A Child's perspective on how to tackle Terrorism..

Fictitious Story:

I came back home exhausted.. I just had my Environmental Studies (EVS) period in my school... My teacher told the class not to cut trees and uproot plants as they are living beings.. I don't understand, if they are living beings then why are we eating their parts everyday ?!?!? ;) And i wrote the lesson in my class notebook, which as per my science teacher, is made of wood by cutting trees.. I wonder, what is education teaching me??

The day was 26th Nov, 2008 (Mumbaikars, remember this date??)..

I had a nap in the afternoon.. went to play cricket with my friends in the evening.. came back home and started with my homework.. Again on the same notebook i cursed earlier.. My dad was watching some news channel.. Suddenly my dad shouted, "there's a terrorist attack in Mumbai...".. I was petrified, not because of terrorists (as i haven't heard of them), but by the sheer concern of my dad... Everyone started seeing the sights of some people having guns running around a road and shooting other people... I found it amusing.. coz that's what i do when i play counter strike... But for some reason, my entire family was too shocked to react... They started calling relatives to find if they are safe.. which they were.. Then everyone sat near the TV set and were listening and watching every single piece of information they possibly can hear and see... Well, i tried to do the same.. but with little success.. I called up one of my friends to ask him about the attack... he was more interested in completing his homework... I went back to mine..

Year 2033 (25 years after the incident): I am a Marketing Manager in an MNC.. earning millions (there's no harm in dreaming right ?? ;)).. But as the economy has improved by leaps and bounds, so has the frequency of terrorists attacks.. Guess what, its no longer Breaking News !!.. Now-a-days, It comes along-with the weather report.. One of the typical weather report goes: "North will be mostly cloudy with little chances of rain.. Delhi will be around 32 deg Celsius... and based on past data and prediction, terrorism-death-count today is expected to reach 50"..Never thought such a thing would ever happen... Insurance guys are passing through the toughest time, and for obvious reasons..

Insinuation:

What has changed in the past 25 years ???.. Many things, to be precise...

1. The Government now has kept a lump-sum amount to tackle terrorism... This is much more than what the government used to do in 2008...

2. Security was the key issue in 2008, and it is still the key issue 25 years later..

3. The Government and the people are much more serious about terrorism, and are more united than they were in 2008.

4. In 2008, Terrorism was part of the first page in the newspaper. 25 years later, there is a separate daily edition called the "Terrorism Times".

5. The terrorists in 2008, used a marketing technique called "Precision bombing" which means they already knew the areas they need to target... 25 years later, the technique has changed to "Carpet bombing", which means they are just bombing places everyday when and where they feel like..

6. In today's times, there are separate malls only for cemetery/funeral purposes... Budding entrepreneurs are targeting this business model as a possible profitable venture..

7. IPL (Indian Premier League) is into its 25th year... Recently, one cricketer was shot by a terrorist during the match and he was declared as "retired hurt" and the match went on..

8. MBA in Finance was the most sought after qualification in 2008.. Now, MBA in Anti-terrorism is the most sought after qualification.. MBA institutions are very well aware of the "need-gap" analysis.. and hence such a qualification...

Sadly, none of the above mentioned changes has helped in curtailing terrorism.. Instead it has only increased by leaps and bounds... As a child, I was compelled to believe that uprooting trees for our sake was wrong... Now, I am compelled to believe that killing humans for a reason (however weird it may sound) is wrong.. But wait a sec, killing humans was considered 'inhuman' even in 2008... Nothing has changed.. And nothing will ever change, because we were united, we are united, and we will die and will remain united... Terrorism will still continue..

On that fateful day (26th Nov, 2008), one teacher taught me not to uproot trees, other teacher taught me that books are made out of wood after cutting trees... 2 different perspectives, yet both are followed... They "co-exist"... I think the same can be done in this situation too... Killing terrorists will only produce more of them to be killed in due course of time... Its like a vicious circle.. It is only going to destroy the world...The point is to come out of it... Non-terrorists and Terrorists can co-exist through some policy/treaty.. Like they have between countries/groups... Think about it... before it is too late... They can have a treaty where the non-terrorists group can say they wont interfere and/or kill terrorists and in return, expect the same... As far as ideologies go, Terrorists can have their own opinions and is free to follow them as long as killing is not the solution.. All this may sound weird, but if i tell you that the world will end if terrorism continues, we may end up with such an option...

PS: This blog is a child's perspective of whats happening in this world.. Sometimes, children have a clear sense of understanding, and can come up with solutions adults cant even think of... We need such a change, and having a simplistic approach cant make us small/inferior compared to others... US President Obama rooted for "change" and look where he is right now.. If one man can make such a huge difference in the minds of the people, imagine what will happen when the entire world stands united to make the world a better place to live or atleast a place to live..