As a 62-year-old nation basking in the glory of a 6,000-year-old heritage, we as a country are obsessed with our dates.
As a 62-year-old nation basking in the glory of a 6,000-year-old heritage, we as a country are obsessed with our dates. Come what may, we just never forget our datesu00a0-- with history, with tragedy, with catastrophe or just plain old celebration. Of the 365 days that make up our calendar, we're busy remembering, celebrating or debating over them at least 25 per cent of the time. We never forget birthdays, or death anniversaries, especially those ofu00a0 our beloved leaders. We celebrate Children's Day to mark Jawaharlal Nehru's birthday and pay our respects to our teachers on September 5,u00a0 as an honour to Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, independent India's firstu00a0 vice-president. We never forget the dates two of our prime ministers were assassinated. Full page advertisements across broadsheets make sure of that fact.
Our trains are still unsafe and the lax security continues, putting millions of lives at risk each day
We never forget to light candles and organise peace marches for victims of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. We walk to the Gateway of India and pay homage to the martyrs and victims of the November 26 terror attacks. We observe a minute's silence to remember the lives lost in the serial blasts on the Mumbai suburban railway network on 7/11. We walk the streets that were flooded on July 26, 2005 to mark that catastrophic downpour that drowned this city of seven islands. We debate over who was right and who was wrong every December 6, followed by some heated arguments and a lot of bandhs across the country. And not to forget, that dark Black Friday near the ides of March.
But what do we do about it other than remembering to remember the date? Our trains are still unsafe and the lethargy and lax security arrangements continue to put millions of lives at risk every day. It's a mockery to see security forces up their numbers exactly on July 11 every year and then conveniently forget about it for the rest of the 364 days. Metal detectors on railway platforms are put into use only a week before the terror anniversary and the rest of the year it's just furniture blocking the entrance gates.
Boats are seen patrolling the waters around south Mumbai only in the last week of November, and for the rest of the year who knows how many Kubers manage to slip in and out of the bay unchecked. So, is it that terror strikes happen only on anniversaries? What about the rest of the year? Do we not need security around the year? Will we ever learn? I doubt it
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