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The other day, I was busy with my usual routine of attending classes as part of my MBA Program at Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai. Around afternoon, I got to know that Bangalore was the target of nine bomb-blasts, which had occurred
simultaneously holding an entire city hostage to the agenda of a few mad men I call "terrorists". The first thing I did was to pick up the phone and call home to check if everything was alright. Thankfully so, everything was just fine, but later I learnt that these blasts had claimed at least one life and wounding several others. Now, just spare a thought for the relatives and friends of the deceased and the wounded. I am sure they begin to wonder if God is this merciless being who silently watches events unfold, or even for that matter, doubt his very existence.

Bangalore has always been one of those cities that has welcomed people from different parts of the country and the world, who have made Bangalore their home for obvious reasons like nice climate, a plethora of jobs, and a good life. These are things over which people have little control, but it does not stop them from dreaming about it. For Bangaloreans, the city has been very kind, and has embraced change at every step.

This cultural melting pot had also brought with it the scum of our civilization. These are people within the country and also from across the border who have managed to get into the country and influence, brainwash, and recruit local people who had no agenda of their own. It is interesting to see how young unemployed men can be molded to engage in anti-national activities.

Against this back-drop, some people thought it fit to disturb the peace, so to speak, and send a terrifying message that the Silicon Valley of India wouldn’t be spared and that Bangalore is as vulnerable to terror as perhaps a city like Mumbai. This was not the first incidence of terror. A scientist had lost his life for no fault of his sometime back. The terrorists had targeted the Indian Institute of Science and had announced their arrival in the process.

Well, one can always argue that it is next to impossible to be vigilant at all times and track the movements of such people and stop them in their tracks and bring them to justice before they commit such inhuman acts. We all know only too well that the political machinery of this country is indifferent to what goes on in the country. The problem is that the terrorists know it too. That can send a shiver down the spine of most people because they know they are not safe at any point in time and the terrorists can pretty much choose the time and place of their liking to strike and create havoc and panic.

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* Contributed by -
Ranjit Shankar (Campus Associate),
Class of 2009,
Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai.