Faculty react to Mumbai terror attacks

While most students were enjoying their Thanksgiving breaks, terrorists attacked India’s financial and entertainment capital, Mumbai.

The attacks in Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, began Wednesday and ended Saturday, resulting in almost 200 deaths and about 300 wounded. The extremists concentrated their focus on major hotels in the financial areas and a Jewish center.

Political science professor and director of the India Studies Institute Sumit Ganguly compared the terrorists’ focus on Mumbai’s well-known Taj Mahal hotel to fanatics storming the Plaza Hotel in New York City.

“It’s that brazen of an attack,” Ganguly said.

Ganguly speculated the timing of the attacks could be tied to some upcoming regional elections.

“Beyond that, it’s hard to speculate why it happened now as opposed to six months later or six months earlier,” he said.

Jamsheed K. Choksy, professor of Central Eurasian studies, history and India studies, said the tragedy reminded him of the World Trade Center attacks, the London subway bombings and the Madrid train bombings.

“They chose very visual targets, hotels where the TV images can be compared to the Twin Towers,” Choksy said. “They were going for well-known targets.”

While some officials reported possible ties to Pakistani terrorist groups, Ganguly said it is too early to say who was responsible. But he pointed out that a possible link to Pakistan would only worsen standings between the two nations.

“Indo-Pakistani relations will go into a tailspin if there is even a shred of evidence that links these attackers to Pakistan in any way, shape or form,” Ganguly said.

Choksy, who was born in Mumbai, spent time in the Taj Mahal hotel during the summer when he was conducting research. With an enrollment of 597 Indian and Pakistani students at IU, Choksy said he does not expect any problems to arise between the two nationalities.

“I think you will find student bodies from all groups coming together to denounce these activities,” Choksy said.

“This is a particularly ugly time,” Ganguly said. “I can only hope that people will still conduct themselves in completely civil and cordial fashion and not allow personal relationships to be disrupted regardless of what evidence emerges.”

With IU study abroad programs in Bangalore and Hyderabad, Ganguly emphasized the importance of students not being scared to travel.

“If we were to suddenly pull out our students, then in effect we would be caving into the terrorists,” Ganguly said. “They want foreigners to flee India.”

Despite the severity of the attacks, Ganguly said Mumbai’s 14 million residents need to continue their daily routine.

“India needs to increase its vigilance at major airports and railway stations, major commercial centers, but at the same time people need to go about their business and defy these marauders who don’t belong to civilized world,” Ganguly said.

Choksy cited the connection between the United States and India, especially in the field of technology, as a reason to maintain relations.

“Whether directly or seeing from a distance, the most important thing is to understand we cannot allow terror groups to change the way we approach the world,” Choksy said. “We cannot allow terror groups to disconnect us from each other.”