Writer Gregory David Roberts, who immortalised Mumbai and Leopold Cafe in his book 'Shantaram', has appealed to foreign tourists to keep their faith in the country
NEW DELHI: Writer Gregory David Roberts, who immortalised Mumbai and Leopold Cafe in his book 'Shantaram', has appealed to foreign tourists to keep their faith in the country and in the "chaotic beauty" of Mumbai.
"I want to plead with you, to keep the faith with India and the city I love, Bombay.
"If we continue to visit the country and meet the people, if we spend our time in the beautiful chaos and chaotic beauty... if we go on opening our hearts to the best that India teaches us, the people who did this violence can never win," Roberts wrote in an open letter on the website of his famous book "Shantaram".
The Australian writer, who spent many years in the city of Mumbai and considers it his second home, said he was flooded with phone calls and messages by people asking opinion on November 26 terror strikes on Mumbai's prominent tourists spots, including his beloved Leopold Cafe.
Roberts wrote, "Bombay still suffers, as I write this, even though the security situation in the Island City has improved, and a sense of order has been restored.
"...and while my friends at Leopold's, Colaba Market, The Taj and the Oberoi are all safe and well, many of their colleagues have been killed or injured, and their businesses have been seriously damaged."
He appealed the public to lead a normal life to defeat the motive of terrorists.
"The power held by Jihadists--and all other violent radicals--is very small, up to now. It seems significant and powerful, because people die and suffer, because systems close down temporarily...but it's really quite small.
"They have the power to kill some people, hurt a lot more people and damage property, but they don't have the power to change our political systems or our way of life. Only We have the power to do that," said Roberts.
He said if public resisted the provocation and held the collective belief in the power and inherent virtue of freedom, then it would not be much difficult to defeat the motive of the terrorists.
When a reader asked what he should do to help India after the attacks, the writer said, "Keep the faith".
"Let the flames die down, let the smoke clear and then don't abandon your plan to visit India for a holiday. Go there. See the people and spend time with them.
"In your own country, go down to a local store or restaurant that is run by Indians and tell them that you care and you feel sorry for what has happened in Bombay," Robersts said.
Roberts, however, prefers the term Jehadis over terrorists.
"We must not aggrandize the vicious acts of Jihadists with the term 'terror'. In the first place, the term, "War on Terror" is an oxymoron: war IS terror, so the phrase means a 'Terror on Terror', and that's exactly the wrong approach," he said, adding these crimes are just vicious and cowardly crimes.
"Everytime we use the word terror in describing them and their acts, we give them more power and authority than their cowardly, craven crimes deserve," Roberts said.
The author warned the people about politicians, who try to reduce the freedom in the name of 'War on Terror'.
Roberts concluded by saying, "In every city in the world there are millions of beautiful, positive, creative actions done every hour, for each act of violence done every month."
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