& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

SHIFTING IMAGES

It's now... or never!

MlLIA Ali
A columnist wears many hats -- at times she is a voice that expresses an opinion on issues that affea a segment of the populace. At others she is a mere observer commenting on an event that deserves attention. But no matter how objeaive or analytical a column writer may wish to be, she is above all a real person - a friend, a wife, a mother. Someone who feels, emotes, laughs and sheds tears. Today, I want to discard the facade of objectivity and connect with my readers as a fellow human being -- grief-stricken and tormented.
You may have guessed that this column is about the frustration, anguish and, yes, anger that I feel at the massacre of 132 children and nine adults in a school in Peshawar on December 16. My anger is mostly directed at myself since I feel responsi-
ble for not addressing the issue of Islamic terrorism and its gradual infiltration into our social milieu in a more resolute manner. The media often employs intelleaual rhetoric to explain extremist acts... a reaaion to the collateral damage of the Iraq war and drone attacks, or the outcome of economic exploitation by the western backed elite, or the retaliation of the Taliban Frankenstein created by the US during the cold war. In the welter of such complex arguments I find myself groping for a plausible explanation for why and how human beings turn into monsters.
True, that the drones and the Iraq war have caused deaths of innocent people. We all condemn these deaths. But no matter how much we try to cloak the truth by using sophisticated terms like "clash of civilisations" or "retaliation of the underdogs," the truth is, this is all out war! We cannot escape the consequences of war unless both sides agree not to engage in armed combat. It's also true that the United States and Pakistan are responsible for aeat-ing and supporting the Taliban through the '80s to counter the Soviets. But the cold war ended more than 20 years ago and the Taliban have changed their tactics and ideology since then. They have mutated into a deadly force, with enormous killing power aided by modern communication systems. Today, the Taliban operate in scattered groups with a common goal -- destabilising the world through terror killings.
What was shocking was that the killers in the Peshawar school were heard invoking the name of "Allah" before the shootings. I wonder which "Allah" has given them the right to take the lives of His creations indiscriminately! I could quote the Quran that says that the killing of a single innocent soul is equivalent to "murdering all of mankind." But is there any point? Because it's obvious that the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who have accepted responsibility for the killings, are following a different Holy Book. Or they are interpreting the Quran with their warped sense of reasoning.
The TTP openly stated that they wanted the parents of the victims to "feel the pain of losing their children" since this was a revenge for the Pakistani military action against the Taliban in North Waziristan. What breed of men would willfully cause pain to parents by killing their children and then gloat over it? We could dismiss them as psychopaths or madmen. If they are indeed insane; they cannot be allowed the freedom to carry weapons and create havoc and destruction in the lives of peace loving people who are not even remotely involved in the struggle for dominance ... religious or political. The terrorists conduaed targeted shootings of 12-16 year olds who were hunted down in every nook and corner of the school premises and murdered mercilessly. How were these innocent children responsible for military attacks on North Waziristan?
I expea that the world leaders will reaa to this brutal crime. Most importantly, Pakistan needs to revisit its duplicitous policy of supporting terrorists while pretending to oppose them. As for the Muslims around the world, I hope the grisly terror aa will galvanise the "silent majority" against the extremists, who are abusing and hijacking Islam. The apologists and appeasers must also stop placating those who kill people because they do not fit their description of a "believer."
All of us... whatever our religion, colur, class, ethnicity... must protest and unite in pain to aa against these enemies of humanity. We cannot allow a similar crime to be committed again. Posterity will notforgive us if we do.
For now, let us grieve and express our solidarity with the afflicted families. Let us reach out to the parents who will always carry the painful burden of their loss in their hearts. Who will see the empty pillow in the bed each nightandask: "Why? Why my child?"
The writer is a renowned Rabindra Sangeet exponent and a former employee of the World Bank.
E-mail: shlftinglmages@gmall.com