Whither our dignity?

A very close friend of mine is what you would call a hard-core Mumbaikar. Despite having her roots in Kerala, she has been born, brought up and bred in the Mumbai style of life. Now married and in London, she recently sent us all a mail that truly spoke from the heart. I quote here a few lines
" I have watched the Taj burning, and thought of my college days when entering the hotel if only to sit in the lobby and enjoy the beauty and grandeur around was a thrill and a privilege I shall never forget. "
"I love the Taj, because it is a genuine Bombay landmark - graceful, warm, and with a gentle aura that comes with having witnessed times changing and history being made.
"Which visitor to Bombay has not had a photo in front of the Taj? I was at the Oberoi almost everyday when the Disney office I worked in was across the street from it in Express Towers; I stayed there for a few days after my wedding; my grandmother worked at GT Hospital for 42 years; and Cafe Leopold is one of Bombay's 'original' pubs - all of these places hold personal memories for me and I'm sure for most Bombayiites. They are Bombay's giants, part of the city's history, heritage and its famed charm.
"The Taj, so much like an indulgent grandparent till now, will I'm sure, have water-tight security following this attack, and no wide-eyed teenager will ever be able to enter it, just to look at a piece of architecture from the inside that is as much a part of Bombay as its people."
"I haven't come to grips with the events, and I wonder - does any of you, when you look around your hometown, get the feeling that you don't really recognise it or identify with it anymore? I don't mean all of it, but some little things, a fleeting feeling maybe?I am in shock and I do not recognise this Bombay. This does not feel like my city, my hometown. I did not grow up in this fearful place. My city had too much good karma for anything like this to ever happen to it. Where did it go? When did I lose it?I do not identify with this world."
I had the same feelings when my small coastal hometown of Mangalore came under attack by Hindutva extremists. Churches desecrated, crosses broken, innocent old nuns terrorised... live telecasts showed streets so close to my home. Streets I had grown up on - with friends who didnt really give a damn which religion, street or for that matter which planet I came from.
It really hurt seeing my hometown in so much pain.
But then I guess this is a natural turn of events. You relate more to something you know intimately. Maybe this is one of the reasons why we Indians can't really seem to pull it together when it comes to uniting for a common cause. We face and follow such deep rooted polarisation which makes us indifferent to the adversities we face. It does not allow us to understand that it is this very indifference that gives our politicians and the enemy the upper hand.
Till we look at ourselves as one united country, we will constantly need the likes of a Condoleezza Rice coming to hold our hands and guide us in dealing with bully countries. Strange isn't it!!!!!!