With terror almost normal, India almost numb

A gun shot in the window glass is often overlooked at Leopold's cafe as a reminder of the terrorist attack that struck Mumbai almost 10 months ago. (Photo by Puneet Sandhu)

Puneet Sandhu, a student of public relations at Boston University, recently visited Mumbai. Raised in the political capital of the country – New Delhi – Sandhu visited for the first time the financial capital, which has been a popular target for terrorists in recent years.

By Puneet Sandhu

I had heard the name before -- Leopold’s -- but I couldn’t remember where. All I knew was that this cafe was famous, and at my friend’s insistence, I had decided to try it before I left Mumbai. I entered the cafe, took a seat near the entrance, and put the menu under intense scrutiny. I ordered the highly recommended beer pitchers (made popular by their humongous size) after I saw a couple of those beauties adorning neighboring tables. I also remember remarking at the inordinate number of foreigners thronging the place.

And then I saw something that etched that innocuous trip in my memory forever.

A woman walked in and clicked a picture of some glass on the wall behind some tables. And then she left. Curious cat that I am, I got up and walked over to where she had been standing. And then I saw the bullet hole in the glass. My shocked mind put two and two together: What I was looking at was a reminder of the terrorist attack that had taken place in that very cafe almost 10 months ago.

Leopold’s cafe was one of the 10 locations in the city that was attacked by Pakistani terrorists in November last year. The attacks left 173 people dead and a whole nation angry at the utter incapability of its neighbor to control terrorism sprouting from within its borders. I remember the media collectively raging about how India had had enough, how its people weren’t sad or shaken anymore, how we were resilient and strong, how red-hot anger was the only thing we felt anymore. This had to stop, they said, and every Indian I know nodded in vehement agreement.

But that was then.

Today, it’s become yet another date. Sure, people know what you’re talking about when you say 26/11, but do they still feel as strongly about it? We have forgotten. We are too busy to remember. We are too preoccupied with our beer pitchers to think about the carnage that had taken place here. We would rather use the bullet hole to attract attention to our little cafe than to change the glass that had seen so much death and terror.

Our red-hot anger had been doused and we had nothing to show for it. Until the next time something like this happened. Perhaps.

What was wrong with us? Did we just not care? How insensitive could we get? How can I sit here and eat and drink and be merry when I know what happened in this very space less than a year ago? Had I forgotten how upset I was? How very angry at the world, my government and -- surprise, surprise -- the Pakistani government?

I drowned my self-loathing in beer.

And then it dawned on me.

We have become desensitized to terrorism. We have suffered far too many terrorist attacks to remember and feel for each one. At least in my head, some dates stand out for their geographical proximity to me, while the others are one blurry mass of sadness. When I think about it, 9/11 means something to everyone around the world. It doesn’t necessarily evoke the same emotion, but everyone knows what it stands for. I’d really like to know how many Indians, forget the rest of the world, recognize Sept. 13, 2008; Feb. 18, 2007, Sept. 24, 2002, July 11, 2006; Aug. 25, 2007, or Dec. 13, 2001. Mind you, this selection is completely random, and literally the tip of a large, monstrous iceberg. My bet is the average Indian would know only two out these six. Not because he or she doesn’t care, but because all this is too much to remember. In a country where terrorism is gradually becoming "normal,'' there’s only so much grief that you can feel, only so many dates you can recount, only so much you can mourn. If we cared any more than we already did, we wouldn’t be able to get back on our feet.

Is it unfortunate that things have come to such a pass? Of course. Is it unnatural? No. Countries like the United States that have been fortunate and alert enough not to face repeated terrorism can afford to remember that one date, and still feel shattered almost a decade later. In India, we don’t have that luxury.

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