India's peaceful illusion has been shattered- by Dibyesh Anand
The attacks in Mumbai raise the question: is a secular democratic setup sufficient to tackle religious extremism? Yet another terrorist attack in an Indian city punctures any illusions Indians and foreigners may harbour about economic growth leading to more peace and stability. The coordinated violence directed at symbolic targets and real people reflect careful planning of a kind hitherto unseen from indigenous extremist movements. The primary aim was to instill overwhelming terror and get maximum publicity. Why target UK and US passport holders and not all westerners? We need to wait for more confirmation but one can guess that the backers of the perpetrators would be using the invasion of Iraq as a defining moment for themselves. The clearest example of the international character of terrorism is not so much the two luxury hotels frequented by foreigners, but holding hostage a Jewish Rabbi and reportedly many other Israelis. In India's domestic scenario, it makes no sense for terrorists to target Jews or Israelis; Israel is not a factor within Indian politics and India has always had close relations with Arab countries.
The only conclusion one can hazard is that like most other Islamist radicals, the actors sought to scavenge upon real and imaginary grievances of Muslims throughout the world. This international jihadi nature of violence, which cannot be described as anything except terrorism, has never manifested itself so visibly in the world's largest democracy. How can any state respond to extremist movements who see their struggle merely as a local chapter of a global war?
India -Mumbai - Citizen journalism' offers intimate view of Mumbai attacks
From Twitter to Youtube, online platforms enabled Internet users to read and watch first-hand reports on the series of deadly Mumbai attacks that rocked the Indian financial capital within a few hours of the first blasts. Internet users were able to read and watch first-hand reports on the series of deadly Mumbai attacks that rocked the Indian financial capital within hours of the first blasts, a sure sign that the World Wide Web is revolutionising the way information reaches readers. Online blog and chat service Twitter gathers fresh news from dozens of commentators every few seconds. Some use the chat to reassure their friends and family: “In Mumbai and safe”, wrote user s4ur4bh at 2h50 am. Others offer their analysis on the nature of the little-known Deccan Mujajideen terrorist group, whose members claimed responsibility for the attack. An entry on the attacks was quickly created on the collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia, with fresh updates that provided more detailed reports than many traditional media sources could offer. “Attacks took place in South Mumbai, at the crowded Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station; two five-star hotels, the Oberoi Trident and Taj Mahal Palace & Tower; the Leopold Cafe, a popular tourist restaurant; a hospital; and the police headquarters where at least three high-level officers, including the anti-terrorism chief, were killed by gunfire,” it stated late on Wednesday.
