MUMBAI:27th October 2008, Rahul Raj a 25 year old man from Patna,boards a city bus; armed with his country made gun ,takes control of the vehicle- injures a passenger. He said he didn’t have anything to do with the people in the bus; he wanted to kill Raj Thackeray.

"I want to kill Raj Thackeray. I have nothing against the passengers. Don’t shoot me.”

These were his words before he was silenced by bullets fired by the Police.
He was protesting against the attacks on North Indian candidates appearing for railway examination!!!!!!!!!!!!! He had to pay a heavy price for his way of ‘protest’. Can he be called a rebel? terrorist? maniac? As for the travelers in the bus, who were at his gun point -he would definitely be a terrorist.

26th November, the day whole nation froze while terrorists marched the city, gunning down people on their way. The day that told us how vulnerable our lives are. All we could do was browse the channels, not knowing which of those wagging tongues to believe. We cursed them- the terrorists, prayed for the dead and prayed that the whole nightmare would come to an end. As we ate and slept, keeping a close watch on the saga -there were many eyes that shooed away sleep, stomachs that craved for rations…minds full of peril, of being killed. Those trapped inside…… those waiting outside with hope of watching their dear ones step out of the danger…….those battling for the lives of the ones stuck inside.

This was something new… a new kind of fear. We were used to the bombs and hijacks, not of youngsters walking into public places, armed – ready to gun down anyone in sight. Kasab- the 21 year old is the new face of terrorism. None of us can forget Kasab, the daemon in him well disguised- in a tee & backpack, roaming casually with a gun. He looked all composed after gunning down lives of people whom he had ‘nothing to do with’.

Terrorism is not new to our country. While we have to fight with more Kasabs , we cant ignore the kind of Rahul Raj. Let’s call it ‘internal terrorism’. Imagine people walking into the streets- armed, to show their discontent. The lives of people in the largest democracy in the world are open to such acts of terror. We are now scared to go to malls, board a bus/train/flight, enter a 5 star restaurant. We wonder “where would the next blast be”.

While the Mumbai episode came to an end, we saw few politicians resigning in a hurry, making sly comments, laughing at the questions posed by the media. Is resigning the only option they had? Look at the politicians we have; a bunch of people with no common sense. A country ripped based on language, culture, politics & economy- is run by the most incapable of the population. Can’t expect much from the ones, who don’t even have basic education. This whole episode of terror attacks will be taken over by the opposition party as a weapon against the ruling one. As political parties wash their filth in public, the common man suffers with more acts of terror striking the nation.

The 26th Nov has sidelined the recent attacks on North Indians in the city. The anti- Marathi campaign has slowed down. Hope they remember the non-Marathis who laid their lives fighting the terrorists. Hope that the country gets stronger hands to steer the government. Hope the linguist differences come to an end. Hope another Nov 26th never happens. Let’s pray for our country and not just for the people who talk our language. Let’s pray for a day when we can walk the busy streets of our metros-Fearless..............