Serial Blasts in Mumbai

[brihaspati]

Moreover Indian Mujahideen could not have been involved. No currently-in-India Indian Muslim has ever been found guilty by our investigative wings and the courts to be involved in atrocities [except from Kashmir Valley and a significantly small number in the 93 blasts]. We know that every attack was planned and carried out by non-Indians. We cannot say that 1000 foreign nationals, or more and sleeper cells, had been staying in our country without the knowledge of our security services - and planning for jihad. The question of how and where they could stay hidden blended in with which community or networks, will arise. Either then the intelligence services knowingly allowed such presence, which would imply that they had been penetrated - or - that "locals" protected such jihadis, will have to be accepted.

Could it be a foriegn agency which has built a network and is using the sleeper cell for these events.
It may not be Paki agency at all. This may be an indirect method to put pressure on GOI for foriegn policy.

More importantly it shows possible penetration of the rashtryia apparatus, as well as political protection. Of course a foreign service could be involved. But they can only be successful if there is collaboration from inside. Political blindsides also help in such penetration and collaboration.

If you cannot do anything outside your borders - fine - at least look at the "inside".

[JE Menon]

Everybody watch that facebook hosted CNN/IBN interview on the scene with Hemant Mehta, apparently a bypasser. And spread the link. It is a fantastic articulation of controlled anger and reason.

Thanx joshvajohn for posting it here...

[AdityaM]

regarding kasabs date of birth:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/59953763/Mumb ... ion-Report

taken from tweet by Praveen swami

[Atri]

Moreover Indian Mujahideen could not have been involved. No currently-in-India Indian Muslim has ever been found guilty by our investigative wings and the courts to be involved in atrocities [except from Kashmir Valley and a significantly small number in the 93 blasts]. We know that every attack was planned and carried out by non-Indians. We cannot say that 1000 foreign nationals, or more and sleeper cells, had been staying in our country without the knowledge of our security services - and planning for jihad. The question of how and where they could stay hidden blended in with which community or networks, will arise. Either then the intelligence services knowingly allowed such presence, which would imply that they had been penetrated - or - that "locals" protected such jihadis, will have to be accepted.

Could it be a foriegn agency which has built a network and is using the sleeper cell for these events.
It may not be Paki agency at all. This may be an indirect method to put pressure on GOI for foriegn policy.

it is chain of madrassas and mosques which get funding from SA. Sunni have thier network.. shias have their own network funded by iran.. these two networks overlap and at times are antagonistic but mostly are collaborative with each other.. this has been the case, ever since Mughal empire went down.

West is the third power which after 1945 in general and 1990 in particular has been vascilating between these two networks. they pay off these networks to be friendly with west by means of market, money and muscle and persuade them to screw hindus for time being. the muslim networks agree and we have the story of India since 1989..

[Muppalla]

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php ... 6492310465

It is a reasonable reaction from a common man - from IBN interview.

The best and needs to be archived. He spoke like a BRF person. I do not know if he is one.

[Muppalla]

This looks like a 1993ish type blast with a mix of under world India Mujahedeen (IM) a.k.a SIMI with Paki involvement via ISI.IED getting used in Mumbai is interesting change from the past. I am not sure if IEDs were used away from Kashmir and I guess they may have been used rarely.

IM+SIMI types are definitely revived by the Government by withdrawing POTAs and other such tools.

[Baikul]

Mumbai is just another another word for the Somnath Temple, if we build a prosperous nation and strong economy without developing the backbone to defend it aggressively. A thousand years ago they came in their hordes to sack an Indian cultural icon, because we had the wealth but lacked the strength. They will do so again - from a long term perspective, and in my opinion, these are just feeler missions.

We may not want war, but if we turn the other cheek, behave passively, war is going to come to our doorstep anyway. Some Pakistani warlord will believe in his own lies that the craven Hindu will not react, and will start another Kargil, on a larger scale.

To me the danger is not that the Pakistanis lie about Indian submissiveness but that we give them the physical and mental space to believe in their own lies.

[RamaY]

My condolences to the families of the deceased.

Looks like one of the bomb was planted in a taxi, another in a motor cycle. Hope the police find the culprits.

[Atri]

To me the danger is not that the Pakistanis lie about Indian submissiveness but that we give them the physical and mental space to believe in their own lies.

Why is it a lie? ever since Pakistan existed, we have succumbed under internal and external pressure and were not able to punish the asura. Why is then Asura wrong in thinking that India is weak and submissive. If this is how we have behaved, so far, the conclusion by the pakis is true and just.

I agree with your Somnath metaphor..

[Muppalla]

IB confirms it is a terror strike, 7 IEDS used

It is confirmed that the serial blasts in Mumbai are terror attacks, according to sources in the Intelligence Bureau. The Union home ministry while confirming the same has declared a red alert across the nation.

A team of the Intelligence Bureau which is examining the case says that it is too early to determine as to who is behind this blast. "However we are examining the Indian Mujahideen angle," IB sources said.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that 7 IEDs were used and the explosive device was wrapped in cloth bags and tiffin carriers. This bears the signature of the Indian Mujahideen, a member of the NIA who is also investigating the case says.

The entire nation has been put on high alert following this attack. These groups may try and trigger off similar blasts in other parts of the country and hence all police stations have been put on high alert, IB sources also add.

[Baikul]

To me the danger is not that the Pakistanis lie about Indian submissiveness but that we give them the physical and mental space to believe in their own lies.

Why is it a lie? ever since Pakistan existed, we have succumbed under internal and external pressure and were not able to punish the asura. Why is then Asura wrong in thinking that India is weak and submissive. If this is how we have behaved, so far, the conclusion by the pakis is true and just.

I believe it is a lie because the Pakistani has never won anything worth winning, and ended up badly losing more than once. I believe we have grit and courage in ample measure, but it is our 'style' or 'philosophy' of fighting that is increasingly divorced from reality.

[Prem]

Baikul,
Its not about us but the RNI leadership. We cant blame the Poaks or islamists, internal or external , they are the enemies and expecting any benevolence is plain naive on patrt of some misguided indiots. Fault , dear friends is in us and the seed of this weakness was planted by PSers/ Congressi combo. This secular plant is now beginning to give the bitter fruit and gonna go strong from now on . Onlee solution is to cut it down from top , uproot it and burn it. Those who expect retaliation must be reminded of Vote bank calculation of ruling elites . When Ahamad patel. Doggyraja and Pawar-fool men are allowed to play with the destiny of nation then these blasts are of minor significence to these people. India is rudderless now and urgently need an indian leader replacing RNI charlatans.

[Prem Kumar]

Its interesting to note that pretty much all the comments on MSNBC, CNN reports automatically associate these terror attacks with Pukistan. The world is with us, so that even the "lok kya kehenge" types can rest assured.

Hit Murdike and Muzzafarbad with Brahmos today - no one will bat an eyelid. After all, we are not attacking Pukistan. We are only taking care of the non-state actors who happen to reside in their country, which their Government is unable to control because they didn't get $800 Million from the U.S

[Baikul]

Prem,

The bitter fruit you speak of is not, IMHO, just a result of secularism versus another, perhaps right wing, political philosophy. It is more an example of a diminishing, perhaps now vanished, Sardar Patel type of leadership versus a craven/ compromise ridden and hugely corrupt leadership style that is increasingly more prevalent around us. And this latter style is not restricted to one party.

The two SPs in Indian politics summarize to me the opposite ends of this leadership spectrum: then Sardar Patel and now Sharad Pawar.

[Prem Kumar]

The IM story is a good one. Expect Chidu to play it up & play down LeT. That way, the GOI doesn't get the stick for not attacking Pakistan. After all, this is "home grown" terror only - all because of Godhra. Gone are the days when every street politician used to blame Pakistan for sewage problems in his constituency. Today's fashion is to avoid blaming Pakistan at all costs. That's what the U.S does - dare we do any different?

[Anantha]

Its interesting to note that pretty much all the comments on MSNBC, CNN reports automatically associate these terror attacks with Pukistan. The world is with us, so that even the "lok kya kehenge" types can rest assured.

Hit Murdike and Muzzafarbad with Brahmos today - no one will bat an eyelid. After all, we are not attacking Pukistan. We are only taking care of the non-state actors who happen to reside in their country, which their Government is unable to control because they didn't get $800 Million from the U.S

To take it one step further, attack the two camps, and declare along with the US that it was a joint operation between US, India and TSP to take out the non state actors. Also the spokesman will claim that TSP has agreed to deny it to preserve its H &D. This will happen if US goes along with such a plan.

[Anantha]

The IM story is a good one. Expect Chidu to play it up & play down LeT. That way, the GOI doesn't get the stick for not attacking Pakistan. After all, this is "home grown" terror only - all because of Godhra. Gone are the days when every street politician used to blame Pakistan for sewage problems in his constituency. Today's fashion is to avoid blaming Pakistan at all costs. That's what the U.S does - dare we do any different?

To look at it ina oblique way, credit for the blasts should not be given to TSP. The RAPES, faujis should not get any brownie points. If life in India goes on as usual (with apologies to the families of victims) TSP will not gain anything from these acts. However, as a learned BR guy said, accelerate the disintegration of TSP, but play no obvious role in it even "Morally and diplomatically". But play the different sides against each other to eventually dismantle TSP.

[Mihaylo]

3 blasts and 20+ dead. If the intent was to kill the most number of people, then they surely failed. Wouldn't a couple of bombs placed in packed trains killed a lot more. Just wondering why trains were avoided this time. Is it because there are CCTV coverage on most stations? Two of the blasts are near temples. Jutst thinking loud.

-M

[Ambar]

As I have stated in several times - the US has a make or break control over an Indian attack on Pakistan. Their Intel capabilities are exceptional and they can warn the Pakis about what is happening. And they can make life miserable for India. This is my opinion. Instead of blaming Catholic ladies and 25 crore non Indics - I am blaming USA. Each to his own I guess.

Coming from you i don't expect anything else. US has several less messy options to hurt India than sitting in Arlington or Langley and giving "go ahead" to jihadis to plant scooter IEDs in India! I agree with one of your points though :"Nazar" never seems to impact the no.1 enemy of jihadis because "fat,lazy,Americans" know how to relentlessly pursue their safety and well-being.

Before we completely rule out the role of IMs, lets think about Sarfraz Nawaz or Thadiyantavide Nazir or the Bhatkal brothers and countless other home bred jihadis. LeT or JeM need not push piglets from Pak anymore, probably after Kasab they will be apprehensive to get caught with their pants down again. So why not use their sympathizers inside India ?

Bottomline, if we can never hit Pakis back then atleast lets do some housecleaning. Many tractor trailer loads of Ammonium Nitrate goes missing and there is no investigation,no follow up. Acharyaji is right, why would it take months of preperation to pull this off when material/men are available off the shelf ? Half a decade after Mumbai train blasts, we still don't have concrete evidence if it was SIMI, Bangladeshi jihadis or Pakis .

If baffles my mind when i hear cars/scooters were used to plant IEDs and we end up on cold trials. Even if chassis,engine # is filed off, there are countless other part numbers on a vehicle that can provide us with solid leads. The minute combing done by the Japs at Narita Airport helped them track a 2 mm Sanyo transistor to a store in Canada. Unless we show such diligence and hunger to pursue and prosecute the terrorists, we'll forget this one too - just the way we forget countless atrocities of Naxals.

Finally, those who think we'll somehow be a "superpower" when we become a 10 trillion$ economy of whatever tend to forget we are almost 10 times richer than what we were in the mid-80s and yet none the safer. GDP figures helps us mock the "book cooking Chinese" or "lazy whites" in Indian Economy/Nation on a march dhaagas, but does not help improve or safeguard our lives. We'll be a "superpower" when we'll pulverize those who harm our interests and never ever forgive/forget the crimes committed upon us.

[BSR Murthy]

Condolences to the families of the injured and dead.
I hope with misplaced optimism that Indian govt. says enough is enough and goes for just retribution.
I wish for India a bullheaded, unreasonable nationalist PM with b@lls for a while.

[Vikram W]

New nomenclature request - In BR parlance can we start calling D-company as Hijra company ?

[svinayak]

I wish for India a bullheaded, unreasonable nationalist PM with b@lls for a while.

Vote for it. That is the only way. Ask your friends and family to vote for this.

[svinayak]

As I have stated in several times - the US has a make or break control over an Indian attack on Pakistan. Their Intel capabilities are exceptional and they can warn the Pakis about what is happening. And they can make life miserable for India. This is my opinion. Instead of blaming Catholic ladies and 25 crore non Indics - I am blaming USA. Each to his own I guess.

In a conversation with Amirkhan I said that few B dollars of aid money to Pak is being used for nukes and funding the terrorist groups. He was mumbling about IndiaPakistan nuking each other. Then I said plz give more money to them so that they can build more. He is still confused and unable to answer.

[Suhas H]

mumbai's like the minesweeper game, you gotto be lucky to not blow up...

I find this statement inappropriate, if it was Karachi or any other paki city then it would make sense.

My deepest condolences to the families of the victims and the injured.

[Rahul M]

Rakesh, BJP rule was for a very very short period of time. They were with coalition as well. I think we must give them a resounding victory in the coming election. Then judge them whether they are capable or incompetent. I do believe and know that they will be far far better than the congress. The BJP do also fall for the pseudo secular game. They also sometimes believes that fundamentalist appeasement is Secularism. Who is going to put the truth into their mind that true secularism means elimination of all fundamentalist ideas starting with the nation called Pakistan.

Yes compared to the Congress, they were in power only from 1998 to 2004. So much shorter…however they had an ample opportunity to do something in 2001. Our very seat of visible democracy was attacked! And we did nothing. Our Govt – BJP or Congress – just does not have any balls to do NOTHING.

Take the nooklear weapons out of the equation and you have a different story.

So the question is…who really is scared? Them or Us?

to be fair, the they did mobilize the military in 2001 and were ready to strike. but the long time taken to do so (3 months ?) made it both politically and militarily riskier to carry out the operation.

[ranjbe]

Again, I will stress the dominant advantage India has, which is demographic. India is a monster-sized country of 1.2 billion. Do you think 5 million Sunni muslims in Kashmir, or 1 million Nagas. or for that matter all the 20 million odd people in the North-East hurt the core 900 or more million who believe in India? Perhaps it is not politically correct to say this at this time, but around 13 people are killed in Mumbai on average every day in rail-related accidents. India has the size to absorb such attacks and take revenge at the right time and right place. And the revenge hopefully will crush this menance once and for all. Let the jihadis boast and rant and keep dreaming of Islamic Caliphates, they do not know for whom the bell tolls - it is tolling for them.

[Airavat]

Targeting the diamond industry?

Central intelligence warning and state response:

The central official said that after some Indian Mujahideen (IM) members were questioned a few months ago, a general alert was issued to most "sensitive" states, but it appears that corrective measures were not taken. But the IPS official claimed that the state home department did take necessary precautions in view of the threat of terror attacks.

The IPS official, however, admitted that security should have been further stepped up across the city in view of the fifth anniversary of the 11/7 serial blasts. "A special drive should have been launched across Mumbai to track suspicious activities," he said, adding that the nature of Wednesday's explosions suggested that the attacks were carried out by home-grown terrorists with help from the IM.

[Rahul M]

ranjbe, is their any reason to believe nagas or people of the NE are all anti-India ? the very reverse might be true. even not all kashmiri muslims are anti-India. good job painting a whole bunch of Indians as enemies.

[Sushupti]

In any other country such attacks change govts while in India media spin doctors make sure blasts give govt an edge

http://bit.ly/q0HIGU
http://bit.ly/p6KLR0
http://bit.ly/qxg7wO
http://bit.ly/orpZRc

[shiv]

Bottomline, if we can never hit Pakis back then atleast lets do some housecleaning. Many tractor trailer loads of Ammonium Nitrate goes missing and there is no investigation,no follow up.

Ambarji - if I think of the number of times I meet petty government functionaries who could be responsible for allowing a load of Ammonium Nitrate to "disappear" I am surprised that it does not happen that often. When you visit police stations, or when you pass a state border and have to stop at a checkpoint - you look at the police or excise or other inspectors - you meet people who have paid a bribe to get their first government job. Years ago I had a driver - a man who showed me his scheduled caste certificate (he belonged to the Idiga community) and he told me that he needed to collect Rs 1 lakh as a bribe (that was 1998) to get a job as a government driver after which his life would be stable. Police constable and other low functionaries in governments pay bribes to get it ad have to make their money as they go along. Near where I live I have faced a problem of illegal vendors. They run away when I chase them and the traffic police (white shirt) chase them when I am around. But the vendors are openly paying bribes to the security police (khaki shirt) whose duty does not involve keeping the road clear of vendors.

Most of us on BRF belong to a class of people who have not paid bribes to get in anywhere - except for any donations our fathers may have paid to get us educated, which we do not call as "bribe". But the principle is similar. Our economy is "booming" by creating wealth in this manner, and when the system breaks down and some people get killed we blame 25 lakh minorities and catholic ladies. Cognitive dissonance prevents us from admitting that we live in a deeply corrupt society - where the corrupt are often patriotic. They will cheat you but they will not allow that Ammonium Nitrate through. But the system fails once in a while. A man accepts a bribe for a load of bleaching powder to pass a checkpost - but the bleaching powder is ammonium nitrate.

The system that created wealth among lowly government employees, the system that bypasses bureaucracy, the system that selects the "right" scheduled caste candidate among 200 scheduled caste applicants for the same job is a system that depends on individual dharma and conscience to prevent terrorism because the system allows some things and disallows other things. The system will allow a forward caste candidate into an SC reserved job if he fakes his certificate AND pays money. But a real SC candidate only has to pay money. The system will not allow ammonium nitrate through. But for money, the system will allow bleaching powder through after payment of a bribe.

I don't know any Indian Americans who claim thay have bribed their way through the system in the US. Every Indian I know pays a bribe. I paid no bribes as an NRI. I am paying bribes now. I have contacts who know which insurance agents will pass medical bills for a kickback. My own classmate once asked me to write the name of his brother instead of his wife on medical bills because the brother had insurance. I know one Indian American who ran a successful insurance scam in the US. He is currently in jail in America.

We know all this. But when terrorism occurs the fault is with Catholic ladies, Muslims and the government. Since we are in denial as a nation we are going to continue to have terrorism for the foreseeable future. I can predict that. D-company knows that. The mafia know that.

When the home minister Patil says on 26/11 "These things will happen" - he is only saying what I have said above. He is being honest. If he was a more astute politician he would say "We will respond in kind" and make people feel happy at the boldness. Jayalalitha did that recently. She knows how to handle the system. When people were upset at a boy being shot in an army area she made a big noise to say "The culprits will be brought to book. The army will not get away" The people were happy. They shut up. Only BRF whined. But if she had been honest the people would have cursed her.

We live in a make believe mental world where we like to believe some things. And one of the things that we believe is that some "strong action" like USA will make terrorism go away.

If we have to act like USA we really should invade Sri Lanka and bribe Pakstan not to attack us. The US did someting like that. they invaded Afghanistan and bribed Pakstan. We admire that. But we are unable to do that. We don't want to give Pakistan concessions. So Pakistan hits us.

[Suppiah]

RIP the dead...

As Digvijay is wondering whether to blame the Dalai Lama (oops..no many Dalit votes will be lost) or the Shankaracharya for this (no problem, only a few votes will be lost, it can be spun as progressive thought by rapist goon puppet yellow daily)...let us worry about the environmental costs - it is going to result in another mountain of paper dossiers...

No wonder the investigating agencies are disheartened and unsuccessful as Pravin swami points out in Chindu...find the culprit they are asked to serve them biryani while the dyansty gets its butt-lickers to release a book promoting strange conspiracy theories...

[Airavat]

Ahmedabad police on high alert

Ahmedabad police commissioner Sudhir Sinha announced that high alert has been declared in the city. "We have put the city on high alert as we don't want to take any chance. All police officials have been informed to remain alert," declared Sudhir Sinha. The commissioner has also asked the Quick Response Teams (QRTs) and Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) to be on their toes. "QRTs and bomb disposal units play a crucial role during emergencies. We want to be 100% prepared for any eventuality," said Sinha, who urged people not to panic as the situation was under control.

[ranjbe]

ranjbe, is their any reason to believe nagas or people of the NE are all anti-India ? the very reverse might be true. even not all kashmiri muslims are anti-India. good job painting a whole bunch of Indians as enemies.

Quite true. However, I am pointing out that even in worse case scenario India has the brute strength to handle all current problems. I have no clue of the scale of disaffectation in a particular area or ethnicity. I have read relevant news reports and white papers, and all I have seen are intelligent guesstimates.

[chetak]

Been raining quite heavily in Bombay since the blasts.

A lot of evidence would have washed away.

[manum]

mumbai's like the minesweeper game, you gotto be lucky to not blow up...

I find this statement inappropriate, if it was Karachi or any other paki city then it would make sense.

My deepest condolences to the families of the victims and the injured.

Well...

[shiv]

New nomenclature request - In BR parlance can we start calling D-company as Hijra company ?

Have you read a book called "Maximum City"? I recommend that book. At the ground level - the level at which ordinary Mumbaikars must live, there is cooperation between political party activists such as Shiv Sena sympathisers and D-company functionaries.

What sort of cooperation?

For example a political party needs to have a meeting and do not want it to be disrupted by anyone. They actually get in touch with the mafia people and ask them to stay off. How do they get in touch? It is usually simple. For example the people who set up the audio system for the meeting will be run by a man who is a D-company sympathiser. He is a "businessman" who gets contracts and is not normally into terror. But he has contacts. There is an uneasy truce. If the truce is broken and there is trouble at the political meeting, the political party will take "revenge" by conducting a police raid on the marriage function of a D-company sympathisers relative, or break up a rave party.

I know the system is deeply dirty in many Indian cities - but in Mumbai it is particularly bad. Mafia and politcians and honest people all contribute to running the city. But the "make or break" power to disrupt exists only with the mafia and the politicians. As long as they are at peace with each other - incidents occur only once in a while. In Karachi the system has broken down completely.

[A_Gupta]

Somebody set off some bombs and killed some of us.
(1) What can/could we do to prevent it?
(2) What can we do to get some measure of justice?

One cannot disagree with Shiv that it is our own shortcomings that keep us from effective in answering both those questions. But still, this is not a time to navel-gaze. Even if India was the most corrupt nation in the world, none of the victims deserved to die. If we are helpless today because of all our shortcomings, let us each strengthen our resolve, fix one small thing or big, etch this day too in our memory, and try to get closer to the day of reckoning.

[Airavat]

Will RR Patil survive this attack?

Mumbaikars are unlikely to ever forget this famous comment -- Bade bade shaharon mein choti choti ghatna hote hain (in big cities, such small incidents do happen) -- made by then home minister RR Patil after the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, which eventually led to his ouster.

In his second tenure as the home minister Patil had pledged he will make Mumbai the safest destination in the world. But the triple blasts on Wednesday have put a serious question mark on his capability, indicating that the battle against terrorism is not only far from being won, but also there are gaping holes in the city's terror preparedness. The home minister will also have to answer uncomfortable questions related to how much of the recommendations made in the RD Pradhan committee have been fulfilled.

[A_Gupta]

Comment on the NYTimes, by Das:
http://community.nytimes.com/comments/w ... #comment21

In India to catch these terrorists is not your typical cat and mouse game. The terror mouse is cunning, has the support of a conniving master and strikes at will, the government cat is overburdened in bureaucracy and corrupt to the core.

Bottom line is, as long as the mouse if trained, fed and armed directly by a rogue country and indirectly by a country that reimburses them for "anti-terrorist" operations India will continue to suffer.

[chetak]

In the meanwhile, back at the ranch..........


India to hand over fresh list of fugitives to Pakistan