(I originally intended to post this on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, this work is a collection of my personal thoughts and beliefs. )
Today is 9/11, the day that changed the world forever. Ten years have gone by but the repercussions are still being felt. Innocent lives were lost forever, and trillions of dollars have been spent worldwide to cope with the military, economic and political ramifications of the act.
Official records show approximately 3000 died on that fateful day, the real loss.. is far reaching. 9/11 shook the world and America, who woke up to the fact that USA is as equally prone to terrorism as the Asian countries. George W. Bush addressed the nation and promised “to smoke them out and bring them to justice”
And true to its promise, America invaded Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Osama Bin Laden and Mullah Omar, the two biggest perpetrators of terrorism are dead. So is Saddam Hussein and his dictatorship in Iraq. Taliban rule has virtually been abolished in Afghanistan and democracy restored.
The world should be a peaceful place now.. shouldn’t it?
Unfortunately, the world never operates the way it should. Terrorism is a graver problem than ever before, and not amount of artillery seems sufficed to silent the wars blazing the countries. Terrorism is a global phenomenon now.
More than three times those who died in 9/11 have been killed in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan due to terrorism since 9/11. And this does not include those who died in military action fighting the Taliban fighters on Pak-Afghan borders.
My question is simple… why is an American life valued more than an Indian or a Pakistani life?
Make no mistake, a life lost is a tragedy… be it New York, New Delhi, Kandahar or Lahore. What makes me uncomfortable is that why does’nt anyone talk about the thousands who lost their lives fighting terrorism in Kargil. Why this imbalance even in death?
While the world prays for the victims of 9/11.. I only wish and pray that the west sees that every terrorist act is to be criticized, condoned and acted on equally. Terrorism has no religion, no region… and its time we realized that that the price of life… be in America or India… is equal.
