Mr. Barua, had left his home to buy some fish for the afternoon; Harilal, a rickshaw puller, was looking forward to his days wage; Mrs. Malati was busy shopping the days errand …unfortunately, they and others never got to go back home. They become unsung martyrs in the bomb blasts that charred Guwahati on 30 October 2008. An irrevocable carnage ripped the whole of Assam, killing 70 people and  400 people injured.

 

Sitting at home in Delhi, an inconsolable anger filled me up, as I helplessly watched visuals of charred and mangled body, injured and shell shocked people lying all around, sprawling pool of blood; dismembered body parts and angry people protesting against the failure of the state machinery. Thick smoke prevailed over the city. Metallic skeletal of cars, scooters, lied everywhere. My city, my home, my people, my identity was burning up in inconsolable flames. And, experts have warned that it is just a prelude, a more deadly strike of terror is yet to follow.

 

Northeast has been a bed fellow with terror and violence for a long time. Centre’s apathy and the lack of political commitment by the political leaders has further worsened the situation. I really don’t care who is the mastermind behind the gruesome mathematics of these bomb blasts? Whether the banned outfit ULFA or Bagladesh’s jihadi outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islam (HuJI)? Or what their demands are? The fact of the matter is that carnage took place, killing innocent people, disrupting and scarring the lives of many, for ever. And no matter how much we try, we won’t be able to restore what is lost.

 

I remember before the Thursday’s event, a bomb blast was a common place event. Besides, grabbing a few lines in the daily local media, no body really cared (except for the ones affected by it). We had happily developed a sense of immunity against it. My area — Ganeshguri Chariali- where I grew up, has witnessed several bomb blasts in the last decade. Whenever we hear a loud noise or our house received an earthquake like bolt, our reaction is ‘must be another bomb blast in the market’ .That’s all. We had accepted it as a part and parcel of our life. But it is to be no more. Ironically, it took 13 bomb blasts to shake us up from our state of disillusionment. It also, strangely, united people into an unknown and unspoken solidarity, as people, irrespective of religion or community, rushed to help each other; thronged the streets in protests against the failure of the administration; lit candlelights in memory of those who lost their near and dear ones; held peace protests condemning terrorism ‘Terrorism down, down’. Thanking the good samaraitans, Mr. Nazir Hussain, a petty shop owner, and a survivor of the bomb blast said, ‘I was lying in a pool of blood and had sustained injuries on my leg. Some bystanders brought me and others to the hospital. I am alive because of their prompt actions.” I am glad that this time round, people have come out of their cocoon and have understood that if anybody can stop this gruesome vortex of terror, it is us.

 

Post the blasts, politicians of different hues and parties, were seen battling each other in wining political brownies for themselves. A few site visits and all they could come up is that the ruling party has been inefficient and has failed in gearing up its act. Even a child could have come with that analysis; we don’t need the frame makers to tell us that. What we want are true answers, action points, discussions in the parliament and strategies to thwart the menace of terror. Those sitting at the corridors of power and helm of affairs, please don’t politicise the issue, please don’t pass lofty statements such as ‘this is a politics of hate’. For once, let your conscience win and place your individual interest over the collective welfare of the people. Feel for the ones who have lost their family, the injured who may not have a very bright future or something to look forward to.

Chronology of terror in the North Eastern region:

October 1 2008- Tripura (Agartala) : 74 people injured in five explosions

October 21 2008- Imphal (Manipur) : 17 kiled in a powerful blast near Manipur Police Commando Complex

October 30 2008 – Assam: 13 blasts