Thursday, December 29, 2005

Shell Shocked

No matter how used-to we have become to the violence in our country, a terrorist attack is a not just another terrorist attack. Bloody and shocking. And yesterday, when it happened in my Institute, I lost my sleep over it.

When I got the first-hand description of the events from the friend in IISc, I was actually scared. From the terrorists' point of view, it was an easy target not just because the security at the Institute has lapses but more because nobody would expect such a horrible thing to happen at the Institute. It's all silent in here, she said - the atmosphere is always peaceful in IISc - and we would like to have it that way. We don't want more of silence, what we really want is peace.

The professor who lost his life, had come to IISc for the conference on op-research. What would he have felt the instant the bullet hit him- Why am I chosen to die? Why did anybody have to die? It is not the question of "why me?", but "why anybody?"

The protests will follow and investigations on lapses in security will continue for months together. The protocol needs to be followed. What saddens me is that even the opposition party will not sit quiet. I don't think they have achieved much out of it - some blood and lot of terror at the Institute - but we are sure to come out of it. Therefore, they will keep an eye on this. In such a situation what can we do? Nothing, but be careful ourselves.

The world of words and imagination may be full of nice things, flowers and rainbows and all; but in reality it is full of such tragic events and sorrow mostly. That is the truth. In passing, I should say, we are fortunate that at least in the imagination world we don't come across such cruelty and blood.

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