If you cannot save us, please spare us

There is a deathly, frightening and sickening familiarity to the sequence of events which follow a terror tragedy like the one witnessed in Delhi on Wednesday.

That it happened in Delhi, our national capital, is incidental. The reaction of just about everybody would have been similar even if the blast had taken place in say a Bangalore or a Mumbai. Yes if it had happened in Assam or Kashmir, the reaction would have been a bit muted and the news coverage less frenzied. Even death and destruction is more acceptable in “insurgency affected trouble spots”.

The reaction time of everybody –from news channels to politicians –was a lot faster because it was Delhi, the Parliament was in session and terror had struck in the heart of the city. The names of a few organisations got bandied and tossed about in the immediate aftermath of the Delhi blast today which would not have been heard if terrorists had struck in some other city. So in less than one hour of the blast one heard about the Disaster Management Authority being pressed into service, NSG commandos cordoning of the area and the National Investing Agency (NIA) being handed over the probe.

Other things remained the same. News channels went into an overdrive. That’s understandable. But it’s time we ensured a bit more studied, sensitive and maybe even understated coverage by our by and large hyper and excitable young TV anchors and reporters on the ground.

A senior Delhi police officer kept repeating to whoever wanted to hear that though this was the second blast at the same venue in less than 4 months, Wednesday’s blast happened outside the High Court premises in an area which was not technically “secured” by the police and thus not the responsibility of the police. Maybe the cop concerned—an ACP rank officer—should be hauled up for the sheer stupidity of his indefensible defense. So the police will only be responsible for securing the inside of court premises and anybody would be allowed to carry and explode bombs right up to the reception area from where entry passes were being issued for those wanting to enter the High Court!

Our very efficient and super intelligent Home Minister, P Chidambram, told Parliament that there was no intelligence failure. The Prime Minister condemned the dastardly attack in Dhaka and said the country will not surrender to the scourge of terror. The opposition behaved quite responsibly and reasonably in the Parliament but outside did not think twice before launching an all out attack on the government and the Home Minister. The BJP president, Nitin Gadkari, led the charge.

Nothing which does not fit the pattern with other similar, mostly bigger and more devastating, terror attacks. As a nation we seem to be quite resigned to our fate as well as the inability of our government and security agencies to provide us the kind of security we deserve.

But surely one thing the hapless victims of such unfortunate attacks fully deserve in the aftermath of such a tragedy. They deserve to get the best possible medical attention and care without the authorities being distracted by the visits of our VVIPs who make a  beeline for the hospital in the immediate aftermath of such incidents to inquire about the well being of those maimed and injured.

How on earth can they provide any relief to those battling death, pain and misery in such difficult times. Can our politicians concentrate their energies more on preventing such attacks rather than rushing to hospitals where the injured are admitted disturbing everyone around and being a big nuisance?