[mukto-mona] MUMBAI CARNAGE: TERRORIST ATTACKS ON NOV 26-29, 2008

SAN-Feature Service SOUTH ASIAN NEWS-FEATURE SERVICE January 15,2009   MUMBAI CARNAGE: TERRORIST ATTACKS ON NOV 26-29, 2008   Pritam K. Rohila, Ph.D.   Yes, even in Pakistan, there many people and organizations who crave for peace. They do not like what's going in their country, and do not approve of terror as an instrument of public policy, political influence, or religious dominance.   SAN-Feature Service: It was the morning of November 27, 2008, in Hyderabad, Pakistan, that we first learnt of the Mumbai carnage.   My wife, Kundan, and I were in Pakistan, on the second leg of our self-financed Peace Pilgrimage to India and Pakistan.   To hold discussions with local peace activists "Peace in My Family, Harmony in my Neighborhood," the theme of our pilgrimage, we had already visited Bhopal, Lucknow, Allahabad, and Varanasi, in India from October 23 through 31.   We arrived in Karachi on November 24. After meetings and media interviews there, we were traveling by car all the way to Islamabad, with stops at Hyderabad, Larkana, Sadikabad, Multan, Toba Tek Singh, Faisalabad, and Lahore.   We reached Hyderabad on the evening of November 26. Following a meeting at the office of South Asia Partnership Pakistan, we were interviewed by the host of "Na2 Sahi to," a Sindhi language program at KTN television station, and then treated to dinner by Zulfiqar & Fatima Shah, at the Civic Society Club.   On the morning of November 27, we went to Sindhi Language Authority, an institution dedicated to preserving and promoting Sindhi, which is believed by some people to be the earliest Indian language. We had been invited there, for tea with its chairperson, Dr. Fahmida Hussain, and her deputy Taj Jeo.   When we arrived there, we found Dr. Hussain worried about her daughter, who had been a guest at the Taj Hotel, a well-known Mumbai landmark, across from the Gateway of India. Pointing to the newspapers on her desk, she explained there had been a terrorist attack on the Taj, the previous night.   We did not discover seriousness of the Mumbai attacks until November 30, when we first watched TV in our hotel room in Multan.   For 60+ hours, November 26 through 29, ten armed young men, targeted crowded public places, and some ritzy venues frequented by foreigners. Guided and goaded by their handlers in Pakistan, callously they killed about 170 individuals, wounded nearly 250, and terrorized many more.   But the terrorists must have disappointed their masters, as they failed to achieve their objectives.   Despite verbal belligerence, India and Pakistan didn't start a war.  Rather, as required by a 1991 treaty, on January 1, they fulfilled their obligations and exchanged with each other the lists of their nuclear installations.   There were no Hindu-Muslim riots either. In fact, many Muslim leaders publically expressed solidarity with Mumbaikars, and the dead terrorists were denied burial in their graveyard. They had previously declared terrorism to be un-Islamic.   Further while the attacks may have discouraged some foreign tourists and a few investors, there was no severe blow to India's economy.   Most of all, they did not break the people's spirit.  The day after the assault, the Mumbaikars poured out of their homes and offices to march through the city streets. On December 3, thousands rallied for peace, at the Gateway of India.   Leopold Café, one of the terrorists' targets, was open for business on December 1. Within less than a month, the unaffected portions of other two targets, the Oberoi Trident, Taj hotels were reopened to business.   On December 25, Shimon Rosenberg, father of the slain Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg's wife, lighted a giant menorah at the Gateway of India.   Now it is time for the concerned governments to do something that is definitive as well as effective in protecting their mostly war-&-violence-weary and peace-loving peoples of India and Pakistan.    Yes, even in Pakistan, there many people and organizations who crave for peace. They do not like what's going in their country, and do not approve of terror as an instrument of public policy, political influence, or religious dominance. They readily condemn violence and its perpetrators, and sympathize with its victims in India as well as Pakistan. But they have not been able to assert themselves in a cohesive, reliable, concerted, determined and effective manner.   Anyway Pakistan must act upon its oft-repeated resolve to rein in the terrorists and their supporters and masters operating from its soil.   India must do a better job of protecting its minorities.   Israel and Hamas must give up their arrogance and resolve their long-standing disputes.   The United States must abandon its unilateral, militarist approach to solve the world's problems. It must ensure that its foreign and economic policies do not foster injustices and inequities around the world.   Finally, we all need to learn to be brave and strong enough to protect ourselves. As Gandhi once said, "I cannot teach you violence, as I do not believe in it. I can only teach you not to bow your heads before anyone, even at the cost of your life."   By the way, despite the Mumbai carnage, thanks to our country coordinators and local hosts, we had a successful visit in Pakistan, and we were received warmly everywhere we went – schools, universities, radio and television station, and offices of newspapers, writers' groups, labor unions, human development, human rights, political parties, and provincial governors. There were formal receptions as well as dinners at fancy restaurants and private residences. Even the hotel personnel were extra courteous to us.   Also on December 4, we participated in a peace demonstration, organized by the Pak-India Peace Initiatives, in front of the Lahore Press Club's gate, complete with the flags of Pakistan and India, and placards which read like, "Give Peace a Chance," and "Jang Nahin Aman; Aman Maujood Hai To Asia Mazboot Ha; Shama Har Ghar Kay Aangan Mein Jalti Rahay To Achha Hai" ("Peace, Not War; Peace Will Make Asia Strong; Candles Should Stay Lit in Every Home." Reports and photographs of the demonstration appeared in several newspapers the next day.   Besides we visited Mohenjodaro, the archaeological site of a 5000 years old civilization; Benazir Bhutto's grave in the Bhutto family Mausoleum at Garhi Khuda Baksh; Sadhu Bela Hindu Temple on a Sindh River island near Sukkur; and the scared Sikh Gurdwara associated with the life of Guru Nanak at Punja Sahib. We enjoyed many delicious meals including one at the famous Village restaurant in Lahore, and a lunch of rice-roti and-lotus-stalk-salan at Dadu.   We are especially thankful to Zaman Khan, our Afridi Pathan driver. He drove defensively, and kept us entertained throughout our two-week travels from Karachi to Islamabad.—SAN-Feature Service     Dr. Rohila  is the Executive Director of ACHA, the Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (www.asiapeace.org), and can be reached at asiapeace@comcast.net.

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