The road from Manhattan to Malegaon is a long one. What happened in New York five years ago was far more horrific than the three crude bomb blasts that went off in the textile town of Malegaon. And yes, India suffered from terrorism much before the two planes crashed into the World Trade Centre.
But as the residents of Malegaon pick up the pieces of their lives and on the anniversary of the most spectacular terrorist act, we must ask a few questions. Are the US and the world today a safer place? And is India, which claims to have more experience about terrorism than anyone else, a safer place?
Immediately after 9/11, the Bush administration took a series of steps, big and small and whatever one might say about the War on Terror and subsequent campaigns as well as Homeland Security action, the bald fact is that there has been no terror attack on US soil all these years. True, American allies like Britain and Spain have been hit, but tough measures have ensured that terrorists have stayed away from America.
In India, on the other hand, the frequency and intensity of attacks seem to be increasing. The latest Malegaon incident comes close on the heels of the Mumbai blasts. We have the usual condemnations and platitudes from our leaders, but we know from experience that it is becoming tougher to catch the perpetrators and bring the guilty to book.
It now appears that post the bombings in Mumbai, there were warnings about possible repeats in other cities, including Malegaon. But both, the political leadership and the police apparatus, could do little to prevent it. There just was no preventive intelligence.
Probably the bigger failure is our primitive crisis management system. The anger witnessed in Malegaon because of the lack of hospitals — something promised a few years ago — is understandable. But even in Mumbai the injured were carried off by slum dwellers in bedsheets because the medical services were conspicuous by their absence. Contrast that with the search and rescue operations in New York post the WTC crash.
While marking that dark anniversary, we need to contemplate on the lessons that can be learned. As is becoming clear, terrorists do not respect religion, ethnicity, gender or age. If we can ensure that we can keep this menace to the minimum by preventive measures, we would have won part of the battle against this scourge.
