Today, India and the world bemoan the dastardly act of terrorists in Mumbai. Global terrorism and religious fundamentalism have been inextricably tied together. The need to tackle this deep rooted problem in today's world cannot be overstated. It is a pity that terrorist attacks of today are compared and contrasted to terrorist attacks of yesterday. It just goes to show the unenviable position we have gotten ourselves into. I believe we as fellow human beings need to act responsibly in such a situation and display basic humanitarian traits. As a civilian, I am obviously extremely disappointed and aggrieved at the nature and impact of the attacks. What disappointed me even more today is the role of media to add fuel to a raging fire.
India is the largest democracy in the world. It is virtually impossible to have the foresight to predict accurately decades into the future while writing the constitution of such a nation. Even the greatest of visionaries cannot possibly foresee the growth of technology and the change in society far into the future. Hence, it is probably important to address the problem at hand by interpreting the constitution objectively and not be a fundamentalist. Sometimes, democracies are weakened by the liberal nature of their constitution and incapacitate themselves from regulating freedom of speech and expression. With the power of media and the internet, communication has taken a different meaning altogether. It is the government's primary responsibility to enforce regulatory measures to ensure that these tools are not misused.
The coverage of the Mumbai terror attacks by CNN IBN made me write this post today. A hostage from inside the Oberoi hotel calls the CNN IBN helpline which is flashed all over the tele. The channel answers the call and puts that person who is in distress on air...live! Mind you, the person is still helpless in Oberoi hotel which is hijacked by terrorists and the media was having a ball trying to find out who he called last, which floor he was calling from, whether there was fire near him and wanted to know if he could hear the gunshots. Give me a break! The reporters pray for the well being of that person and then continue with their coverage of the scene. I say CNN IBN should have its dick taken out of its ass for this act! Also, a video that was flashed repeatedly showed stray gun shots from a jeep commandeered by terrorists outside a popular cineplex. Not surprisingly, there were two video cameras scrounging for great footage and revenue by filming a victim's injured hand without calling the paramedics.
These acts are not only a transgression of humanitarian values and basic ethics, they are acts that can potentially sabotage the operation carried out by the police forces. If it can enter my pee brain that talking to a hostage during a crisis is insanity, I am sure the people in these industries already know what the merits of their actions are. It is time to tidy up before continuing with their moral policing crap on others!
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