Bomb blasts rock Mumbai ..

.. and it happens again. In the lively city, in the city which-never-sleeps, someone pokes a hole, and disturbs the state of equilibrium. Why is Mumbai such a high-profile target? And who is it that wants to awake a sleeping giant (the peaceful Indian populace)? And why do they keep repeating the same terrorist heinic acts repeatedly?

Today, the news media says, 190 people have been accounted for as dead. And many more are in a critical condition. Not many years ago (1992-93), about a 1000 people were murdered by people of different religions, in the name of God. Is this current mayhem in the same pretext? Have not the citizens experienced the numbing stupidity such violence acts beget? Are we living in such a generation that there is no value for human life and suffering?

The earlier communal mayhem led to the Muslims moving of areas where they were infact minorites, to areas where they consolidated. In the country of the Gandhi, where people are indeed peaceful, such acts are shameful.

In 1986, when I was in high school, I witnessed the first of the so-called communal riots caused by an article on the Deccan Herald, titled 'Mohammed the idiot' (the author refers to a boy called Mohammed). Crores of property was damaged, and many people lost their lives. But more than anything, this caused a serious change in the psyche of the Hindu and the Muslim population. A peaceful co-existing community was scarred, and incidents such as the demolition of the Masjid in RamajanmaBhoomi, the current Mumbai blasts, the riots in Gujarat, cause a bigger rift between the two communities.

Whether these are caused by people living outside India, or by local citizens, the suffering is caused the innocent majority. Blood will be shed, and many bystanders will be killed. Whenever progress is made, there is impedance. We can hope for India to make progress, and not live in fear.

A line from Shawshank Redemption: "Fear can hold you prisoner, hope can set you free".