The price of patriotism

Why should anyone bother to be patriotic ?. If the word even means anything these days. I rarely write on a whim but this news item really got to me

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7771243.stm


We have our very own Valarie Plame episode here. Only this time, it is the brazen stupidity of the Calcutta police that was responsible.

A friend of mine who was scathingly critical of the intelligence failure that led to the Mumbai carnage seems almost justified in his cynical view of the intelligence capabilities of the Indian establishment. On my part, I continue to believe that there are dedicated and brave individuals working in the intelligence network which allows our agencies to keep a tab on activities against the state. The person whose identity has now been compromised is a good example of the actors in the intricate mesh that has been built by the agencies.

However, the Calcutta police (there is no reason to believe that such callousness is endemic to Calcutta police alone) for whatever reasons best known to them, my guess is, for a few seconds of cheap publicity, chose to blow apart the secret identity of an undercover operator.

Knowing the workings of the law enforcement of this country which does not have a witness or any other protection programs, there is little chance that this man can even hope to be protected by the establishment that he chose to serve. The terror groups have demonstrated how easy it is to get the better of our intelligence agencies. The poor man will probably be left to fend for himself and his family.

Not to mention the security personal who died in spite of having bullet-proof jackets on. Obviously, as it goes in India, somebody got richer by approving the purchase of sub standard gear since they would not be the ones to wear them. These low lives are as guilty of terrorism as the perpetrators. Such acts should be treated as treason and dealt with accordingly.

So why would anyone want to risk their lives in the name of the country when idiots abound waiting to sacrifice the last ounce of their integrity at the altar of ego, money, fame and one-upmanship.

Why would anyone not be satisfied with lighting candles, writing blogs or holding placards instead of actually putting their lives and the lives of their family members on the line for the notion of love for country and countrymen when the establishment could not care less about them.

Patriotism is turning out to be an act of sacrifice where the dedicated ones suffer in order to protect the scum of the society who do not give a hoot.

Is there an alternative or does it even matter…..