Terrorist attacks on Mumbai have provoked Meenakshi Ravi to write this on Huffingtonpost:
Four years ago, the Hindu-dominated, right wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was dismissed from government by an Indian electorate that saw through its glossy 'India Shining' campaign propaganda. The BJP's loss was the compound effect of many of its failings, but the most glaring offense was its alleged involvement in the violent Hindu-Muslim clashes that erupted in the western state of Gujarat. For over four months, the state burned and people were killed on the grounds of their religious faith. In official records you would find that 1,044 people died as a result of the communal violence. Read the reports compiled by NGOs and human rights groups and you'd find that the figure was closer to 2,000.
The Mumbai attacks heighten the threat to the Indian secular state which is already battling internal threats to minority groups. It is easy to sell situations like this to the man on the street as an attack that threatens his community. The terror in Mumbai has struck during a year in which six Indian states are going to the polls. These are crucial elections for both main parties in India since the one that makes a stronger showing is likely to be on firm footing to make gains in the General Elections scheduled for May 2009. The BJP will probably leverage this climate of fear and uncertainty to make electoral gains. For the ruling Indian National Congress, the communal card will come in handy as a tool to paper over serious lapses in intelligence and national security during its watch.
The BJP has managed to maintain a strong anti-terror image with its constituency by riding on religious rhetoric and convincing its supporters that the party will protect their interests and ensure their safety. This, despite its lamentable record of not just the horrors of Gujarat in 2002, but other incidents that go further back, such as the mishandling of the 1999 Kandahar hijacking incident, and most infamously, the BJP-led demolition of the Babri Mosque in 1992.
The Congress never had a hope of making light work of these state elections. A nervous economy and terror-struck populace was going to need serious convincing if some states were to be retained/won. The Mumbai terror attacks have made the Congress' work many times more difficult as it has struck fear in the hearts of the people and has reminded them of the indefensible performance by the party and the government it leads in the task of protecting Indians from terrorism.
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When will this stop? when will the Brits and Americans wake up and look at the Monster that they have created
How long is the world going to sleep. Pakistan is the cradle of global terrorism.
World Bank gives grants to Pakistan to develop it's economy and they buy F16's, build Nukes and supply Ammo and training to the global jihadis while their Economy grinds to a halt. When will the world wake up?
Terrorism is not a mattar of party politics it is the revange between countries. Indian politicians are blamming to oppostional party. when they will goes up from all these.
For more views on Indian Politics visit www.indiavoting.com, India s most comprehensive site on Indian politics, with current focus on General Elections 2009. For the first time in India, an internet media platform will try to use an edutainment route to capture the Kumbh Mela of Indian politics.
See also:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu90mFIlna0
Joe Biden has made Dick Cheney look good. Joe Biden has now achieved what was once thought to be impossible, by his leaking the location of the Biden bunker. The Biden Bunker is the secure location that the Vice President goes to in the event of a terrorist attack or other disaster. We now know the Biden Bunker is at the U.S. Naval Observatory. Many would give cash loans to get Joe Biden to clam up from now on. He gave this all away at an appearance at the Gridiron Club. (Was an open bar a factor?) Perhaps Joe Biden could get some lessons on restraint with the help of a cash loan.
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