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Written by Caroline Zentner
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Thursday, 27 November 2008 |
Sameer Deshpande won’t change his plans to travel to Mumbai in a couple of weeks despite the most recent attacks.
And he hopes anyone else who’s made plans to visit the city will follow through.
“As a native of the city, people shouldn’t change their plans to go to India,” he said. “We should continue showing our resilience and make a statement that we will continue doing things no matter what you do. I know it’s easy for me to say that and I know there’s a risk involved in it, or there’s a fear, a perceived risk. My point is that there are a lot of foreigners in India, they’re visiting or doing business and they’re doing fine.”
Deshpande, a University of Lethbridge professor, has been glued to his computer watching the developments in Mumbai via online Indian television channels. His family, parents, a sister, aunts, uncles and cousins, are all safe. He’s also heard from some of his professional friends who work in Mumbai’s main commercial hub. Had the attacks happened in the morning instead of the evening, he suspects the death toll would have been far higher.
Being a target for terror attacks isn’t new for Mumbai. In July 2006 a series of bombings killed 187 people.
“It’s been happening in a steady stream the last five years,” Deshpande said. “My first reaction was ‘Oh, God, not again. When will it stop?’”
But this attack has some unique features, including foreigners being taken as hostages, he said. The sites targeted by gunmen include two hotels, a railway station built by the British, two hospitals, a restaurant and a Jewish centre.
“These are icons of culture, history, economy, foreign relationships in the country at the business level,” he said. “Taking British and Americans, is that a statement against Iraq and Afghanistan? It’s easier to pick those guys in India than in Britain and the U.S. because India has such a porous border and India is a softer target.”
With the attacks centering on a financial district, Deshpande speculates it might also be a statement against India’s economic progress. The Taj hotels are owned by the Tata Group, a large conglomerate with interests in power generation, steel and vehicles like the Nano, the world’s cheapest car.
“So targeting them can also be a statement against India’s economic development,” he said.
The real reasons behind the attacks may never be known since the gunmen captured may know very little of a larger plan. Deshpande speculates the attack was co-ordinated, since holding siege in such large hotels would take strategy and knowledge of the building’s layout. He’s of the opinion the plan didn’t originate inside the country, although some of his countrymen may have been involved.
“Selection of those icons, the strategy, reflects international links,” he said.
People are also worried that riots might break out in response to the attacks.
“Hindus might react emotionally because we are very emotional people. We don’t have guns so much as we have hands,” Deshpande said.
Plenty of Muslims live in Mumbai and they could become targets. He expects the government will do something to bring a sense of security back to Mumbai.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 10 August 2009 )
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