Srilanka bombings

Apologizing for the late post. This is about the Srilankan bombings.
Srilankan's woke up to a deadly Easter sunday after a wave of bombings shook the country killing atleast 290 people and injuring more than 500 with victims from different nationalities including INDIA. Terrorists targetted Churches and several big hotels frequented by foreigners. The way these attacks were coordinated is really shocking. Most of these victims were attending Easter celebration at the churches and would have never realized that it would be their last. The gruesome pictures from the aftermath show the devastation caused with mangled bodies lying everywhere and traumatized survivors. These images reminded me of the 26th November attacks that shook Mumbai. The same carnage everywhere.

After the fall of LTTE I had never imagined something like this would happen in Srilanka. There have always been problems with the majority Sinhalese and the minorities but religious extremism of this kind was never thought of. Just when Srilanka was beginning to see peace after decades of violence, this barbarism took place. It was a massive failure of intelligence services and the government failed to act on multiple warnings issued by several foreign agencies. The scale and coordination of this attack tells us the kind of planning these terrorists might have done to do something so massive and deadly. The fact that a small obscure group previously known for desecrating statues could pull of such sophisticated and coordinated attacks is really shocking but then again you have the New Zealand shooter too.

It just shows that terrorism is the new plague in this 21st Century. Today we proudly say that we belong to the twenty-first century, the most technologically advanced era. But what we forget is our world today is full of insecurity, inequality, wars and unhappiness. We've managed to control epidemics and even have remedies for the deadliest diseases but we have not been able to find a solution to this menace of terrorism. Time and again these cowardly acts shake the very foundation of Humanity. Undoubtedly, if there is any threat that looms darker on mankind, it is the threat of terrorism. The world mourns its dead for a short time and then they just forget about it. The world condemns and does nothing because it didn't happen on their shores. As long as countries treat terrorism or terrorists as good or bad, terrorism will never end. Actions speak louder than words. Instead of labelling terrorists as shooters or left or right wing activisits we should go beyond the rhetoric and truly treat them as enemies of the state and act on them in a manner we would act as if it were an adversary. The political baggage that comes with using the Terrorism label and the public perception make it far easier to use the T-word when discussing foreign groups than discussing the domestic ones. We need to change this mindset and treat them all the same.

Like I said in my previous post, Internet has become a breeding ground for terrorists and there is a tonne of content out there to brainwash and indoctrinate the youth. While I am against the regulation of Internet but the time has come to regulate the kind of harmful content that is available out there. (Not sure if that is even possible). The youth definitely play a very important role in fighting against terrorism and this can only happen when there is inclusion in the society we live in. Even though we are striving hard towards perfection we do know that most of our unhappiness crops out of our differences. From differences in our thinking to the differences  in the  religion we follow. Our differences are so much so that we start believing that God is partial. Shunning people because of their religion or any other differences should be rightly opposed. People who preach hatred should be named and shamed and also prosecuted. We should not turn a blind eye to anything wrong that is happening around us.

We need to be resilient and show that we will not bow down to such acts and they can never break our resolve. If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate.

As Srilanka mourns its victims today, I pray for the victims of this tragedy. My condolences to the families of those who died in the horrific attack, may their souls rest in peace, and hope the injured recover speedily.. _/\_

"Ishwar Allah Tero Naam Sabko Sanmati de Bhagwaan. " - On reading this line one cannot refrain himself from thinking that a simple prayer like this could actually bring peace not just to an individual mind but the whole wide world. I hope we keep this prayer in mind all the time.

Jai Hind _/\_
 
#PrayForSrilanka #LetThereBePeace