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In Anger Over Mumbai Attacks, Indians Vilify Their Politicians
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Dec 05, 2008 07:36am |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - Washington Post |
| News Date | Friday, December 5, 2008 01:35:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | By Rama Lakshmi
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, December 5, 2008; Page A19
MUMBAI, Dec. 4 -- In the course of the three-day battle between security commandos and the 10 gunmen who laid siege to Mumbai last week, many Indians found a new villain -- the politician.
Members of India's restive urban middle class have vented their anger and frustration over the attacks by denouncing the entire political class for the failure to protect them. Politicians have been lampooned and abused on the streets and on TV, in newspaper columns, text-message campaigns and blogs, and on the social networking sites Orkut and Facebook.
After a week of simmering fury, things came to a boil Wednesday, when tens of thousands of people marched in Mumbai shouting slogans -- "Throw all politicians into the Arabian Sea!" "Stop voting!" "We want army rule!"
"Politicians have let us down. They have high-security protection for themselves, but they play with our lives," said Heenal Panchal, a 19-year-old commerce student who took part in a protest with her sister. "They are only interested in fighting elections. They play politics with a grave issue like terrorism."
An angry text-message campaign began the day after the gunmen arrived by sea and struck Mumbai. One message read: "For a while we will not forget about those who came by boats. But we must always worry about those who come by votes." |
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