It’s been clear for some time that India has a serious and growing problem with terrorism. There were terror attacks in Delhi when I was there last September. At the time, the Indian reaction – both from the public and the government – seemed commendably calm. I wonder whether the calm will survive the latest horrors in Mumbai?
We still don’t know the full death toll – but it looks like it will run into the hundreds. The police are reported to be preparing to storm the Oberoi Hotel and there are hostages being held at the Taj Palace. (I stayed there in September, too.)
One always has to be careful with comparisons to 9/11. That was so spectacular, and so many people died. But this attack does have a ring of 9/11 – the terrorists have attacked some of the iconic buildings in the commercial capital of India. The fact that there were multiple attacks and that the gunmen in the Taj were reportedly trying to separate Americans and Brits, also makes it sound like an al-Qaeda style operation.
Indians will be watching anxiously to see if the terrorists were Indian-born or foreigners. Either would be bad news, but for different reasons. One of the alarming aspects of some recent terror attacks in India is that Indian-born Muslims were involved. The development of a terror campaign with truly domestic roots would be a really ominous development. On the other hand, if the terror attacks originated on Pakistani soil, then regional tensions would spiral. How unpleasantly ironic that all this should happen, just days after the Pakistani prime minister, issued a bold appeal for peace between his country and India. One might almost believe that these attacks were designed to scupper the Zardari peace initiative – were it not for the fact that it must take longer than a couple of days to put something like this into action,
For views and opinions on the European Union from Peter Spiegel, Joshua Chaffin, Alex Barker and Stanley Pignal, follow the 