As Mumbai mourns and limps back to semblance of normalcy, the inevitable questions arise. Who was behind this attack, who were the terrorists and why was our intelligence such a failiure and will our government continue to be so pathetically inept at leadership. But one question that will keep lingering is, what did the terrorists want ? What was the true purpose of their attack ?
Yes, to create chaos and fear at the heart of India’s financial capital. Yes, to make a statement of how easy it is create mayhem. But there seemed no pattern to their behaviour, other than random killings. At one time the media kept talking about them taking hostages – especially Westerners – but you do not take hostages without either using them to escape or make demands. These terrorists did not even think of escaping, reconciled as they were to their own deaths. Nor did they make any demands. While we thank God that they did not – if just random killing was their only motive, then they could have killed many more people than they did. With grenades and automatic weapons in a railway station – or with the taking over of two major hotels, the death toll could have been far far greater. Imagine if they had just randomly killed all the hostages instead of herding them together ?
Was there an objective that failed ? For all the carnage and death they caused, was this a failed attack where the primary objective was not achieved ? Or ( I would like t believe that ) were these attackers young men – almost boys – that could not carry out the initial objectives. Is it possible that once you are faced with people who’s eyes you can look into – who can talk to you – they cease to become perceived enemies, but human beings. Is it possible then that even a trained terrorist, would begin to doubt his fiery passions as he looks around and recognizes the sheer inhumanity of what he has done or is about to do ?
We may never know the answers, but it is important to search for them. Terrorism has to be stopped not only by by tight and ruthless security, but also by understanding the mind of the terrorist. For all the rhetoric of some of the terrorists being from Pakistan, all accounts seem to lead to the conclusion that a large number of the group were from India. We must at all cost try and stop our own people believing that the only way for them to make their statement is to kill their own people so indiscriminately. We as a nation have failed if we alienate our own people so much.
It seems to me that socalled terrorists were dismayed that with bomb blasts Indians behaved the very next day as if nothing had happened. They felt it as their defeat. Now their sole purpose was to prolong the agony as long as possible so that Indians would at least remember it for the days it is going on.
UNITED – We Condemn Mumbai Terror Attacks
All intelligentsia need to think
What Now, How to STOP it …
With more than 7,405 news articles, 50 hours on the subject
Whole world concerned
challenged by so few
Cowardly terrorsits have warned us loudly, clear
UNITED – We All need to fight evil forces against peace of world …
“Terrorist has no place in OUR World”
“Shameless attacks are on Humanity
Very existence of Humanity is challenged”
Let us all stand together to eradicate this evil terrorism
Life is too precious to be wasted like this.
Enough is Enough
Everyone, help us make our world more PEACEFUL
Once again I think you have put my thoughts in better words than me. And maybe helped me clear my thought.
They say tht the terrorist have been trained for over a year.
By whom and where is the question on hand and why?
Besides one more thing confuses me and scares me. They say that the terrorist who is caught, has confessed that 40 of them entered the city. But how many are killed and caught are not equal 40.
Earlier this year I was at Guhwati for a friends wedding. I went to this place called ‘Fancy street’ it is one of the high alert areas. I was there cause, I had to get my hair done at a ‘Lakme parlour’ for the wedding function. Being a high alert area, one of my friend and me were checked before entering the area.
We just wondered, how could people stay in such a city, like this.
Yesterday at around 12 noon there were rumours of fireshot around in south mumbai. All the building gates were shut and we were scared sitting at home.
I just wondered where would I go if this continued. This is the only place where I have been living.
they targetted the hotels perhaps with the intention to cripple our trade and industry as one can safely assume that the taj and oberoi between them on any given day, would play host to many of the city’s/country’s captains of industry , trade and commerce. apparently, foreign nationals were prime targets and they made a bee line for people with foreign passports. could it be that they wanted to frighten people of foreign origin away…..? thereby, deflating the inflow of business opportunities with bombay/india ?
it truly has had the desired effect has’nt it ? it has created an unprecedented uproar in the hearts of people as compared to the previous bomb blasts, floods as well as the constant episodes of murder ,rape and robberies which have become the staple one reads about on a daily basis.
To finish India economically.