Citizens set out their agenda

Thousands came out on Marine Drive on Sunday evening to light a candle, express solidarity with terror victims, and voice their anger against the perceived apathy of politicians. Most of them were youngsters, who sang and carried placards as they walked from Churchgate to the Oberoi. The clusters of candles all along the promenade seemed to light up the otherwise ominously dark stretch around the beleaguered hotel. The atmosphere was reminiscent of the anti-Vietnam protests that rocked the US in the ’70s. As vigil participant Gool Bhujwala, a retired teacher, put it, “We don’t want posters of politicians’ grinning faces all over the city any more.” Her son, Dodo, a dancer, added, “I feel angry. Angry with the system. Angry with myself...This is not the Bombay I knew, not the Bombay I love.” Minu Shah, a nursery school teacher who had taught two of the girls orphaned in the violence, said, “We have to move beyond lighting candles. The elite of Mumbai goes on vacation when it’s time to vote.” Indeed, what started out as a small peace initiative by two survivors of the attacks turned into a massive cathartic vigil. “We want to know who should be held accountable. It has more to do with the future we face,’’ said Aditi Kotak, who was dining at Vetro restaurant, Oberoi, when the firing started. “Some of us missed death by a whisker. But so many others were not lucky.” Posters and placards captured the anger. One read, “Dear CM, for once do something good. Become the PM of Pakistan.” Another mocked, “Phir bhi mera Bharat mahaan...” Yet another said, “Politicians, go to Leopold and try and have a chilled beer without security.” Some said they knew catering students who were trainees at the Taj. “We are here to pay tributes,” said 21-year-old Azeem Harianawala. Meanwhile, further north, Shivaji Park was once again choc-a-bloc with people on Sunday evening, the day after thousands had gathered there to bid farewell to the ATS chief Hemant Karkare. This time, it was with candles and banners to spread the message of peace and to sign a charter of demands to present to the chief minister. “We don’t want to bend to terrorists. We don’t even want to blame politicians at this time. We just want to focus on what can be done now so that similar cases can be avoided,’’ said Shivaji Park resident Swapnil Pawar. “In our charter, we have demanded that disaster management training be given to citizens. Also, it is the need of the hour to have special trained forces like the NSG, which are managed professionally and have an independent decision-making capacity,’’ he added.