THE terrorist attacks on Mumbai are nothing less than a crime against humanity. Once again innocent people have been deliberately targeted by monsters on a diabolical mission that to most ordinary people has no rhyme or reason other than raw hatred.
For me, this feels very personal. Ever since my first visit to what was then Bombay in the early 1970s, I’ve looked upon this vibrant and colorful city as a second home. Memories of arriving at the Oberoi hotel at 3 a.m. and pressing my nose to the window of my room, eagerly anticipating dawn, are still vivid. It didn’t disappoint.
Since, I have been a frequent guest of both the Taj and the Oberoi — two of the finest hotels in the world. It was heartbreaking to see them in flames, their corridors and stairwells running with blood...and for what?
As I watched the tragic events unfold on NDTV, my eye caught the beautifully painted silk wall hanging I had bought from a shop in the Taj decades ago and was transported to a gentler age. I closed my eyes for a moment and recalled how the gorgeous heritage wing of that hotel was once synonymous with the gracious living of an earlier era.
I could almost smell the slightly musty scent of its century-old wood, now blackened and smoldering. I could taste the creamy sweet lassi and the mouth-watering mango kulfi I had always ordered in the hotel coffee shop. I stayed up all night transfixed to my set suffused with a painful mix of sadness and anger as I expect most Indians did.
WHAT kind of human beings were or are the young “clean cut” men, who were reportedly ordered “to kill under the last breath”? Do they even deserve to be characterized as “human” when they thought nothing about mowing down decent people going about their business and heroic hotel staff who, in many instances, put the lives of their guests before their own.
Sunday’s Guardian reports that the “only attacker taken alive” Azam Amir Kasab, 21, from Pakistan “told interrogators the attacks had been meticulously planned six months ago and were intended to kill 5,000 people”. He told investigators that he had done right and had “no regrets”.
Indian authorities have stated that most gunmen came from Pakistan and one can surely empathize with the rage that the residents of Mumbai, and indeed, all Indians must surely feel. But emotive knee-jerk reactions of the type that ensued post-Sept. 11, 2001 should be avoided at all costs. It’s useless for Indians to resent their own government for failing to prevent the attacks because no coastline can be completely protected against the unexpected. Moreover, the youths involved went out of their way to present themselves as ordinary tourists even going as far as to book themselves in the hotels they were later to siege. They were clever enough to avoid the stereotypical appearance and behavior of religious extremists, if, indeed, that’s who they were.
But more important, it is counterproductive, nay highly dangerous, for the Indian government to lash out at its nuclear neighbor. It’s highly unlikely that the government of Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari is involved in any way. Zardari himself lost his wife Benazir Bhutto to terrorism. Furthermore, Pakistan’s present leadership is pro-Western and has indicated its willingness to resolve the longstanding Kashmir issue.
Pakistan has nothing whatsoever to gain by backing an attack on India, guaranteed to trigger even more enmity between the historic foes. And certainly not at a time when Washington is on the brink of inaugurating a new president, who has expressed a willingness to seek and destroy terrorists within Pakistan with or without Islamabad’s consent.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani told reporters that “Pakistan is a victim of terrorism. India is a victim of terrorism. The victims need to get together. Forget about our bitter history”. He is absolutely right. Whichever group masterminded this tragedy could probably predict India’s reaction.
They must have known that Delhi would never be cowed or intimidated by an onslaught on its commercial capital and was likely to take an aggressive stance against the usual suspect. It’s likely that the terrorists — or whoever is orchestrating them — would like nothing more than a full-scale India-Pakistan conflict, in which case both countries should do everything in their power to ensure they don’t get their wish. Lastly, the US should refrain from stirring an already muddy pot and remain neutral. It isn’t helpful that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice chose to lecture Pakistan on the need for “complete, absolute, total transparency and cooperation” in a way that prejudges Pakistan’s accountability. The Indian media would also do well to refrain from publishing hysterical op-eds and inflammatory headlines during these sensitive times when emotion runs high.
The rape of Mumbai illustrates once again that terrorism cannot be prevented unless cities are turned into fortresses, which, in the event, would impede the quality of life for their citizens. Unless the roots of the disease are understood and dealt with by governments then, sadly, wherever we are in the world, we can only expect more of the same.
