Berlin, Paris, ....

This country, this nation never ceases to surprise anyone observing.

Just when you would think that the nation is at least united in grief for the dead and sorrow for the bereaved, and the good job the police and other agencies, even various media channels are doing of helping the descovery of the roots of attackers, with help of various people who are unafraid of facing the camera to tell what they saw and found, just when you think anyone of and from this much derided nation - for its poverty and its claims to a global player role nevertheless, rather than an acceptance of a poor dependent or an ex-slave haning head in shame role - must have good reason to be quietly proud of its resilence and unity in face of threat, one channel comes out with a whammy of a slap with on camera interviews of a few middle class people in the city across at the other side of the country volubly taking sides with the terrorists and the nation that is globally now not only known but even acknowledged to sponser them with various tools, chiefly ideological support and infrastructure, and channeling the necessities of terror - weapons and funds - from thoe that provide such for other purposes.

These people, not in danger of being attacked by terrorists any time soon (- although they did undergo the most horrible massacres not so long ago, which they now excuse perhaps as happening in need of breaking the nation apart before freedom, or so some of them have said to me on the internet, I don't really have proof of identity of those who did and do not really know if they were who they said) - since they have successfully killed their inherited city from being a thriving capital once to a dying one for a long time with their politics, have no need to be in solidarity with those that were murdered by terrorists and can afford to be sympathetic in media bytes with those that perpetrated the terror.

Perhaps those bytes were carefully orchestrated by the channel that aired them, being ever cautious about not seen taking sides of the people who are more victims on the whole, but the words did not seem rehearsed and if there was an orchestration it was in selection of those that would say those things, including an assertion of the poor other nation being unable to afford funds for the purpose of supporting terrorists and their exhortations of our nation's need to understand the terrorists and their reasons for the criminal acts.

Perhaps it is their ideology, in need of acting differently from the other nation that was attacked seven years ago and should not be emulated by those of a formal leftist faith in any manner including a solidarity when attacked, so if US was united after wtc then these people must instead provide an example of how some people of a nation attacked with terror can be sympathetic to terrorists instead; and, too, to the nations that support infrastructure of these attacks with all sorts of needs - poor youth trained in ideology of terrorism and little hope for lives while money flowing freely for those that are willing, for example - the whole culture, money and ideaology and weapons, everything; the sympathisers have either forgotten the massacres in their beloved city or truly believe sympathy will get them enough browny points to be safe from those attacks personally.

It is all very well for the channel to wish to air some such bytes, the reality was they found people to mouth them, even if it was clear across the country, on camera too. The channel might be goaded by the terror dons with carrots and sticks, but the people were not actors hired for the purpose - they seemed genuine enough. Then again, who knows! They were a handful, unlike the crowds marching in support of the victims and martyrs.

One cannot help comparing Berlin during the cold war where people had resilience in face of the wolf that had all but swallowed them and they lived every day with a courage difficult to imagine. Then again one might remember Paris and indeed France during the wars, occupied during the second without much of a fight, with most people unsympathetic to the occupation but unable to speak or act, some active in resistance and more collaborateurs - post war, the quiet but definite and unrelenting treatment meted out from resistance to collaborateurs is barely whispered as is the persecution of known saviours - Schindler, Wallenberg - of the persecuted of the holocaust across the border. Both were real.

France fell without a fight and made it that much difficult for the sole remaining one the allies then, the one possibility of any defence of civilisation and humanity, and Britain must be admired for the qualities that came forth in the hour of need when the nation was severely tested. They could have avoided it easily enough, and never suffered - they were really admired by those that they would not succumb to - but others would have suffered horribly, and India part of those that were thus protected when London fought on and resisted being sucked into the whorl of the end of humanity.

Poland did not give in without a fight and in fact had regiments fighting alonside the allies, were in fact part of the allies and were callously pushed aside at the talks while France was given an equal status - and Poland fought on another occupation for another half a century valiantly while France went on to join the ex-enemy to form a united Europe. Poland was helped along by US and their unrelenting media exposure, and one now comprehends why the singling out of Poland to the exclusion of other nations for such help across the iron curtain. They deserved protection no less than Czechoslovakia who was browbeaten into submission without a fight - and Hungary or Austria certainly who were half and half when it came to their own participation in holocaust but were only techically occupied, with collaboration of various sorts widespread. Any discussion gets murkier with only individuals being in the clear as guilty or innocent, and the nations or societies of all these nations not in the clear really - how many fought back, how many resisted,
what culpability as nations do they bear ....

France escaped a great many horrors, but was less than friendly with those that had rescued the nation, or so the rescuers had thought they were, with much confusion about why the resued were far less than appreciative after the rescue. For a long time people - tourists, students, whatever - visiting from UK or US, indeed most English speaking visitors, got a cold treatment in France at best, hostility thinly veiled. Germany used to be less hostile, and since the fall of Berlin wall the two swapped with France becoming friendlier and Germany perhaps now affording to be hostile at the street and commuter train levels to English speakers and other visible "foreigners".

This difference of attitudes and the changes in one matched with opposite in the other probably has more to do with the economy. France, as UK and Soviets did too, refused the Marshall Aid that was offered them as well, while Germany and Japan accepted and were affluent far sooner. Indeed the war time rationing and strained circumstances of UK citizens continued for well over a decade after the war. Another - more obvious but perhaps only equal to economy or even less than that - is the political picture; with the break up of Soviets leading to lessening of threat on eastern horizon for Germany and the unification of the nation along with its position as leader of the central European nations that are closer to (or often even are) German speaking; so a stronger Germany can afford to be more confident about themselves and its citizens, particularly youth, has really not been taught what they were supposed to be taught at school. They need to reclaim their pride and do not see what is wrong with that.

In India, it is unclear if a state that is leftist, border state and has not suffered from terror since the freedom is more comparable to a divided Germany and a Berlin before the fall of the Berlin wall, or France that did not fight and capitulated with the other - the only one unoccupied, what with Poland losing before others could defend in reality - ally left to fight alone. Perhaps it is a bit of each. Then again, comparisons go only so far, and perhaps this case is entirely its own, with their need to stay aloof and prove they are above the others who are victims of terror.

During the era of KGB terror in Soviet Union the stories and jokes told around often said more of the valiant citizens of the nation and their resolute keeping of sanity and values. One of them went - "when they came for my neighbour, I kept quiet pretending to be asleep; when they took my family, I did not protest; when they came for me there was no one to speak out" - which is not verbatim, I forget the exact words, but one gets the sense. Then again some perhaps do not mind feeding the wolf with whatever it takes, neighbours' chldren, one's own sheep and dogs, or one's own limbs if it comes to that.
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A leader of the opposition has made remarks including some disparagement of the western-style candle vigils at the sites of terror, mostly Taj even though the train station saw at least as much of a massacre, and this leader mentioned the upper class women wearing "lipstick" and thinking their candle lighting was a sufficient gesture. This leader cannot be personally reproached, he belongs to the community the media and left would give a wide berth from any accusation. So the media have instead gone for the party he belongs to and gave extensive time to a media person who disparaged his - the opposition member's - side, with a "they cannot tolerate educated women".

This famous glittarati member forgets that most of the nation has a very large educated class of women and indeed men who prefer to stay with their own culture and values, and do not see any reason to ape fashion of the west, lipstick or whatever; he also conveniently does not explain if he thought all lipstick wearing was indicative of education. He in fact is disparaging the whole nation, in his equating lipstick and westernised aped fashion in general with education and awareness. He comes across as disgustingly ill informed or thoughtless at best.

Whether he equates education and awareness of mind with a schooling of a western orientation and much expense, completely writing off the intellectual wealth and deep roots of the nation he is supposed to belong to, one does not know. This is even apart from the fact that even those that have not been able to go to a poor school are often very knowledgeable, not only in their own professions and spheres of life but far more.

This member of glitterati as many others of his like with similar schooling - one is reminded of the opening speech in Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra - need an education desperately and are not likely to get one because they have closed minds, equating all legacies and agendas of the past colonial rule with superiority of every sort.

It is easy - at least possible - to wake up those that are asleep, not those that pretend.
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Just when you would think Delhi was all about westernised upper class growing and fashion above all, one sees children of public schools - from well to do families by definition - performing a worship and invocation for the souls of the victims and martyrs, for peace and security of their brethren across a thousand miles away.

It is a statement of solidarity, unmatched, with its genuine nature rooted in their deep and true concern, and their innocence of pretensions and of any needs to pose.

If Mumbai is New York and London of India, Delhi is London and Washington D.C.; when they are together in spirit one can still hope, in spite of few others.

For that matter the statements of support are from clear across the whole nation from every small town as well, and a few bytes by a few poseurs to the contrary merely act as so much red pepper in a much needed medicine for a wound. It stings, but perhaps those that put it there had a knife pointed to their throats. It is not difficult to guess who held the knives.