Serial blasts revisit Mumbai
Terrorists hit Mumbai’s bazaars just two days after the 5th anniversary of the “7/11″ train bombings that killed nearly 200 people, shocking India and provoking anger the world over. These newest attacks killed 18 shoppers…and have put India’s cities on high alert. The bombings have shattered a lull in terrorism-related activities (excluding the Naxalites/Maoists) that plagued Indian cities throughout 2008 and reached their peak when Lashkar-e-Taiba Islamists sprayed bullets throughout Mumbai and stormed two of the city’s most beloved hotels.
The evil carnage that swept through Mumbai Wednesday evening gets to me on a very personal level due to the special relationship I have had with India and South Asia. Strange as it sounds, I had watched the movie “Slumdog Millionaire” just hours before this attack took place. The movie, of course, is set in Mumbai and is what set the events in motion that convinced me to step away from a boring job and a failing academic routine to go to India (and Nepal) for the better part of 3 months. Wednesday was the first time I had seen the film in two years…and I was watching it just blocks away from some of Mexico’s slums (yeah, they are there…just minutes from the US border).
As India recovers, I am reminded of how interconnected our world is. I sit here in my Tijuana apartment, remembering my trip to South Asia nearly two years ago and how I was always checking in to follow events in Mexico when internet became available to me. Now, I am observing India from a distance…a new task and adventure before me.
Some inspiration to share
I just got back from South America a few days ago and I am happy to say that this was published right before I got back. It’s an inspirational experience I have had with a local restaurant in my community — this place helped me remember what is most important in life.
In the summer of 2009 I defied some of the most depressing days of my life – a grueling job, sputtering academic success and a longing for more fulfillment in life – when I spent the better part of a year’s pay to travel to South Asia. After a ride to the airport with a family friend and a connecting flight through Taiwan, what had been only an inspiring dream to get me through the day became a reality: I was standing outside Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India.The change in climate was a shock. Motorbikes and autorickshaws cruised through the streets, dodging larger vehicles and their blaring horns. I got into a taxi, and the ride through the crowded, bustling city opened the door to an adventure that would last for more than three months, taking me into Nepal and the Himalayas, the heart of Tibetan culture, battle-scarred Sri Lanka, and more. An orphanage led by a Buddhist monk became my workplace, while temples, mosques and monasteries became my classrooms.
I knew it wouldn’t last forever. No matter how many times I would fall asleep to the music of A.R. Rahman and Bob Marley – either in my accommodation at the orphanage or on its rooftop, where clear night skies would illuminate the towering peaks of the Himalayas – I realized I still had a life on the other side of the world. When the time came for me to go home, I tried to do everything I could to take the experience back with me.
I thought I could change, and for a while I did. After taking an interest in the cricket competitions in India, I found myself conversing with people at my younger sister’s soccer games about my trip and other things, despite my previous lack of interest in all things athletic. I promised myself that when the new year arrived I would take this enriching experience and newfound self-confidence into 2010. I was not able to. As the weeks turned to months, I sunk to a new low marked by academic difficulty, the loss of a good friend, and a new job that was desperately needed to rebuild my bank account.As I began to think things over, I remembered an Indian restaurant I had visited before my trip. I had stopped by India 4 U, next to Target in Antioch, because I wanted to try Indian foods and acquire the taste in preparation for three months of life there. I went only once, for take-out, and really enjoyed the food. Now it was a year later, and I suddenly felt as though a full, authentic Indian dish would be the greatest thing in the world.
Read more: thepress.net – Local restaurant brings two worlds together
Muslims exonerated from some of India’s terror
I was surprised (sort of) to read this story. Back in 2007, I assumed — like India’s police — that the bombings which ripped through the Samjhauta Express were carried out by extremists based in Pakistan. Almost every day, followers of Islam are forced to defend their faith from murderous forces that hide behind the banner of their religion. However, it appears this responsibility has shifted to India’s 800+ billion Hindus as new evidence is brought to light.
From the Independent:
India is being forced to confront disturbing evidence that increasingly suggests a secret Hindu terror network may have been responsible for a wave of deadly attacks previously blamed on radical Muslims.
Information contained in a confession given in court by a Hindu holy man, suggests that he and several others linked to a right-wing Hindu organisation, planned and carried out attacks on a train travelling to Pakistan, a Sufi shrine and a mosque as well as two assaults on Malegaon, a town in southern India with a large Muslim population.
He claimed the attacks were launched in response to the actions of Muslim militants. “I told everybody that we should answer bombs with bombs,” 59-year-old Swami Aseemanand, whose real name is Naba Kumar Sarkar, told a magistrate during a closed hearing in Delhi. “I suggested that 80 per cent of the people of Malegaon were Muslims and we should explode the first bomb in Malegaon itself. I also said that during partition, the Nizam of Hyderabad had wanted to go with Pakistan so Hyderabad was also a fair target.
While I was surprised that a Hindu Extremist admitted to planting the bombs, it’s certainly no surprise that there are extremists in Hinduism. Bal Thackeray — who launched an eradication campaign against Mumbai’s Muslims in the 90′s and killed some 1,400 people — is one such example. It would be a good idea for India’s Muslims and Hindus to unite and focus on what so-called extremists on their sides have in common: they both want to see India consumed by the flames of sectarianism.
Real-world version
I find this story outrageous…’Slumdog Millionaire’ is one of my favorite movies, I’ve seen it three times, actually. I don’t understand why the young actors who did such an excellent job playing their parts haven’t been taken care of. Why are they still living in slums? I wonder how much money the producers, director, and the creators made while the movie was bringing in huge profits all over the world.
From The New York Times:
In a scene reminiscent of the gritty hit movie “Slumdog Millionaire,” municipal workers in Mumbai, India, on Thursday demolished the home of one of the children who starred in the rags-to-riches tale. Local officials told reporters that they did not know that the row of shanties they demolished included the home of the family of Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, above, the 10-year-old who played the character Salim as a child. They said they were following orders to clear illegally built shanties ahead of the monsoon season. The child star was asleep when a police officer woke him up and told him to leave his family’s home, he told The Associated Press in an interview.
The Iraqi Blogosphere + Israel and Palestine debates = Mayhem
While we have watched Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki and the people of Iraq triumph in the face of terrorism, there is another struggle, maybe even a war, that is taking place, and it is happening in the Iraqi blogosphere.
First, my friends over at Iraqi Bloggers Central have announced they are closing their doors. While this is a bit depressing, I am very happy for them…they have run the blog for 5 successful years. I don’t always agree with them–particularly Mr. Ghost, but nonetheless they have all at one time or another done something to help Iraq and its people. Jeffrey, the most frequent poster, has noted there has been a decline in English-language Iraqi blogs…my link list has quite a few of them, I might add. But on the other hand, there is a growing number of inactive Iraqi bloggers, as evident by the growing list on IBC.
Speaking of which, those blogs that have been a good read are experiencing some trouble. Iraqi Mojo has always been one of my favorite Iraqi bloggers with his spot-on analysis of the situation in Iraq and willingness to stand up for what is right. Today though, the blog has been overrun with haters, many of which come Healing Iraq, a run-down, inactive site that was run by Zeyad Kasim, who also had some good thoughts to offer at one point. Anyway, Mojo’s blog has been the center of a debate that tends to invoke nothing but hate and anger for 60 years: Israel and Palestine.
A residential neighborhood in Ramallah, the capital of the West Bank. Anyone who knows about the debate knows that this is a frequent battleground between Israelis and Palestinians.
The lines have been drawn over at Mojo’s, and commentators who were once friendly with each other are know bashing each other, tossing insults around, and getting worked up over nothing because anti-American supporters of the Iraqi “Resistance” like Arab Advocate and his side-kick, Bruno, the Afrikaner, have figured out how to stir up trouble and get their sick kicks. In the year and a half I have been commenting at Mojo’s, I have been able to avoid the discussion…I always feared that because I vehemently stand beside Israel’s right to exist and believe that Israel offers light in a region overrun by darkness I would forever be labeled a “Zionist”, a “Zionut“, or as some haters will say, a “fascist”, or a “Nazi”, words which I believe are deliberately used to cause hurt the people of the Jewish Homeland, given their historical significance.
However, when Arab Advocate calls for Israel to be “dismantled”–a codeword for “destroyed”–I have no choice but to speak up. In the midst of my defense, I have been accused of supporting “the deportation of Palestinians to Jordan”, supporting Avigdor Lieberman and his policies, supporting the West Bank settlers, and worst of all, not caring about the right of Palestinians. This stuff is so out of proportion I don’t even know where to begin. For starters, I am strongly opposed to the settlements and their inhabitants who regularly attack both innocent Palestinians and Israelis who try to protect them. I think they, alongside terrorist groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, are one of the biggest obstacles to peace in the region. Not only that, they really aren’t any different from each other. Militant Zionists like those mentioned in the above link are just as bad as the Palestinians who fire rockets and mortars into Israel. At the same time, I don’t think it makes me “anti-Palestinian” to point out that Jordan, in addition to Israel, snatched up Palestinian land in the first partition. Am I anti-Palestinian when I express my sheer outrage over what Hamas does to its own people? I hope anyone who cares about Palestinians wouldn’t think this.
Israel has no doubt done bad things in its 60 years history, while at the same time attempting to offer things that no other country in the region will offer, like free press, democracy, women’s rights, and major technological advantages, things that I believe are necessary for any society to truly succeed. Perhaps its difficult for some Americans to focus on the bad things Israel has done because they blindly support Israel for religious reasons–a means to an end, if I may say so. Or maybe its because Israel is surrounded by regimes so evil and repressive, like gender-apartheid Saudi Arabia, Bashir’s blood-soaked Sudan, and Big Q’s Libya, that it makes the settler violence seem mild in the eyes of the world.
If a fair international forum could exist, Israel would have things to answer for. Unfortunately, its nearly impossible to take the UN “Human Rights” Commission seriously when they give their posts and chairmanships to countries like the 3 mentioned above (Libya, Sudan, Saudi Arabia) and expect the world to take action against Israel. While the Gaza War erupted backed in December, an even worse conflict raged on in the jungles of Sri Lanka…just recently, 60 civilians were blown up by mortar fire but no one cares because this debate does not invoke political passion like Israel and Palestine do. During the the Gaza war, pro-Hamas protests broke out here in San Francisco, believe it or not. I haven’t seen any protesters in San Francisco march through the streets waving Tamil Tiger flags and calling for the destruction of the Sri Lankan government, which could meet all the same criteria of being a “racist state” as Israel might. America has provided aid to Sri Lanka and has the Tamil Tigers on their list of terrorist organizations as well.
Recently, on Angry Arab’s Comment Section, a blog I often visit, one commentator made a joke about Israeli immigrants moving to India and stealing Indian land, completely oblivious to the fact that India is already being “occupied” by Pakistan and Bangladesh, but I guess maybe its okay for these people because the occupiers are Muslims, instead of Jews. I’ve seen many of the commentators go after the Hindus of India for being the oppressive ones while falling silent over what Pakistani and Bangladeshi militants have done to India’s civilian population. And no, I am not going on an anti-Muslim rant. Any regular reader of this blog would know that I have fiercely defended Pakistan in its fight against terrorism and that its harder to find a bigger defender of the Islamic religion than myself. I just don’t think that blatant hypocrisy is fair.
My point in going on about this is that I really wish that people would completely and totally avoid this debate UNLESS they are willing to hear the other side and listen to their concerns. At the beginning of the month, I attended a debate featuring As’ad Abukhalil, the “Angry Arab” and Israeli Consul General Akiva Tor. I was disgusted by the people who claimed to be “Pro-Palestinian”–they were extremely disrespectful to the Consul General by shouting insults and yelling at him when he was trying to speak. Somewhere in the crowd, conscientious supporters of the Palestinian people must have been very embarrassed by what was happening. The event was advertised as though it would be a forum to discuss the issue…it was anything but. While it was very exciting to meet the two speakers, the “forum” managed to attract the worst of American Society.
I have met Palestinians…and I have met Israelis. Sometimes it seems they are more willing to discuss the issues than their supporters in other countries, believe it or not. Unless you are willing to bring your opponent into a cafe, drink coffee, and talk things over, you should avoid talking about anything involving Israel and Palestine for your own well-being and the well-being of others. I’ve heard that this conflict has wrecked many political careers over its perplexity and inability to be solved…I would say that the debate has wrecked many good and decent friendships over the inability to find any common ground.
Standing with our ally
I understand that I have been fixated with what has been happening in India this last week, so I felt the need to post this article by Christopher Hitchens. I agree with him that we need to maintain a close partnership with India. He is also correct in saying that India acts as a good “counterweight” to Russia and China, although I do not necessarily agree with him about Pakistan, seeing as Pakistan is suffering from terrorism too.
I should note that this is from the center of the article…the full piece can be seen in the link below. Enjoy Hitchens’ writing 
by Christopher Hitchens
I hope I am not alone in finding the statements about Bombay from our politicians to be anemic and insipid, and the media coverage of the disastrous and criminal attack too parochially focused on the fate of visiting or resident Americans. India is emerging in many ways as our most important ally. It is a strong regional counterweight to Russia and China. Not to romanticize it overmuch, it is a huge and officially secular federal democracy that is based, like the United States, on ethnic and confessional pluralism. Its political and economic and literary echelons speak English better than most of us do. Its parliament in New Delhi—the unbelievably diverse and dignified Lok Sabha—was viciously attacked by Islamist gangsters and nearly destroyed in December 2001, a date which ought to have made more Americans pay more attention rather than less. Since then, Bombay has been assaulted multiple times and the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan blown up with the fairly obvious cross-border collusion of the same Pakistani forces who are helping in the rebirth of the Taliban.
It would be good to hear from the president and the president-elect that we regard attacks on the fabric and society of India with very particular seriousness, as assaults on a close friend that was battling al-Qaida long before we were. In response, it should be emphasized, our military and financial and nuclear and counterinsurgency cooperation with New Delhi will not be given a lower profile but a very much higher one. The people of India need to hear this from us, as do the enemies of India, who are our sworn enemies, too.
The inevitable question arises: Did our nominal ally Pakistan have a hand in this atrocity? In one sense, to ask the question is to answer it. Whether we refer to al-Qaida “proper,” or to any of the armed Kashmiri formations that have lately been mentioned, we find some pre-existing connection to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency, or ISI. Another conceivable suspect, the former Bombay crime lord Dawood Ibrahim, wanted by the Indian authorities on suspicion of blowing up the Bombay stock exchange and killing 300 civilians in 1993, has long been a fugitive from justice living safely in Pakistan’s main port of Karachi. Not a bad place from which to organize an amphibious assault team that acted as if it had been trained by serious military professionals.
Indians remember fallen police chief
As terrorists stormed through Mumbai in a bloody rampage, Hemant Karkare stepped in to try and stop it. Karkare was the chief of Mumbai’s anti-terrorist unit. He tragically lost his life in the horrendous mass killings that have sowed terror on the city for days, but his death will not be forgotten and his colleagues are remembering him. From what I have read, he is one of those guys who loved what he did for a living…the type of person I hope to be one day 
The moment the attacks took place, Karkare rushed to the scene, as you can see in this photo from CNN. He was killed not long after it was taken. He is shown on the left putting on a helmet.
From CNN:
(CNN) — Hemant Karkare, Mumbai’s slain terror chief, was a shrewd and unflappable investigator whose death is a blow to a police force that has difficult work ahead, his colleagues said this week.
According to accounts in Indian newspapers, Karkare, 54, was credited with solving many crimes and did his job apolitically and with the utmost integrity.
“The state Anti-Terrorism Squad has lost a daredevil officer in Hemant Karkare,” Peter Lobo, chief inspector of the Anti-Terror Squad in Pune, told The Times of India on Thursday.
Karkare, head of Maharashtra state’s Anti-Terrorism Squad, was heading home Wednesday when he learned gunmen were attacking the Oberoi hotel in Mumbai, Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister R.R. Patil told The Hindu newspaper.
Karkare later got word the situation at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus was more serious. The terror chief and two other officers — armed with automatic weapons — jumped in a jeep and rushed to take on the terrorists, The Hindu reported.
What a great man. I can say that he inspires me, and hopefully the great city of Mumbai, to do good things in the world. Karkare sounds like one of those truly dedicated people who would do his job for free because of his motivation. Not only was he looking out for his country and his people, he jumped into this tragedy to help people from all over the world, including Americans.
Rest in peace Hemant, and don’t worry about the state of this world. Those of us all across it thanking you are prepared to take it from here
Rescue operation underway
At this hour, Indian commandoes have raided a Jewish culural center in Mumbai besieged by terrorists. Israelis are believed to be among the hostages and some are reported to be freed.
This dramatic photo from Reuters India shows the rescuers drop into the building from a helicopter.
I need to give my thoughts on this…an attack like this by fundamentalists is almost unheard of. The most similar event I can think of is the 2004 Beslan School Siege in Southern Russia. I have been hearing repeatedly that the terrorists came in from the sea, as if this situation is not disurbing enough.
India is a great country…I trust its brave security forces are doing everything they can to bring this tragedy to a close.
Terror sweeps through Mumbai
It is very saddening to see a beautiful city burn at the hands of extremists. This great tragedy is still unfolding as I write…it is equally disappointing that the world has taken its eyes off of this inhumane threat. I’m watching CNN now, and one report even suggests that the terrorists might have followed rescue workers to a hospital and attacked there. Just remember that terrorism doesn’t go away when the markets are struggling, and they are always willing to remind us of this. Let’s pray that the hostages are rescued and the brave Indian soldiers and police bring this to a close.
From the BBC:
Gunmen have carried out a series of co-ordinated attacks across the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay), killing at least 80 people and injuring 200 more.
At least seven high-profile locations were hit in India’s financial capital, including two luxury hotels where hostages were reported to be held.
A fire is sweeping through the Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai’s most famous hotel which is now ringed by troops.
Police said four suspected terrorists have been killed and nine arrested.
The situation is still confused but the main train station, a hospital, a restaurant and as well as the two hotels are among those places caught up in the violence.
There are reports of gunfire and explosions taking place elsewhere in the city.
Commandos have now surrounded the two hotels, the Taj Mahal Palace and the Oberoi Trident, where it is believed that the armed men are holding dozens of hostages.
One eyewitness said that the attackers had singled out British and American passport holders.
If this report is true, our security correspondent Frank Gardner says it suggests that Islamic militants are behind the attack.
A claim of responsibility has been made by a previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen.
The motive is far from clear – but the attacks come amid elections in several Indian states, including in disputed Kashmir.
In the latest developments:
-Police say an explosion heard inside the Oberoi was from a hand grenade, and flames and a massive plume of smoke are billowing from the Taj Mahal hotel
-The head of Mumbai’s anti-terrorism unit and two other senior officers are among those killed, according to local TV
-The US and the UK have both condemned the attacks and Washington says it is “assessing the hostage situation”
-Gunmen opened fire at about 2300 local time at the sites in southern Mumbai.
Religions cannot only reject terrorism, they need to stand up against it, together
When writing this post, my first thought was Saturday’s brutal terror attacks in the Indian city of Ahmadabad, but this can apply to all settings and religious backgrounds. The followers of a religion must do more than simply reject the use of extremism in the name of their faith. In addition to speaking out against the use of violence, they must stand beside different religions, especially when extremists seek to create tension between said religions, often by simply killing as many people as they can, holding their breath, and hoping it will create mayhem and panic. We’ve seen it in Iraq many times…what appeared to be nothing but a country descending into chaos and civil war was initiated by Al-Qaeda’s specific targeting of religious institutions and provoked a conflict that has shaped the political world in a way never imagined.
With things taking a turn for the better in Iraq, it looks like a another target has emerged…central and south Asia. In India and Pakistan, the continued use of terrorism has done considerable damage to the people of these countries, and has wrecked havoc in marketplaces, bus stations, cafes, and other public places. India is one of the most populous countries in the world, with one of the largest GDP’s in the world and a formidable military power. Yet somehow, a rag-tag band of so-called Islamic fundamentalist can bring the country to its knees and create shock waves of panic across the nation of more than one billion. By strapping dozens of crudely made explosive devices to bicycles and bins and blowing up as many people as possible, fear is everywhere. In a country like India, where many cities are overcrowded with millions of people, the attackers can fall back into the shadows, leaving the population afraid and vulnerable.
The sick people who carry out these attacks are hardly Muslim at all (I know, I make this point on my blog almost weekly). The attacks happening in India and Pakistan are designed to create as much tension and animosity between rival religious groups (Hindus and Muslims) and rival political parties (AQ and the Taliban’s targeting of Benazir Bhutto, Musharraf, and their supporters). Sometimes they succeed, as they managed to do in Iraq for sometime, until the Iraqi people finally stood up and said “Enough!”, and other times they stand in solidarity, as they have managed to do in India’s religiously diverse communities. Despite dozens of attacks, including Saturday’s bomb blasts, there has yet to be large-scale violence against the Hindu and Muslim population. This is the good news, and the fact that their barbaric form of “resistance” has failed to do what’s intended must hit back at the forces of terrorism.
Photos from CNN/AP
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