Mumbai Bleeds Again

It was just another winter afternoon ,the eve of thanksgiving .I was trying to wind up my day's work .My Colleague from across the aisle tells me..hey there is some gunfire going on in your country .in 'Mombaa' ..I correct him it is "Mumbai" ..and dismiss the whole thing as another police encounter..and continue with my work.I reach home ,turn on the TV and surf through the channels ,to my horror CNN breaking news displays Terrorist take over Mumbai..followed by pictures of burning Taj Mahal hotel ,bleeding men ,a woman running with a baby in her hands..I am numb ..it is a live telecast...terrorist were still inside killing innocent people...I call my friends and relatives in Mumbai ..luckily they are all safe ..I call my dad I ask him about the situation in Mumbai,he says it is pretty bad ,he is worried and angry ..I continued watching the TV ........
I was ashamed of myself ,I didn't even bother to check when my colleague told me about an attack.Has these attacks become a part and parcel of life ? People die in hundreds The Wall street journal says (http://s.wsj.net/article/SB122783260486063039.html) more than 4000 people have died in terrorist attacks in India since 2004 not counting the hundreds who died in Mumbai .More and more people will die and will become numbers like the 119 in Mumbai .I cant imagine the grief and pain the families of each of these innocents might be going through.And now the politicians have started the blame game which will go on till the next attack or bombing ,when a fresh game can begin again.We are living in tough times ,where terrorism is become a world threat,all the countries have beefed up their security measures,Ironically in India where the most number of people are getting killed due to terrorism there are no strong anti terrorism laws .There is no sense of security in the country .Being oceans away from the family and friends leaves me with an aching heart ,if it happened today in Mumbai ,it can happen tomorrow anywhere anytime.I hope not.