Friday’s multiple bomb blasts in Uttar Pradesh are one more in the long list of terrorist activities. I fail to understand what purpose would it have served the “Indian Mujahedeen” or whichever group, which has claimed responsibility. I, in fact, I oppose the usage of this term “claiming responsibility”. When you have committed something grossly irresponsible, how can you claim responsibility?

India has been a particular target for these fundamentalist organizations. Internationally, the problem of terror strikes is assuming dangerous proportions. Who can forger the twin-tower disaster orchestrated by Osama? The recent bomb blasts in Pakistan, ‘welcoming’Ms.Bhutto was no less a gruesome incident. I have been castigated on community and other grounds for some harmless observations but still there are communal and religious references in this article. God save me! Whichever militant group it is Hindu, Muslim or Christian they must be banned forthwith.

Soon after Independence (in Jan 1948),The Father of the Nation, succumbed to militant fundamentalism- still we did not learn our lessons and two of our Prime-ministers fell victim to the same disease. In October 1984, Mrs.Gandhi was shot dead by her own security guards belonging to the Sikh community. I would not like to go into the background of the separatist movement, initiated by Bindranwale, but an element of militancy was always lurking in the back-drop, which culminated in the assassination of the PM. Of course, the Sikhs faced an even worse back-lash, but that is beside the point.

Rajiv Gandhi, the charismatic congressman and the face of the emerging, youthful and vibrant India was snatched away cruelly by the blood-stained hands of LTTE militants. India had no business to interfere in the internal affairs of Srilanka. That the interest of the Srilankan Tamil is to be looked after is an entirely different matter. Rajiv paid the price with his own life, when he was blown to pieces, with gelatin sticks, by a human bomb in May 1991.

There after there has been a number of major and minor bomb blasts in various parts of India. There was one at Coimbatore, (Tamilnadu) and the Bombay train blasts. What stands out amongst all these cases is the cowardice of the act. In olden days warriors were seen as brave men, who could, singlehandedly, demolish oppositions. You had great Greek and Roman heroes, both mythological and historical. You had Alexandar, the great Ashoka and Arjuna to name a few. They never fought from behind the screens. It was always a case of face-to-face confrontation. Valour is something exhibited in open.

What these militant groups is to just the reverse; fight from behind. What ultimate purpose is served by loss of innocent lives, many of whom might not even be aware of the issue, which is at stake? You plant a bomb – wait for it to explode and destroy human lives and property- and you watch the whole fun from some safe custody. What a dastardly act!

We cannot also blame the security failure in typical political style. What mechanism is there to check the thousands of people who are engaged in their ordinary business life everyday? What security checks can you enforce? Is it humanely possible to scan every nook and corner of every railway platform, every airport, every cinema house etc? How are we going to identify the rotten apples?

There is and there can be only one way to counter terrorism, especially, these kinds of bomb attacks. Every citizen must realize that it is his fundamental obligation to bring any untoward incident/happening /any suspicious movement etc to the attention of police/authorities. Ordinary citizens must raise above cast, creed and religion to identify the peace-disrupting elements and must have the courage to report the matter. The general tendency is, even if some unidentified baggage is seen by somebody, he thinks, why report and get into hazzles, let me keep away. Only if the public become more vigilant and realize that today some one else has suffered- to morrow it may be me, this menace can be curtailed to some extent. Let every one of us help us in identifying and eradicating these poisonous weeds from the society!