Now What?

Update: Was money the motive for one of the attackers?

I write this knowing that some people may regard this as being too soon. The country is still mourning; the scenes of the bloodied railway station and of Sandra Samuel carrying 2 year old Moshe are still on constant replay – both on TV and in our own minds; funeral rites have not been completed. But I write this because I don’t want this to happen again.

A lot of blame has been thrown around – probably rightfully so – regarding who is to blame for the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Yes, people messed up. And yes, it is important for us to understand what went wrong so it does not happen again. But, let’s face it, pointing fingers doesn’t accomplish much. We need to shift from being on the defense to being on the offense.

So I suggest we start by asking ourselves the age-old question: what fuels people to commit acts of terrorism? Are some cultures more prone to commit terrorism? Well, although it does not seem like it, terrorism is not characteristic to specific groups. In recent history, terrorism has been committed by Islamic groups, Tamil Tigers, separatists in Northern Ireland and in the Basque region between Spain and France.. What about economic conditions? I was surprised to find studies which have shown that people who commit suicide are actually relatively better educated and economically well-off compared to their peers. Which leads me to what I propose is the constant - a belief that an injustice has been committed.

The terrorists’ message is that they do not like the way something is and the only (read: effective) way to change the status quo is to engage in violent activities, which will scare governments into giving into terrorist demands. And this is where India – and any country fighting terrorism – can begin to take back control. Send the message loud and clear that there are other ways to be heard. Reach out to religious and education leaders, promote inter-faith or inter-community dialogue. And these interactions should not be symbolic. Follow through on proposed actions that result from these talks.

Granted, this strategy of integration is not a complete fix. It is already clear that India needs to take a good luck at how it handles security. Also, governments’ powers are limited to their area, so we are at the mercy of other countries, to a certain extent. Furthermore, as long as the Osama bin Ladens exist (and they will always exist), there will always be people who are ready to exploit people's vulnerabilities, who are going to reach out to people who are already upset and are searching for a scapegoat and channel that negative energy into terrorism and the like. We cannot put ourselves in the position where they can point to us as a scapegoat, as the enemy. And this is where dialogue and education comes in. It is ridiculous to think that all demands will be satisfied. But is it ridiculous to think that a society makes the effort to be all-inclusive? Is it ridiculous to believe that everyone should expect that they will need to make compromises and to adapt once in a while?

I am certain that there will be people who are offended by what I have written. Terrorism is wrong. It’s horrific. But how are we going to stop it if we do not take the time to understand why it is happening in the first place? If anything, we need to remember all the lives that have been lost. The innocence that has been snatched from us. India’s foundation has been shaken. It’s time to rebuild. Let’s make the foundation stronger.