The Mumbai terror attacks’ hideous numerology
Indian police describe today’s Mumbai horror as a “coordinated” terrorist act. Several Indian states placed their police and security forces on high alert to stop further terrorist attacks.
Americans will immediate think of Al Qaeda and point to the hideous numerology as a clue: 9/11 (New York and Washington), 3/11 (Madrid), 7/7 (London), and now 7/11 (Mumbai). Roll sevens and elevens on the dice table and the shooter wins–at least on the first throw. Terrorists use mass murder to create fear and chaos. If the public begins to dread seven and eleven on the calendar, international terrorists will consider that a psychological victory.
Al Qaeda or an Al Qaeda affiliate may well be involved in the murders. Polyglot, poly-ethnic India, however, confronts an array of home-grown ethnic, religious, and political zealots with track records in terrorism, from Kashmiri Islamist militants to Hindu separatists to the depredations of Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers. In 1991 the Tigers assassinted former Indiam Prime Minister Rajiv Ghandi in India’s Tamil Nadu state.Bill Roggio has a post rich in details.
Here’s a recent news update from Bloomberg. The report says Kashimiri separatists (specifically, the Islamist Lashkar-e-Taiba, LET is the acronym) are current prime suspects. This link leads to a wanted poster and write up on Lashkar-e-Taiba’s “northern Kashmir commander, Salahudin.”
UPDATE: A Wall St Journal reporter was an eye-witness.
[…] Austin Bay expands on the nightmarish quality of the terrorists who are benefitting from the editors of the New York Times and the Los Angelos Times’ careless disregard of our national security. […]
Pingback by The Wide Awake Cafe » Winning Against Terror is the Ultimate Act of Humanity — 7/11/2006 @ 5:47 pm
Bombs in Bombay… So who was behind the attacks? Was it al Qaeda? Or was it another group, Lashkar-e-Toiba along with local Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI)? Lashkar has targeted India before. Indian authorities are focusing on Dawood Ibrahim….
Trackback by A Blog For All — 7/11/2006 @ 7:19 pm
7/11 Revisted - Bombay Bombings… HT Atlas Shrugs India: A strong ally of ours suffered mulitple terror attacks at the height of rush hour. Seven explosions hit Bombay’s commuter railway system. At least 20 dead. Just the beginning, body parts everywhere. Strory developing……
Trackback by Rocket's Brain Trust — 7/11/2006 @ 9:09 pm
[…] Bill Roggio has an excellent summary of what is known about the Bombay bombings. Also read Austin Bay’s commentary. […]
Pingback by Amber » Blog Archive » Bombay Bombings — 7/11/2006 @ 10:33 pm
[…] Courtesy of Austin Bay: […]
Pingback by NoisyRoom.net » Blog Archive » The Mumbai terror attacks’ hideous numerology — 7/12/2006 @ 1:52 pm
It’s not Cashmere it’s Muslin - Bombs over Bombay… It’s quite simple. It’s not border disputes; it’s not sectarian violence; it’s nothing to do with Kashmir. Before I tell you, here’s the background:…
Trackback by Planck's Constant — 7/13/2006 @ 11:58 am
Let us remember the victims of the 7/11 terrorist attack in Mumbai.This day has changed the history of the India .People have seen cruelty in the original form and some have not even recovered from the great mental depression. Ne sweetenings words can satisfy those affected. It appears that Mumbai city is stiil not fully recoveerd from that shock. Billions of rupees have been lost and business and economy is affected heavily. Let us express our feelings towards the sufferers of the tragedy and share with all some of the feelings of millions of educated on “Terrorism” and about the difference it has made in our lives, individual and collective. “Terrorism is the the calculated use of violence (or threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimindation or coercion or instilling fear among civilians creating anarchy and pandemonium. The targets of terrorist acts can be government officials, military personnel, people serving the interests of governments, or civilians and women and children are the most affected one. Acts of terror against military targets tend to blend into a strategy of guerrilla warfare. According to one view, one person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter. Random violence against civilians (noncombatants) is the type of action.” The further events have revealed that this fanatic ideology was inculcated into receptive minds of the youth who become the instruments of terror that revealed itself at the W.T.O., London and other important places,in the world. Fanaticism drives away all reason and thus persons with fanatic ideas act like robots, rather, like animals. Fanaticism is the fuel by which the machine of terrorism works. Fanaticism has been there in human life whenever people have been deprived of their spiritual food. What is this spiritual food? The disciplines or values of life that lead persons to realize their oneness with the Universe and with God and thus come to love humanity and God resulting into peace evrywhere. The Vedas, the oldest available scriptures to humanity,The Holy Bible, The Holy Koran and all other religious scriptures say that all this creation is God alone and should love each other -. It implies that this Divinity is in every creature as its fundamental, inalienable nature. That is why Swami Vivekananda proclaimed the `Divinity of man’ in his many lectures in America. He thundered, `Ye, the divinities on earth, sinners? It is a libel to call a man so’. When this idea of the Divinity of man is widely taught, not only in our schools and colleges but also in all churches, mosques, pagodas, Tabenacles and Temples where most innocent minds throng in millions, then only people will get their highest respect and regard, irrespective of their gender, wealth, intelligence, power etc. Then only the very idea of harming anyone, be it for any cause, would appear abhorring. Then alone can violence be radically uprooted from society. In spite of the utmost technical and science education that people are getting now a days, the love and respect for fellowmen as a brother in God is lacking. This is what has made our scientists and politicians prepare nuclear weapons, biological bombs, ultimately killing all the fellow-feelings in the hearts of people. Is there any wonder if such people indulge in wholesale destruction of their fellow-beings as in the `program of Hitler’ or `the tragedy This is the mental impact that Terrorism of September 11 has made on the thinking men like us. The difference it has made in our life is that it has awakened a sense of urgency to educate people against falling a prey to the `brain-washing’ ideologies masked under various garbs . In killing innocents, there can be no religion except Demon’s dance. Men who join such fanatic’s training camps are generally the poor and the deprived. They are `brainwashed’ to think that by killing others not of their fold, will confer on them the gift of `Heaven and its unending joys’ as a reward for their religious and pious act! This is made possible in general where people don’t have basic freedoms of democratic rule, but are lead by nose as it were by selfish politicians. We have to stop all help to such non-democracies and pseudo-democracies. We have to push on with meaningful education supplemented with scientific skills and spiritual `values’ that will make our men and women not only efficient but also good. Goodness can be summarized as truthfulness, a feeling of brotherhood of whole humanity, a sympathy to serve the needy and a firm conviction that humanity is one Divine family and to hurt anyone would mean bringing unhappiness on ourselves. Let us make a simple prayer thus: `Oh God, please bless us all with the will to spread these ideas of love and brotherhood to all our brothers from wherever irrespective of cast, creed and religion. Let all the nations, organisations, cultural societies join together to spread the worst after effect of terrorism. bhattathiri
Comment by bhattathiri — 7/8/2007 @ 6:30 am
“Whatever the excellent and best ones do, the commoners follow,” says Sri Krishna in the Gita. The visionary leader must be a missionary, extremely practical, intensively dynamic and capable of translating dreams into reality. This dynamism and strength of a true leader flows from an inspired and spontaneous motivation to help others. “I am the strength of those who are devoid of personal desire and attachment. O Arjuna, I am the legitimate desire in those, who are not opposed to righteousness,” says Sri Krishna in the 10th Chapter of the Gita. The philosophy contained in the pages of the Bhagavad Gita is today considered relevant and essential to our understanding of ourselves even in the western world. Leading business schools in the USA such as Kellogg have included the Bhagavad Gita as an elective subject in their curriculum. Terms such as ‘Karma Capitalism’, ‘Exit Plan’ and the likes are being explained on the basis of the teachings of Lord Krishna and the message of the Bhagavad Gita.
Comment by bhattathiri — 9/29/2008 @ 5:58 pm
The Western idea of management centers on making the worker (and the manager) more efficient and more productive. Companies offer workers more to work more, produce more, sell more and to stick to the organization without looking for alternatives. The sole aim of extracting better and more work from the worker is to improve the bottom-line of the enterprise. The worker has become a hirable commodity, which can be used, replaced and discarded at will.
Thus, workers have been reduced to the state of a mercantile product. In such a state, it should come as no surprise to us that workers start using strikes ( gheraos) sit-ins, (dharnas) go-slows, work-to-rule etc. to get maximum benefit for themselves from the organizations. Society-at-large is damaged. Thus we reach a situation in which management and workers become separate and contradictory entities with conflicting interests. There is no common goal or understanding. This, predictably, leads to suspicion, friction, disillusion and mistrust, with managers and workers at cross purposes. The absence of human values and erosion of human touch in the organizational structure has resulted in a crisis of confidence.
Western management philosophy may have created prosperity – for some people some of the time at least - but it has failed in the aim of ensuring betterment of individual life and social welfare. It has remained by and large a soulless edifice and an oasis of plenty for a few in the midst of poor quality of life for many.
Comment by bhattathiri — 10/14/2008 @ 6:45 pm
In the end, it is the extremely poorly paid policemen and army/navy men who came to the rescue!! These are the same men who were being grudged a few rupees in their pay and allowances by the babus and the politicians just a few weeks back. In fact, when they asked for more, the babus and the politicians said that it was a mutiny!! Treated them like bhikharis!! Even now, no one is talking about their pay. Salutes and calling them brave-hearts does not recompense these men! Pay them!! Don’t grudge them their due! Not one of those who saved the Taj could have afforded to have a meal there, forget about staying in a suite there! The babu & the politician will not listen unless enough people talk about this cause.
Comment by scorpindio — 11/29/2008 @ 2:37 am