Mumbai: Perils in Parallels
Calling Mumbai tragedy, an "India's 9/11" is parallel to the chatter of a Texan cowboy. Indian Babus, I believe, ought to be smarter than that. 9/11 lexicon is now proven to be perilous.
The ashes in Mumbai raise more questions than the number of dead from several countries. It is an international tragedy. The Indian Government is partly responsible for its sorrowful state of intelligence and law enforcement.
A reading of the western press, gives the impression that India is about to bomb Pakistan, home to the "Islamic Bomb." While reading the Indian press, one finds that there are many sane Indians who are questioning the lethargy of the Indian Government and challenging the fundamentalist Hindutva leadership. The former is still trying to figure out who to blame and the latter wants to rush and unleash the "Hindu Bomb."
We must not forget that a recent train bombing being assigned to "Pakistani agents" was indeed the work of a serving Indian army officer and his comrades.
Bomb talk is dumb. Bombing Afghanistan was dumb. Bombing Iraq was dumber. The Mumbai tragedy merits a thorough investigation followed by a thoughtful analysis, in that order. The people in India and around the world have learnt much since the bomb talk of Cheney & Bush, also in that order.
As an Indian by birth and having watched the "investigations" of all sorts while growing up, I say that the current Mumbai "investigation" is a farce at its best. And as an American now, I am equally comfortable to say that I do not trust America, the State.
The sane Indians and Pakistanis must urgently and immediately demand the following:
- That, the Pakistanis must demand of their Government to ask the United Nations to convene an Investigation Task Force comprised of its nation members but excluding the countries such as Israel, Britain and the United States - parties with direct interests in India and the region.
- That, the Indians must demand of their Government to give unfettered access to the United Nations Investigation Task Force to complete its full, independent and impartial investigation of the tragedy.
- That, the Indians, the Pakistanis, the Americans and all people of good conscience should call upon United Nations to play its role and not merely remain as a spectator.
It is time to act for all people, not just Indians or Pakistanis. In allowing the Indian discourse of 9/11 parallels is perilous for all people.
Shakeel Syed is the Executive Director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California and a social justice activist and resides in California and can be reached at [email protected].
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The police have arrested Hindu priests, a serving lieutenant colonel and six other members of the Indian army.
The Indian press is full of the case. There are details of the movements of Lt. Col. Shrikant Prasad Purohit and of how his laptop, which is "believed to have crucial information" and which went missing when he was arrested on October 29, has "been traced" by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) team which is investigating the affair.
The Hindu extremist organizations accused the top investigators of ATS of being anti-Hindu. Some suggested that they be killed. One month later on Nov. 26, 2008, top three ATS investigators were the first to be killed in the Mumbai massacre. I think this is what Shakeel Syed was alluding to in this article. There are more than 67,000+ innocent young Muslims and daily bread earners are in jails throughout India. I am all for UN investigation of the Mumbai massacre.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WjQzFDUkEQ&NR=1
Any person who is a Muslim hater whether Jew, American, English, Shiv Sainik, Hindu Mahasabhai, BJP, Congress fanatic ... whatever. Investigation must be free of politics.
Rgds,
Mukhlis