Today, India mourns as we remember the victims of the Mumbai terrorist attack on 26.11.2008. The nation is clamouring for justice for the martyrs – in the form of Kasab’s speedy trial and punishment – and for taking effective steps to prevent such things from happening in the future.The one thought in the mind of a majority of the people in India is – Kasab is the only one of the attackers who survived, and got caught – it is only fair that he meets the same fate as those of the victims of the crime perpetrated by him.

But, on some level, doesn’t wanting Kasab dead bring us on the same level as him? Yes – he and others like him have killed many people, from India and other countries all over the world. Shouldn’t there, however, be an attempt to understand why they do it? Life is a precious possession for most of us, and the motivation behind these young men getting ready to part with it has to be understood. It can’t simply be the attraction of seven virgins in the next world that drives them to this extent.

Kasab’s execution – or whatever punishment is meted out to him – however should be taken seriously because it is a startling revelation of our judicial system. Recently in a capital city of a state in India a High Court judge got stuck in traffic. Within a week he had directed the Government to issue directions to make the roads of the city one way. By the end of the week these directions had been implemented.

The above is an example of how speedy the judicial system in India can be – but only when it chooses to be. It chooses to be speedy when it faces personal inconvenience. For all other matters, there is always the next date of hearing. Agreed that the matter of Kasab is much more complicated than the traffic problems in a city, but the relevance and importance of the Kasab’s issue demands that the matter be decided as soon as possible. For all the victims and the affected people, on year has already been too late.

Another thing that needs to be dealt with carefully is how we mark this day. The purpose of marking this day is to pay respect to the martyrs who perished on this day, and the heroes who bravely faced death, and came out victorious. But, unfortunately, many people and organisations are using this day to blow their own trumpet. The people of any nation need to be sensitive enough not to do that.

Security is another issue that India needs to worry about. One would think that a country whose Parliament – the very seat of the much proclaimed democracy – has been attacked would be better prepared to meet any further attacks. India has, however, demonstrated time and again that it is ill-prepared for any such attack – terrorist, or otherwise. What invariably happens after every attack is that a national level body is set up, and invariably after every attack these national level bodies end up blaming each other for failing to prevent the incident. It is time that India began to take security seriously, especially if it wants to be taken seriously internationally.

Lastly, India has to seriously reconsider its foreign policy when it comes to dealing with Pakistan, and other such bordering countries. Time and again, Pakistan has let India down. Although there is no need to get gung-ho about the situation and start talking about a war, but India should at least be more firm about its stand. Why bother trying to hold talks with someone, who is hiding a knife to stab you at the first opportunity. The knife has to go, before any talks of any nature can be held.

Anyway, these debates can and will continue for a long time. Today, let us just take some time out to remember the victims of 26/11 and other such terrorist attacks in India, or abroad, and let us pledge to do whatever little we can do to prevent the happening of any such attacks anywhere in the world.