Do not let a thousand candles burn!

Do not let a thousand candles burn. The candle industry will surely get a boost with the spate of terror attacks in recent months all across India, which simply refuse to abate. It is not a travesty but realpolitik speak considering that we have still not responded in concrete measures to the 26-11 Mumbai terror attacks. Instead of lighting up candles, blogging like me, signing petitions, smsing etc etc, we can do something tangible for the terror-struck families. At the very least let us vow not to spread the message of hatred any further as this will serve the intended purpose of the terror masterminds. It is not idleness but it is high time we started behaving genuinely as citizen journalists as and when required. I confess that it requires guts to do that. For one, I will try to discourage any incendiary remarks aimed at inciting hatred among the fraternity. I know that it sounds euphemistic but what we really need is tolerance towards whatever has happened so far with a resolve not to let it let it happen again. Innocent lives should not be bargained with the taxpayers' money.
It sounds clichéd but indeed terrorism does not have any religion. Just read the list of those killed in terror attacks in India and you will see that it comprises almost all the sections of our nation. Take Pakistan for instance, which is grappling with its own Frankenstein. Those killed over there belong to the community largely blamed for any terror attack. A few say that all Muslims are not terrorists but all terrorist are Muslims, which is a very biased and partisan approach. We forget our own miseries when we dealt with the plague of Khalistan and when LTTE killed some of our top politicians. They had a different religion. Few things have changed for worse since 9-11 American attacks but it is still naïve to post knee-jerk reactions. It goes without saying that security should be given the topmost priority even above the rocking sectors like IT, Finance etc.( they still have a lure in these tumultuous times).
We will appreciate if self-defense is included in the curriculum at all levels because an army of billion plus will certainly be a formidable force to reckon with and possibly any terrorist will thing umpteen number of times before striking such an army. Even if one does, only God (and not the weak-willed government ) can save one from the ramifications thereafter.