DanChurchAid
India
Bomb attacks in Mumbai
©
Reuters/Arko Datta
|
| Workers clear debris from a railway station platform damaged by a bomb explosion on Tuesday July 12, 2006, in Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay. |
At least 183 people were killed and over 600 people were wounded when seven bombs blew apart railway carriages and stations packed with rush-hour commuters in Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay.
No immediate claim of responsibility
No one group claims responsibility, but suspicion falls on militants fighting New Delhi's rule in Kashmir. The attacks in Mumbai, which were apparently coordinated, happened hours after a series of grenade attacks on tourists in Srinagar, the capital of Indian Kashmir, which killed seven people.
High politics
It is not the first time bomb blasts have taken place in Mumbai, but the terror attack chocks because it was directed against civilians and not against decision-makers or central authorities.
"Right now it is very difficult to know who is behind the terror attacks and most of it is pure guesswork.
However, if Kashmir is involved it is high politics", says DanChurchAid representative in India, Nina Ellinger.
Not only Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemns the attacks, Pakistani leaders also strongly condemn the series of bomb blasts in Mumbai.
"It is important not to jump to conclusions about who is behind the apparently coordinated bomb attack, because Mumbai and other cities in India have a history of religious harassment and violence against fanatic Hindus and Muslims; many just waiting for an opportunity to add fuel to the smouldering flames", warns Nina Ellinger. "Religious violence was prevalent in 1992-1993, but in recent years Bombay and most of the population have come a long way in preventing the spread of religious hatred," says Nina Ellinger, DanChurchAid representative in India.
Based on an article by information officer Stine Leth-Nissen ( stine@dca.dk ), published on www.noedhjaelp.dk , 12 July 2006. Translated and edited by Marianne Lemvig ( mle@dca.dk ).
