India

11/28/2008

The World from Berlin

'Terror Acts Belong to Daily Life in India'

On Friday, residents in Mumbai, India were still dealing with the aftermath of the terror attacks that left 143 dead. In Germany, commentators were wondering whether the incident puts India's rising economy in jeopardy -- and whether it was a harbinger of more violence to come.

On Friday, the battle to regain control of the city of Mumbai was continuing as special forces regained control of one of the luxury hotels attacked by militants on Wednesday. Commando units stormed a Jewish center and are soldiers are deployed at another hotel, where at least one militant is still holed up.

While most of the 143 killed in the coordinated attacks were Indians, there are some Europeans among the dead. On Friday France sent a special flight to Mumbai to bring back up to 150 Europeans caught up in the terror attacks. Ties between Europe and India have been increasingly close in recent years -- a fact underscored by the presence of seven EU members of parliament who were in Mumbai on a trade delegation at the time of the attacks. On Friday some German commentators wonder whether this relationship needs to be reevaluated in the light of this week's events. Some editorialists suggest treating India with more caution in the near future.

The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung writes:

"It is India's September 11th…In its 60-year history, India has experienced terrible acts of violence. But the series of attacks in India's financial capital exceed all previous dimensions. Until now, terrorists had attacked markets, parks and other lively public places in order to sow terror and panic among the population. Attacks on five-star hotels and taking hotel guests hostage is an entirely new method. The intention is clear: to destroy the image of India as a dynamic and secure center of business and as an exotic tourist destination."

The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

"India's secular political creed has never been able to stem violence between Hindus and Muslims; yesterday's attacks are likely to be the prelude to an even greater shedding of blood. The prime minister's call to preserve peace and unity was no doubt well intentioned. The problem is that there's no unity to preserve and there's never really been any in his country. It's rather more likely that short-fused Hindus will be motivated by revenge."

"A vengeful response by radical Hindus would only fertilize the ground from which the jihadists feed, and it would accelerate the chain reaction that the Mumbai terrorists desired. The country would descend into a spiral of violence and vigilantism. Politicians are now called upon to prevent this scenario. But, they are preparing for an election campaign, where the attractions of power are more powerful than the appeals of reason."

The business daily Financial Times Deutschland writes:

"Neither the number of victims from the terror attacks, nor the associated hostage scenario is sufficient to explain why the world has stared spellbound at Mumbai. The fact is, terror acts belong to daily life in India. From the Western perspective, these attacks represent something new. They prove to the Westerner in full clarity that the problem of jihad-inspired terror has not reduced -- even though no bombs have recently exploded in Western cities."

The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:

"Indians have long known that their land is vulnerable. But no year on record has seen so many bloody attacks. Jaipur, Delhi, Ahmedabad -- since May, more than 350 people have died by the hands of terrorists. What India has long wanted to deny must now be confronted. The country has become a center for Islamic extremism. Even if the name of the group was unknown until now, the investigations won't be able to escape the sad truth that India has its own terrorist scene."

"It might be understandable that India wants to avoid losing its hard-won status as a rising economic power. But, in the long term, India is going to suffer greater damage if the word spreads that the country's politicians shut their eyes to reality. That is going to be one of the major challenges coming out of the Mumbai tragedy."

-- Cameron Abadi, 12:30 p.m. C.E.T.

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