Friday, November 28, 2008

Why is India being attacked?

If you watched or read the mainstream media's coverage of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India then, like me, you may be confused. I had a ton of questions and no answers. Why these targets in Mumbai? Who could be behind the attacks? Who benefits from the attacks and what would the motivation be? After all, many of the spots targeted were luxurious Indian hotels, but also a Jewish center and a train station.

The first analysis we hear is based on religion. Islamic extremists were probably behind the attacks in Mumbai we're told. This may well be true. But is it ever only about religion? I instantly thought about the extreme poverty in India despite the country's booming economy and how that could lead to unrest.

I know virtually nothing about the situation there so I started to do some research and talked to a friend who lived in India for a number of years. I found out that in many ways the Muslim population has been left behind despite the economic boom India has been experiencing. This doesn't give motive for the attacks, but could help more extreme elements of the society with recruitment efforts. Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International and Mumbai native, spoke with Newsweek.com and shed some light on what is happening in India.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Mr. Stein,

This was truly another horrific terrorist occurrence, with less magnitude yet similar to 9/11, and along the lines of the Madrid trains bombings in 2004 and London bombings of busses and trains in 2005-- all targeting innocents. Believe me; I feel for all of the civilian victims and their families, no matter their ethnicity or national origin.
What I found beyond unconscionable was that during this heinous, tragic attack there was also an obvious additional “separate” attack on the Chabad center and how the terrorists went out of their way to target Jews in Mumbai. One of the cable news channels, I believe CNN reported that locals who have lived in the area for years had no idea that the Chabad center even existed, yet alone where it was. Somehow, however, the attackers sought out "Jews" and Israelis in India along with Americans and Brits. Once again, even in India, Jews were a target of terror.

DS