Terror attack after attack but no lessons learnt

JAIPUR BURNING: Last rites of the victims of the May 13 serial bomb blasts.

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Rajdeep Sardesai

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Alvin Toffler envisioned ‘learn, unlearn and relearn’ as the 3Rs of education for every individual in the twenty-first century. It equally well applies to nations. UNESCO, in its report on education in the twenty first century, identified ‘social cohesion and learning to live together’ as the most outstanding objectives of education. These appear to be sincere and genuine comprehensions of the existing state-of-art of the emerging human expectations and aspirations. The world suffers serious threat of violence.

The sense of insecurity pervades life and living everywhere. Everyone is unsure of tomorrow. The VVIPs of India live in a different world: those well classified categories of security covers. The aam adami pays for it but in return gets sermons and more sermons. How does the Indian state react to the latest attack on the sovereignty of the nation–blasts in the most crowded of the areas of the sate capital in Rajasthan on May 13, 2008? The file pictures of two of the innocent children killed, Dia (4 years) and Mahek (5 years) could shatter human conscience in everyone –except the inhuman amongst human beings.

History will not pardon the present generations if another Jaipur is repeated, which appears a certainty if one goes by the past experience. Sympathy, compensation, political mudslinging and VIP/VVIP visits have little meaning and create not even an assuaging impact. Government actions are routine and hardly ever translate in to empathy and action that may really give solace and a helping hand to the survivors.

Learning is not the process that is confined to schools and institutions alone or to a certain specified age group. It is all embracing and never ending for any individual, community or a nation. Did India rally learn from the terror attacks it has suffered continuously for so many years and in which invariably, innocent lives have been lost? I visited the spot of Saroijini Nagar after the October 2005 blasts. The thought that came to my mind there was: Why did we, as nation, not learn our lessons after several terrorist attacks including one on Parliament? Those who perished were there to prepare for celebrate Diwali. The terrorist played Holi in blood.

In 2006, terrorism continued unabated in Varanasi, Mumbai and Malegaon. No learning, no restructuring of the strategies to combat and crush such attacks. Samjhauta Express blast, blasts in Hyderabad in May and in August in 2007 followed by blasts in three district courts of UP. The beginning of the year 2008 saw another attack in Rampur.

Routine appreciations of the ‘spirit of resilience’ gives little solace to those who await the return of their children from schools or their breadwinners from the place of work. Every evening no one is sure of tomorrow! The terrorist strikes at their will and convenience. Why not accept this fact. Why not acknowledge that violence, fundamentalism, bigotry and religious fanaticism were never before so pronounced as of now? It does not help that it is a global phenomenon.