Will we change ?

What happened in Mumbai was a horrible tragedy . What is worse that it could have been avoided .

Many lost their lives in the 3 days . Families lost their loved ones . Many more have sustained injuries . The scars – physical and psychological will take a long time to heal .

This tragedy is a reminder of how interconnected the world is – whether we choose to acknowledge it or not . We bear the fruit of our action and inaction .This is a wake up call for us as individuals and collectively as citizens of Mumbai and India . Until we understand the lessons and demonstrate that understanding in our actions the lessons will come back repeatedly .

The anger , outrage , sorrow in Mumbai (and in various parts of India) today is palpable . There is a real risk of a lot of it manifesting as well intentioned , passionate gestures rather than lasting change . In the various attacks on Mumbai in the past few years many have died an untimely , brutal death . The course of many more lives have been altered as a consequence . Lasting change – as individuals and citizens - is the only real respect we can pay to them . Anything else would be a token gesture .

The ‘response’ needs to be larger than just a ‘reaction’ to this tragedy . This attack is not a standalone problem . It is a symptom of a deeper anomaly .As they say in Ayurveda – you can’t treat a part without treating the whole . The response requires us to step out of the narrow boundary of our individual lives to look at the broader world and to participate in it with our time , effort , money , compassion and patience .

A few thoughts on possible (necessary ) actions . This is by no means an exhaustive list . It is at best a starting point .

Even without this horrific event it was clear that we need to make this a more equitable planet than it currently is . If each person takes on the initiative to do improve the life of even one person we can in a matter of years make enormous progress in creating a more equitable , fairer world .

The outrage against the politicians and government agencies is completely justified . At the same time we must face the mirror and acknowledge our role and responsibility for the situation . We elected these people , never really demanded transparency , performance or accountability . We always thought ‘oh I’m one person ‘ or ‘what can we do ‘ ? We are the substrate that allowed the cancer to develop .

We need to actively , constructively, consistently demand accountability from all our government entities – the MLAs , MPs , Municipal Corporations , Ministries. (We have to pursue our elected representatives with the firmness and resolve with which we expect them to root out the terrorist groups in Pakistan responsible for the attacks on India ) .

How can we do this ? Set up websites , blogs . Figure out the elected representatives from one’s area . Organize as a group to dialogue with them, understand what are they doing , why are they supporting or voting against specific proposals in the Parliament , what are the projects in-pipeline , timelines ? Different groups will be able to impact on different issues and to varying degrees . The important thing is to recognize that we are not powerless ( as individuals or as groups ) and to operate from that faith .

In any action we take (no matter how small or large ) to make our individual contribution to a changed world the key is sustaining it over a period of time. One year from now and in the years beyond when the immediacy of this has receded into the background will we still be demonstrating changed behavior and actions ?

If not , then let’s leave the politicians alone . They would be no different from the citizens who elected them .