Bollywood blogs about terrorist attacks, Bollywood expresses frustration about terror attacks

Excerpts from Amitabh Bachchan's blog:Another day filled with vacant thoughts. Visual upon visual of unending misery and strife as our brave soldiers risk life to end the evil that has struck the nation. Visual upon visual of the emptiness in the words and expressions of those we have chosen to govern us and guide us. Visual upon visual of the courage of our commandos fighting for our integrity and for the safety of those unfortunate trapped in a difficult situation.

As I write, I notice through the corner of my eye the proceedings on the TV screen and quietly approve the success of the forces that have relieved us of the torment and secured the facilities under siege. Job done. But days from now there will be a catharsis and I pray that the catharsis adopts a temperament that has been guardedly expressed in the lines above.

I join the hundreds of my city people gathered in and around the NSG and Army and Navy commandos, applauding their effort, as they move away from the scene of action. Gentleman you have been our true heroes. This was not your city; it was a part of your land, your country. You came in here as determined Indians and gave us the privilege today of being proud nationals.

No posturing. No postering. No rabble rousing. Just a committed and disciplined army of patriots that delivered selflessly what was expected of them and more…

We salute you !!


Excerpts from Aamir Khan's blog: My heartfelt condolences to the families of persons killed and taken hostage. I was feeling sick in the stomach when the fire broke out at the Taj. What would the people caught inside be going through. The fire fighters were doing their best but my imagination was running wild and I was feeling helpless watching other people trapped in the rooms adjoining the fire.

My heartfelt condolences to the family of the brave officers of the Mumbai Police who lost their lives leading from the front to take on these terrorists. Especially Hemant Karkare of the ATS who in the recent past was being targeted by various political parties for the work that he was doing. When will these politicians realize and admit that terrorists HAVE NO RELIGION. Terrorists are not Hindu or Muslim or Christian. They are not people of religion or God. They are people who have gone totally sick in their head and have to be dealt with in that manner. Hemant Karkare is an example of a brave officer who gave his life in the line of duty.

I dread to think of how various political parties are now going to try and use this tragedy to further their political careers. At least now they should learn to not divide people and instead become responsible leaders. An incident such as this really exposes how ill-equipped we are as a society as far as proper leaders go. We desperately need young, dynamic, honest, intelligent and upright leaders, who actually care for the country.


Excerpts from Karan Johar's blog :Glued to my television in a hotel room far too far away from where this massacre was taking place, I absorbed everything I saw and everything I heard. Everyone had a sound byte. Everyone had to come out and express his or her opinion; The NSG should be applauded. The Media should be praised. Certain politicians should be bashed. I agree with most of what’s already been said. Some have been eloquent and some have sounded like loud, misinformed banshees. Collectively we’re grappling with the ineffectiveness of the system and what was presented to us as information. Politicians, soulless and emotionless, were addressing the country while reading off of Teleprompters. Can you not feeling anything? Can you say nothing to make us feel just a little more secure in your hands? Poorly conducted “press conferences” announcing the death and casualty toll for foreigners with the speaker unable to successfully read a list from a sheet of paper, confusing Austria for Australia and generally making us look like illiterate idiots to a global audience. It left me embarrassed and struggling to find pride in our government.


Irrfan Khan's views: "Are we intellectually so bankrupt that we need to do that? The politicians are so bankrupt that they have to woo us with religion. We should take lessons from China and learn how to function and protect ourselves."

"The common man is dead. Yeh jo log Mumbaikars spirit bolte hai it makes me disgusted! People have no choice but to keep working. Yeh logon ki majboori hai, unko kaam karna hai padta hai. We are a dead society."

Arjun Rampal's views: "Mumbai collects the highest income-tax in the country, and yet we don't have NSG or its equivalent to protect us. They have to be called in from Delhi; this despite so many terror attacks on the city. Why can't the government give land in Mumbai, where we can train our own commandos and also arm them adequately? The terrorists come with AK 47s; our cops only have rifles to defend themselves and us"

Farah Ali Khan's letter to Mid-day:
I'm angry, frustrated, upset and emotionally distraught with the terror attack that struck our city on the night of November 26, 2008. How dare this happen to us? How dare these people are allowed to enter our land with arms and ammunition without the government taking any respons- ibility for this major catastrophe. It's about time people realise that this will keep on happening until we get together and put a stop to this.

How many more Osama Bin Ladens, George Bushes, L K Advanis, Narendra Modis, Bal Thackerays, and Raj Thackerays do we have to endure until we realise that each one of these people have their own agendas and preach hate. I remember our country pre-1993 as a peace-loving country with the exception of the riots that took place after Mrs Gandhi's death. Mr L K Advani, just to gain some political mileage, took out a Rath yatra to demolish the Babri Masjid and razed it to the ground to prove Hindu supremacy. Bal Thackeray followed that up by using inflammatory speeches that gave way to riots where innocent people were butchered and as a result, we all became the victims of the terrible bomb blasts that shook our city. Since then we have only experienced terror and more terror in the name of religion and politics.

I was in Dubai the night terror struck and was sitting next to an Arab woman while watching the news. She was cursing Osama Bin Laden as saying that how dare he call himself a "Muslim" because no religion allows you to kill another human being. She was angry with him for allowing the world to believe that Islam preaches hate and that people wanted to believe that terror had a religion: Islam.

Terror really has no religion. How can the God that created all of us equally give us different names and love us unequally? It's like asking a parent which one of your children they love more.

Back home, our political leaders play us like pawns and constantly rave and rant about Hindutva and how we need to throw the Muslims in our county out and back to Pakistan. If the very people who are supposed to be our so-called leaders make someone from a minority community feel insecure, why won't he join hands with another who promises him a better life as all he wants, is to give his family and himself three square meals a day and a roof over his head.

I even got an SMS from my friend Sharmila Thackeray saying that "All those who had lost their lives while saving this city are Marathis and that MNS workers are busy donating blood and helping police for rescue operations."

At first, I was shocked ,then angry, as I had just heard the news that my friend Ashish Chaudhary had lost his sister and brother-in-law. I sent her back a message telling her to get a life as in times like this one does not care from where you come from, it is a humanitarian loss as the people who lost their lives came from different religions, countries, states etc. I could not believe that at a time like this, Raj Thackeray and his wife were trying to promote party politics. I also know that after she reads this she may never talk to me again, but ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. I'm not going to take this lying down anymore and not show my outburst to these politicians because a member of my family or I know them personally.

Kudos to Mrs Hemant Karkare, the widow of an exceptional officer, when she refused to take any compensation from Narendra Modi. After all, this was the same man,who along with LK Advani, had called her husband anti-national because he was investigating the Male-gaon blasts where terror had been caused by members of the majority community. Frankly in a country of ONE BILLION people we do not have ONE person,who can truly be called our "LEADER". We need young, dynamic politicians, who are not afraid to put their lives on the line for the people, we need a person who can make a difference.

UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL. JAI HIND!
Farah Khan Ali