I was absoultely beguiled when I read an article in The New India Express dated 31st July 2008 titled “When the going gets tough, the tough……….run and hide” The article has been penned in reference to the recent bomb scare that sent shock waves across our city. The author Manoj K Das has used irony as a weapon to deal with the so called patriots of our state. He has raised a lot of questions for the politicians and even the common man to cogitate about. (I consider politicians not as common man but a class well below them).

Manoj doesn’t leave any stone unturned in indirectly criticizing all the political outfits. He enquires where the khadi clad young turks, the young comrades and the saffron brave hearts were, when the state was sweating in the bomb scare last week. He ridicules them for doing a vanishing act at the time of need.

Not only does he give a subtle hint about the all-weather protest by the young turks against the Class vii text book but also does not forget to compliment the comrades who did a wonderful act by smoking the godmen and women out of their spiritual heavens. He says that we had watched with pride when these young politicians tore off one mask after the other. But none of them were seen helping the cops or the common people to search for the explosives. He chips in that we all expected at least the saffron brave hearts to build a human wall in between the explosives and an innocent life.

He again raises a question about what happened to Hindu leaders, Church Pontiffs and Moulavis who were worried about the threat to the secular fabric by a text book.

He concludes by saying that all those people, both political and spiritual, are used to shadow boxing and are weak-hearted that they crumble at the first sign of danger.

And in response to the article, Dr. Titus Sankaramangalam has rightly pointed that even a mosquito can wreck the state…keep apart bombs. He says that the curious thing about the scare was none of the politicians called for their ultimate weapon- The Hartal. Satirically, he exclaims that the hartal is the perfect safety device!!!!!!!!

Kudos to Manoj and Dr. Titus for trying to bring the attention of the people to such a shady contradiction. Five thumps up for both of them for their wry but strong statements.

To wind up, I would like to quote Manoj’s lines….. “God save God’s own land”