Spirit of Mumbai

More reports are trickling in. Apparently many terror cells have been busted in cities such as Nagpur and Delhi, with several kilos of RDX and many AK-47s seized. Wonder how soon, if at all, definitive information will be available. There was a time when terrorists would jump to claim responsibility for their heinous crimes.

LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammad seem to be the prime suspects, though both have denied culpability. Given the similarity of MOs with Madrid and London, I cannot help but wonder to what extent there are wider links. Of course India has other sources of tension as well—most notably the Naxalite movement. Was just talking with a friend in Delhi who suspects the Shiv Sena instead. While I seriously doubt they have the logistical wherewithal, let alone the gall to gamble so heavily with their political future, her suspicions do highlight how much of a problem India’s Hindu right wing nut jobs are as well. (Matter of fact, in the larger scheme of things it might not be entirely bad if the Shiv Sena and Bal Thackeray were actually involved and fingered for it, because that would effectively end their involvement in Indian politics.)

At moments like this people’s latent xenophobia seems to emerge, often being manipulated and influenced by the more openly xenophobic amongst us. I refer not just to politicians or major public figures, but also to the discourse among common folk. Furthermore, this xenophobia is often at its strongest in Diaspora communities. One of the message boards I often lurk on has seen a hail of vitriol and diatribe directed at Muslims en masse and at our friendly neighbors to the NW. Of particular interest is the fact that most of these self-confessed patriots (read Hindi-Hindutva-Heartland Heroes) reside outside India.

At least in Bombay, and in India as a whole, it seems this divisiveness is not on people’s minds. Last time round, Bombay was wracked by riots (riding as it was on a fairly pivotal event in modern Indian history—the destruction of the Babari Masjid in Ayodhya). I do hope that that experience is not repeated. The memory of 1993 and of Gujarat more recently has left deep scars, and hopefully deeper lessons. Let us hope the ‘spirit of Mumbai,’ as news channels have coined it, prevails over sectarian idiocy.