TERROR STRIKES AGAIN
the commercial capital of India, this time claiming 21 lives in addition to causing hundreds injured. This is some fourteenth such blast by terrorists in Bombay and the fourth major terrorist operation since the gruesome 26/11 attacks and every time the cliché cheer of the ‘spirit of Bombay’ standing up to such gory carnages is freely raised by all and sundry leaders in and out of government. But, regretfully, nothing is done to see to it that the necessary preventative/detective mechanisms are installed to come to grips with such artificial calamities. Kishwar Desai in guardian.co.uk , one of the TV reporters who covered the first serial bomb blasts 1993 in Mumbai, witnessing and feeling the ‘unimaginable shock of 13 coordinated explosions going off simultaneously’ when “the deadly twisted wreckage spread through the city, and the enormous death toll revealed the malevolent design to hit India where it would hurt most,” was rightly furious about “the shocking admission by the … chief minister, Prithviraj Chavan, that even the purchase of 5,000 CCTV cameras for Mumbai [a suggestion by the Ram Pradhan Committee 2009] is still pending with the central government,” and justified in questioning “…is it any surprise that Mumbaikars are furious with ministers who surround themselves with high security and bodyguards, but have no money to spend on the aam aadmi, the common man?” It is a matter of unshakable common sense that such attacks cannot take place without solid local links, and especially the bombs planted on this occasion seem to be homemade improvised IEDs, but unfortunately, it is alleged, due to the nasty vote-bank politics effective investigation through widespread arrests and interrogations is not done and this holds good even in case of the 26/11 mayhem. We concur with Keith Jones that “…the wanton slaughter of ordinary people can only strengthen reaction … helping poison relations between Hindus and Muslims in India and between the peoples of India and Pakistan,” and condemn such genocidal crimes in no uncertain terms. We demand that governments reacting with alacrity and gravity unravel the conspiracy behind such repeated terrorist attacks and do their best to prevent their reoccurrence §§§
