Bombing in Bombay

I've been neglecting this blog for such a long time that now it is ancient history in the world of current affairs.So much has happened since my last post.I think since terrorism I would confine this post to terrorism,rather terrorism in India.

Ever since the economic growth of India,centers of economic activity have been as attractive to terrorists as symbols of India and sensitive military installations.In this context Mumbai,formerly Bombay needs to be mentioned .The city has always been the economic nerve center of the country since it was founded.And in recent years terrorists have been attracted to the city like bees to a honeypot.And their attentions have put a strain on the Indian economy in terms of safety concerns.

Lets talk about the 90s.In 1993 after the Babri masjid demolition Bombay was the target of bombings where several places of economic significance like the stock exchange and head offices of several large organizations were bombed. A court has recently sentenced four accused to varying terms of punishment.But the case would most probanbly drag on till the SC.Again riots and some other randoms bombings have continued to wrack the city.But in each of these cases the main perpretators were identified pretty quickly.

On July 7,several bombs exploded almost simultaneously in the first class compartments of several local trains.This was eerily similar to the London tube bombings.It was peak hour and the trains were filled with office goers coming back home.What was different about this attack was that for the first time terrorists had targetted the life line of Mumbai,its local train service.And this attack was on people,the average Shyam Kumar.And after so much time the police has been stumbling in the dark regarding the identity of the principal actors.Casualties were 800 killed and thousands injured.But more worrying was the fact that it was almost impossible to secure this mass transit system.Anybody can keep a bag stuffed with bombs on the luggage rack.And in the days of fidayeen who believe dying in jehad would send them to paradise the possibilities are frightening.When a person does not respect their own life,it is meaningless to expect that person to respect the sanctity of life of others.

There are no easy solutions to this problem.Some would argue for an American style of deterrence and Big Brother surveillance.True there has been no attack on the US after 9/11.But this has come at the cost of antagonizing a lot of people.India is a far more diverse country and that method won't work here.Also India's neighbourhood is not very friendly.The US has no such problems next door.Increaing And revamping the intelligence apparatus is definitely going to help.But whatever the solution is ,it must be tailored to our specific needs.No copy paste please.And we need a solution,fast.