Jehadi - The Terrorist

How come almost everybody seems to start with the basic assumption that these terrorists or all the other terrorists are maniacs out to kill and get killed?

How come so few (if any) seem to think that there should be a reason behind this madness that makes a man become a Fidayeen? "Society prepares the crime, the criminal commits it" seems to be out of everyone's memory in the pain and anger caused by the terrorist strike.

Of course the politicians have messed it all up, of course the security forces are ill-equipped, of course it hurts to see so many die (and it hurts even more to see people visiting the Trident and Taj as tourist places!) but then when I look for the reasons I see nobody going beyond the presumption that the terrorists did it because they were sick human beings not capable for caring about human life and brain-washed into committing this ghastly act.

Men may want to kill, may LOVE to kill but I don't think Men really want to die. The soldiers on both sides of two countries fighting a war think they are doing it for the right reasons! Nobody would sacrifice his life for a cause he doesn't fully subscribe to! (Only if right and wrong were universally definable!)

It's the circumstances that cause behavioral modifications in humans. Didn't the 20+ old brightest minds scream and curse during the World War at our own IIMC? And most realized only 2 days later of how ridiculous they were acting and got amused at the fact that they almost (if not actually doing it) hit the friend from the other hostel in the enthusiasm and patriotism of a hostel they knew for less than 2 months.

Systematic brainwashing of the future-Fidayeen does happen. The loudspeakers in PoK might scream 24 hours about hundreds and thousands of their sisters getting raped by the Indian Army in Kashmir. Of course the data given is manipulated but I would not believe that not even one Kashmiri female has been raped by the Indian Troops.

I have no proof whatsoever so I would definitely not call it an allegation. What I know is that when we had hired 5 local boys in Srinagar to do traffic surveys at major intersections in the city (with all necessary permissions), they were picked up by an angry young Officer of the Indian Army and could only be traced after a few days because the guy searching for them was from Delhi. The fact that this colleague of mine was a Muslim himself speaks that the anger is more regional than communal.

I traveled on the Leh-Srinagar route by road (through the Kargil and Drass sectors) and I vividly remember the smile of the lone (or at max two) army jawan safeguarding a bridge in the middle of nowhere (heavily outnumbered and even maybe a sitting duck for militants if they decided to kill him, and lonely!). I also vividly remember the smile on the Kashmiri children's faces when they saw us ride through their village. But more vividly I remember the melancholy and hopelessness on the faces of the youth and the old of those villages who lived everyday under the fear of being thrashed by the army personnel for an offense as minor as not giving side to the military vehicle in two seconds flat! And that too in their homeland where they have lived for ages!

I must reiterate that I am not taking any sides. All I am saying is for me the likelihood of an angry Kashmiri youth treated like scum in his homeland taking up arms is same as that of a jawan's (stuck in a hostile environment) irrational venting out of anger.

The media mentioned "the first such attack of such scale outside Kashmir!" The last time I checked, Kashmir was a part of India. Seems like we only listen to the gunshots when they are fired close enough! Did I accidently find the reason behind the attacks? I won't claim so. I don't think so.

To get a better idea of what's happening, maybe it is possible for us to take an unbiased view of the Chechen's struggle against Russia or try to go to the opposite side of things by remembering our own freedom struggle against the British. If I remember my history lessons correctly, even our great Shivaji employed Guerilla warfare against the Mughals.

I am a common man and so are you and so are the people anywhere in the world stuck in violent conflicts all around the world (whatever the reasons). Our so called pursuits of happiness have taken a hit and my hunch is that it is only going to get worse.

What can we do? I have no clue!

Yes, we can and should be more directly involved with the governance of this nation. Yes, if our numbers are large enough, we can bring on a change. But to be really effective in doing so, I feel we need to detach ourselves from the notion of patriotism and think as good, rational and sane human beings. If it sounds ridiculous, even the NSG guys who fought for us all live on the same lines.

"We don't die for the country," one taciturn officer explained. "We die for our mates".

(http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Special-Forces/Mortal.html)

To put it another way, being patriotic does not mean to just say that Kashmir is part of India but treat Kashmir as part of India…. and fight for it like it is part of our nation… and fight not only for the land but for the people who live there. That would be a start on the right note….

Apologies if I hurt anyone. I didn't intend to.

P.S. – I for one am too young and too insignificant to understand the real reasons and the real culprits of it all. And I am definitely not suggesting they were suppressed Kashimiri youth who attacked Mumbai! Am just trying to put across a thought that I feel many people have missed. We should try diagnosing and treating the disease than keep on taking meds for the symptoms.