Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;

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Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

It is this creation of Thakur Rabindranath Tagore that comes to my mind, when I hear the reactions of my fellow countrymen to the terror attacks on the nation. Chain e-mails advising caution, the advice of family and friends and well-wishers to not go out 'too much' or to crowded places, to the point where travel itineraries are being changed, all follow as a consequence.

I cannot put into words how I feel, when I hear such reactions. The purpose of the terrorist’s attacks is not so much to kill (considering that they kill less than a thousand countrymen a year), but to ‘terrorize’. And this, they seem to be carrying out to perfection. Although the serial blasts in B’lore killed just two people, it scared enough number of them to warrant an increase of security at the IT-BT companies, even at the hands of CISF. This was followed by e-mails from security officers to the employees of their respective companies, asking them to follow a strict regimen, without which they will not be allowed inside. Ironical, since most employees are shareholders of the company. The best case precipitate of this is that the people end up being treated without respect, worst case: they are seen as suspects.

It is this fear psychosis that Alan Greenspan talks about, that the Americans experienced in the backdrop of the September 2001 attacks. Such fear, mostly unfounded, gives the terrorists their sense of victory. It is for this precise reason that I salute Mumbai, where the locals are just as crowded and the markets bustling, on the morning after. Bangalore may not be known to have such a spirit, but the malls on the day after were the usual, with people looking for best bargains. Yours truly was one of them, not particularly because I wanted to buy anything, but to prove that we are not scared.

I would be much happier if all my countrymen showed spirit and mettle, to fight terror where it is most feared: in the mind.

PS : I fully condemn terrorist attacks, and they are the worst possible face of humanity, it seems to me. My condolences with the bereaved, and sympathies with the injured.