Sorry for pontificating. I know that today you are shaken. I saw you on television the other day, marching down Marine Drive, lit candles in hand. I saw you screaming on English news shows against the decay you see all around. You are out on the streets, and threatening not to pay tax. You are furious at being belittled for wearing “red lipstick”. None of this was your fault. Why should you bear the consequences? You will learn your own lessons from this terror attack. But the lessons you learn matter to all of us. And so far, here’s what I’ve been hearing: “Congress weak, Muslims guilty, India sucks”. Rethink please.

The immediate concern, one that you see, is that the Indian state is unable to guarantee your security. 10 terrorists, armed to the teeth, stormed Mumbai by boat! Ill-equipped cops were left to rely on sheer courage. The response to the siege was ever slower, with politicians and agencies fumbling to escape blame and claim credit. If this is not failure, then what is? You see all of this. But what you don’t see is that the decline in law enforcement is only symbolic of a larger story: of rotting Indian institutions. So far, the private successes of India Inc. have shielded you from the collapse in public governance. But no more.

We are all victims today. No two ways who the real culprits are: terrorists who hide their simple evil behind a complex cause. But a venal political process and abysmal administration have added to the problem. And these problems, which affect us all, affect you today. The only difference between you and me is that you have the power to do something about it.

... contd.