You listening, Mr. Politican?

BJP vice president, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that if some women wearing lipeestik (lipstick) and sunglasses protest against politicians, they don’t represent the mood of the entire nation; he couldn’t be further away from the truth.

Yes, I agree that Taj being the target of the terror attacks, is a popular destination for the rich and well-heeled, and scores of victims were from the privileged class. This has ensured more footage for the English speaking suave denizens of Mumbai and media has been highlighting their anguish with zeal.

But the protests on the streets are writings on the wall for politicians like Naqvi. The issue, that these women wearing lipstick and sunglasses are raising, concerns each and every citizen of this country - be it the autowallas, cabbies, constables, or the guy selling pav bhaji. It is also the voice of families of security guards who died on duty at the Taj, the stock broker from Colaba, or the sister of a Bollywood actor. It is also the voice of the families of the young girls at the front office at Taj, the co chairman of Yes bank, and the food critic from Times of India.

Sometimes, I wonder why there were no politicians in the Taj that fateful Wednesday evening.

Mr. Naqvi continued, “These people are holding candlelight vigils copying western culture”.

But nothing can be further from the truth. I do not understand what is so western about holding candle light vigils to mourn innocent victims of this dastardly act? I wish our security agencies had adopted one third of the professionalism of these western law enforcement agencies and we might not have had to see that day of terror in Mumbai.

Large numbers of politicians come into politics because they want to make it big in life. Nothing wrong with that, except they throw to the winds all values and morale in their quest for money and power. So when we have such politicians become a chief minister or a deputy chief minister or member of the cabinet, what have we? A toxic potent that can eat away into the very fabric of democracy on which our nation is built.

And that is our angst against you Mr. Politician!

We all know that elements in the Pakistan government with perhaps tacit approval from the Zardari’s government were involved in the terror attack and we also know that nothing much is going to happen even if we give Pakistan all the evidence and proof that Pakistan was involved in this strike.

What? Do you really expect India to go to war with Pakistan? And even if we do, what good is it going to do us? Push back our economy by 20 years and completely wipe out our economic gains?

Going to war with Pakistan is one option we have, but it’s the most dangerous and possibly the last resort.

So what can we do now? It’s you Mr. Politician that I want. And if you pea brained morons cannot think of how to deal with terror, here you go:

Form a federal agency to fight terror: Keep it away from the control of the Home Ministry. The agency must be headed by a Director and report straight to the Prime Minister. All other agencies, such as IB and RAW must report and feed intelligence input to this agency. The director can be removed anytime by the PM in consultation with the President. This way we have a check and balance in place to prevent the Director from going against the PM. We don’t want another ISI.

Secure our borders: Both land and sea. Provide more patrol vessels, more aircrafts for our Navy and Coast guards.

Issue National Identity Card: A single agency must issue NIC for every citizen in the country after stringent background checks unlike ration cards. This activity must be first carried out in the north east.

Remove illegal immigrants: Push back both Hindu and Muslim Bangladeshis back to Bangladesh. No one should be within Indian borders without valid documents.

Enact tough anti terror laws: Tough equals death in any kind of terrorist activity. These laws cannot be imposed on political opponents or people convicted in law and order crimes. Special courts must be set up to deal with such crimes. Trials should be limited to three months maximum.

Revamp customs: The entire customs department must be revamped to root out corruption and rot.

Enact tough anti corruption laws: Corrupt government officers and politicians should be executed based on the quantum of offence.

Regulate Sell of Explosives and Ordinances: Access to chemicals and explosives, such as ammonium nitrate, TNT, dynamite, and anything else must be strictly monitored. Sale and purchase of all such materials must be logged into a central database and personal information, such as address and photographs of the buyer and seller must be stored and updated regularly.

Modernize Urban Infrastructure: Bring up an urban center that is easy to monitor and secure. ID cards for all permanent residents of metros, maybe. Temporary cards for the tourists, business people, and people in transition? Yes. More cameras, more eyes on the urban theatres.

Indoctrinate Alienated Communities: Make minority communities feel safe and secure in this country. Provide incentives for basic and higher education. Create financial institutions to encourage entrepreneurship. It should pay to be a good citizen rather than a merchant of terror. The country should make them feel wanted not alienated.

Prosecute Terrorists in Indian Prisons: All terrorists currently lodged in Indian prisons must be prosecuted immediately to send out the message that we are serious.

Industrial Security Force: Raise a paramilitary force to safe guard large and vulnerable industries, such as IT parks and SEZs. Like CISF?

Sign Alliances and Treaties: India, U.S, Israel, UK, Australia, and any other country must raise a fighting army to liquidate terror infrastructure in Pakistan with or without the consent of the Pakistan government.