'Numb'ai

Mumbai being held to ransom again. This time a really planned and horrifically beautifully executed terror strike by the Deccan Mujaheddin. I woke up to 50 missed calls on all the phone lines we have. Parents, relatives, friends... all worried. Am pretty shaken by the regularity of attacks on Mumbai.

What I don't understand is why the TV channels, notably Times NOW and Headlines Today are bent upon showing where the police operations are, where they are stationed(roof tops of nearby buildings, each of them named!), how many of them(20 at each location), what weapons they possess (smoke bombs, AK 47s, hand grenades) and what their strategy could be (ah, finally speculation!) Do they think the terrorists in the Taj Mahal hotel have NO access to television????? Irresponsible journalism. In the name of 'breaking news', they are only sensationalising the terror strike. No depth of coverage. No feelings for the hostages' families. (Ex: On Times Now, there was a hot line for hostages to reach out to their families. A person calls asking for any info about his brother-in-law who was last seen in Kandahar, a restaurant in the Trident Oberoi. The reporter cuts him off mid sentence with assuring news reports that the Taj was the focus of the police force. How would this caller feel?)

I hope Mumbai moves to a higher level of security. Pray for the hostages. May the terrorist be caught and punished, in their lifetime or atleast mine.