Kaveetaa Kaul
"We can no longer afford to look
like a bunch of jokers again"

By Kaveta A Chhibber

She is an ace academician, artist, producer, actor and so much more. Married to the talented film director Pavan Kaul, Kaveetaa Kaul lives in a world where art often imitates reality and may be the opposite may also be true.

The events of 26th November 2008 could have been straight out of a movie, but nothing could have prepared Kaveetaa for the drama unfolding before her eyes on the idiot box on a night when she just happened to be home.

As the media channels went wild trying to edge each other out in a race for Trps, with little regard for the fact that this was a live operation, what came strongly into Kaveetaa’s mind was the fact that this was such a slap on the face of a country that brags about being an emerging super power. “What has been exposed to the world and is so humiliating for us as Indians, is our utter lack of infrastructure, the security lapses and total unpreparedness for something like this. It’s totally shameful.

We know that our police force goes around inadequately equipped. It was also very obvious that Al Qaeda has its tentacles out far and wide and we have to stop our constant “ostrich with its head in the sand” mentality. What is sad is that 3 months before the attacks, the PM’s office had already been informed by intelligence services that such an attack might occur, but nothing happened.

There was also a downsizing of security at the Taj a short time before the attacks. And of course it’s very obvious there was local involvement as well.”

Kaveetaa says Bombay has changed. Its not as safe as it used to be a few years ago, and nothing has changed when it comes to the security and well being of the common man. “We have lived in a Bungalow all our life and never thought of putting barricades or a grill around our house. Now we have them all around. Today when my son goes to school and college I’m very fearful.

The politicians are so inept. This attack has hit at our guts and you don’t know who to believe.

There is complete distrust of every one-the politicians, the media, and the police force. We don’t trust any body today. The last major Mumbai attack happened in 1993 with the Mumbai blasts. Fifteen years later the something similar happens on an equally large scale. And nothing has changed in terms of security, especially in the coastal areas. I’m certain this operation was carried out with the cooperation of officials. The resignation of Patil and DeshMukh means nothing. What difference will it make in the long run?

We have to recognize the fact that terrorism and guerilla warfare is very much a part of our lives and we have to start in every city. So my question is-what are we doing to take care of our security in Maharashtra? Why can’t we become like the Israelis? All the youth in Israel is trained in combat and armed for such situations. Terrorism is like a cancer. It can only be contained by total eradication. I need to be reassured that if we go out, we will come back alive. What are we paying such high taxes for?

The people we have voted for have Z security and we have zero security, but do these people care about the common man while they enjoy top security for themselves and their residences which are also protected?”

Kaveetaa wants to believe that the kind of anger she saw and felt was the reason the heads rolled in the ministry and wants to give credit to the media at least for bringing the anger of the people to the forefront. She also says that the reaction has been so strong because the elite and their hotspots were hit. “ Its not about the trains being bombed anymore and this is also not a nameless, faceless act of terrorism, This time the terrorists showed their faces, and the surviving one, Kasab, the boy who was captured, shot ruthlessly from the hip, without caring who was before him and his colleagues. Men, women, children- were all butchered. These terrorists came in rightfully presuming that we are a bunch of jokers who are not going to put up any fight and they were so right.

What I find most humiliating was that the world was looking at us. Thank God for the NSG commandos who were at their best. They were to be a southern and western operation and due to lack of resources they aren’t active. Imagine these guys were flown from Delhi. Bombay, the biggest economic and entertainment hub doesn’t have NSG forces-even after so many attacks in Bombay. And on top of that the police force is underpaid, under armed, under attired and under trained. What do you expect in the face of that?”

Kaveetaa says what haunts her most was the face of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan’s mother. Unnikrishnan, an only child, died trying to protect his fellow officers.

“His mother stood near the coffin and spoke to him like he was still alive. She kept talking to him for 45 minutes saying, “You are just sleeping, you’ll be fine”. She was oblivious to everyone else around her. When they took the body, she just collapsed. I will never be able to forget that image for the rest of my life.

When those politicians came with their empty platitudes, you just switched off the channel because the last thing you want is to hear vacuous, mindless, spineless rhetoric, spoken in a robot like speed; you don’t want to listen to it anymore. Instead you want to look at those men and women who have been heroic, and hear their voices.”

For Kaveetaa, when it comes to the younger generation, there aren’t too many who can inspire and lead India into a new era. “There is Milind Deora and the younger generation of politicians do come across as a more intelligent and nicer lot, with a lot of enthusiasm, ethics and values, or it could be because we are so desperately looking for change, that we presume these virtues; but I honestly don’t know who to believe or trust again. Invariably it’s the dredge that rises up and the good sink to the bottom-if this doesn’t change how can we expect any kind of change? How can we expect to have an Obama in our midst? All we see are trouble makers like Raj Thackeray playing his political games. Politics is far dirtier and more diabolical than we can ever imagine. How long can you ignore this dirt all around you? Especially when people’s lives are at stake?”

Kaveetaa also says that while the younger generation does not lack intention, passion or intellect, what it lacks are good role models. “When you look at the role models today, it’s the Bollywood actors and it runs the entire gamut- from Shahrukh Khan to Rakhi Sawant. The glitz and fake glamour has become the obsession of the youth today via television. So what do you expect?”

For Kaveetaa one of the most heart breaking things was how young the terrorists were in this attack. “Can you imagine the kind of training these young kids aged 19 or 20 underwent before they came here. They faced the best commandos, the Marine Corps and the police for 60 hours and held them at bay. Can you imagine also the kind of passion they had for their cause and the way they were brainwashed? Why can’t we ignite the same kind of passion in a positive way in our youth to do something for the country and its well being? I think we should all send our children for 2 years for military training, to get the discipline, to understand what it takes to be a responsible citizen and what it takes to defend your country. This will help the kids grow up as good, dedicated human beings.”

And what does she think about Indo-Pak relations?

I don’t think a war with Pakistan will get us anywhere. Pakistan can’t afford it and we can’t either and you have to differentiate between the terrorists and the Pakistani people. At the end of the day we have to make our own borders secure instead of pointing fingers at anyone else.”

As weeks and then months have passed, things seem to be ambivalent and unpredictable.

“Its funny how the terror attacks have changed things for the worse. In St Francis Xavier’s Church in Goa for example. we weren’t allowed to shoot with the tripod abut allowed to carry it inside! Funny.. how would that help prevent anything. But that’s what it always is. They go by the letter of rules rather than the spirit.

Do we feel safe? The fact is that we don’t really know. It’s as if we are in wait for the next one to discover whether or not surveillance and other mechanisms were in place. Talks are already on that the coming IPL will be venues for another major attack. It’s up to the intelligence agencies now and forever to keep abreast of movements from terror groups. The scary thought is with Taliban gaining strongholds in Pakistan, perhaps also zeroing in on their nuclear bases, how safe can India or the sub continent feel with the button an inch away from criminal, misguided, criminalized minds?

I do know this much. We can no longer afford to forget the innocent lives that were lost and we can no longer afford to look like a bunch of jokers again. “