On Saturday, Prannoy Roy, the chairman of India's leading news network, New Delhi Television Limited, affirmed that "a war on Mumbai has been declared. A war on India has been declared." More than 48 hours had passed since the first attacks across Mumbai had struck. The Taj Mahal Hotel, a 105-year-old monument to Indian glory, stood burning across the Gateway of India. Many were trapped in the basements of the Taj and Oberoi Trident Hotels. Café Leopold had seen a horrific night of incessant murder.
In America, CNN worked with its Indian sister network CNN-IBN to report the status of foreigners involved. They registered the pledge of support from the president-elect as well as the current administration. But at home, Indians were watching a night of terror the likes of which they had never seen before. Most Indian newspapers and news channels termed this horrific event "Mumbai's 9/11." This city, which, unlike New York, had seen its fair share of terrorist attacks, was being crushed to its breaking point.
As the ruthless attacks on India's financial and commercial heart continued for more than 56 hours, the pain of this city resounded across the nation and around the world. Although the terrorists seemed to target tourist destinations, there was no denying the sheer brutality of their actions, as the indiscriminate massacres took the lives of all -- Indians and foreigners; Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs and Christians.
Roy's declaration affirmed the pain and anger felt by Indians across the world. It also confirmed liberal Indians' worst fears: There was to be a scapegoat, and it would inevitably involve Islam and Pakistan. Indo-Pakistani relations over the past 6 months have been civil, to say the most. However, with these terrorist attacks, which have been blamed on various groups (including the previously unknown Deccan Mujahideen), Indo-Pakistani relations will once again skate on thin ice.
Worse still is the fear among many Indians that the Muslims in their country will be the targets of national anger. Pakistan had pledged to send the head of its Inter-Services Intelligence directorate to India to help investigate the attacks but reneged on this, claiming it inappropriate during this time of distrust. Pakistan has also said that it will send troops to the border if relations with India worsen. The situation in India is even tenser. The extremist pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has blamed these and previous attacks in Delhi on Muslim terrorists and accused the Congress Party of being weak in its response. General public opinion in India at the moment is very much anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan, as a terrorist organization based in Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Taiba, remains the main suspect in the bombings.
The terrorists involved in the Mumbai attacks were no different from those involved in the Sept. 11 and July 7 bombings in New York and London, respectively. The ideology is irrational, the claims wholly amoral, the justifications purely fanatical. No religion, nation or people is at the root cause of these attacks. They were a result of the violent disaffection of wildly fanatical men. There is no basis with which India can justifiably blame Pakistan for these attacks. India should not attempt to engage Pakistan in a national dispute when this was clearly an act of unattached violence. If the terrorists are given the shield of a national, religious or human cause, they are given far more dignity and justification for their actions.
Thus, it is the plea of this Indian to disregard national indignations and petty religious conflicts in this time when the need for human unity is greatest. The international community has pledged its support to Mumbai. It is now the responsibility of India and Indians alike to unite against the differences which the terrorists seek to use to divide the country. It is the responsibility of the world to unite, not against nations, but against an offensive and violent few who seek to disrupt the harmony of many. The problem of terrorism cannot and will not be solved on a nation-to-nation basis, but instead calls for the cooperation of a united international community. Let us therefore show only our humanity and courage as people by coming together against the barbarity of these inhumane few. Shreya Maitra is a junior majoring in history.
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