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For India, the Specter of Terrorism Will Persist

Daniel Flitton, The Age | November 28, 2008

India has recently suffered dozens of terrorist attacks with thousands perishing, but is it enough to send her over the “red line?" ++ The latest attack, brazen as it was, shows the weakness of al-Qaeda inspired assaults. ++ With the West having implemented stronger security measures, India is a new “soft target.” ++ The motivation of these murderers will probably never be known, but local factors are likely the cause. ++ Let’s hope India recognizes this, so as not to be pushed to retaliate against Pakistan – the aforementioned red line.

 

 
 
Comments
Fouad Naji Maarouf

Sat, Nov 29th 2008, 05:48

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India and Pakistan have faught long enough in varous wars to control Kashmir, it's not wonder then if such violant acts strat happening in the capital New Delhi.

As long as the people of Kashmir don't have the right of self determination and
independance through peaceful means then we'll be seeing more of such voilant acts.

The IRA in Northen-Ireland did the same in London in the 1970s and 1980 to presure the British government to pull back its forces from Belfast and the rest of the country. In the end Tony Blair and the Sinfain leader plus the Ultra-Unoinists were forced to sit together and make a peace deal that is well known to everyone.

In Spain and France the the ETA too has been trying to gain the independance of the Basque region for decades through all means possible, by force or through political presure on the spanish goverment.

In the end, its very important to deal with every issue seperately and through talk and not let oneself be forced through violant acts to do irrational things.
There is no use blaming Al-Qaida for this, because now a days every act of violance is being described as an act of the partly fictional and through international media created organization, no matter were on this earth violant acts happen. Is Al-Qaiad realy as powerful as the world media put it? Guided and lead by a man in a cave ??

I hope we do wake up from this illusion that all bad things happen through this organization. In the 1970s there was the red danger which manifested it self in acts of violance thorugh left wing militants in Germany and Europe.

Today the Muslims are to blame for any act of violance on the world.. I think this is only a
distraction made by US media to turn the US citizens away from the essential problems that they face in their country because of greedy big companies and politicians that play with the livelyhood of decent americans who try to live peacefully and decently.

I hope the media is honest enough to tell the truth and not what the westen governments with their different lobbies want to hear...
 
Donald  Stadler

Sun, Nov 30th 2008, 01:27

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"it's not wonder then if such violant acts strat happening in the capital New Delhi."

This particular set of acts occurred in Mumbai, not New Delhi. Are you arguing that military defeat in Kashmir justifies shooting up civilians in the Mumbai train station, hotels, and shooting up a hospital? Hmmmmm. I'm interested in your reasoning..

"As long as the people of Kashmir don't have the right of self determination and
independance through peaceful means then we'll be seeing more of such voilant acts.2

And as long as the people now inhabiting the region once known as Al-Andulus (now known as Spain) do not rejoin the Dar al Islam can we expect more bombing of train stations? Such was proposed at the time as I recall. But this principal can be easily extended to most of India, which was formerly ruled by the Mughals. Greece, and large portions of the Balkans. Return to the Dar al Islam, or die?
 
Member deleted

Wed, Dec 3rd 2008, 12:43

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India as a 'soft' target? India always has been a soft target ever since the Indian leadership fell in to the demands of Kashmiri militants in the Rubaiyya Sayyed case. There should be a series of questions that need to be asked in this context:

1. Is virulent Indian nationalism (Hindutva Brigade, etc./ interpreted as ethno-linguist chauvinism) and the (negative) politics of (negative) 'difference' a source for pushing forth an anti-indian sentiment, within India while making it a soft target?
2. Does the Indian reality of most of its population living in a peasant reality and most of its elites living in just-a-generation-removed-from-peasantry push forth India's debacle, in nearly every sphere?
3. Does the peasant leadership -elites' accessibility to literacy that enables the capacity to read but not comprehend many serious issues at discussion - even in forums as these - enables a response that makes the Indian state via such a populace not only seem stupid, but also encourage its perception of being a soft target?
4. Is the Indian leadership capable of dealing with issues of terrorism and/or serious about them (especially vis-a-vis the above questions)?
Tags: | terrorism | India | concerns |
 

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