Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Markets, Hindu Temples Bombed in Jaipur, India

It could have been worse. Police found and defused an eighth bomb before it went off.
  • "Seven bombs kill 60 people in Jaipur"
    Reuters (May 14, 2008)
    "JAIPUR, India (Reuters) - Seven bombs ripped through the crowded streets Jaipur on Tuesday evening, killing around 60 people in markets and outside Hindu temples. ..."
    "Officials said the apparent motive for the bombs was to undermine a peace process between India and Pakistan or foment communal violence in India. ..."
    Reuters says it's the worst bombing India has seen in almost 2 years.
  • "Bombs kill 60 and wound 150 in western India"
    The Times Online (UK) (May 13, 2008)
    "A spate of bombings have plagued India since 2005. Last year, two explosions killed 43 people in the southern city of Hyderabad; seven bombings along Mumbai's commuter rail network killed nearly 200 people in 2006, and three New Delhi markets were bombed in 2005, killing 62 people.
    "There have also been a number of smaller explosions, and India has repeatedly blamed the attacks on Islamic militant groups backed by neighbor and rival Pakistan _ accusations Islamabad denies."
I can see India's point. When Hindu temples are bombed, and there's a Muslim country next door, it's easy to put two and two together.

Terrorist Bases in Pakistan Doesn't Necessarily Mean Pakistani Involvement

Although I wouldn't be surprised to learn that whoever put the bombing mission together was based in Pakistan, that doesn't mean that the Pakistani government was involved.

The impression I have is that the current leaders of Pakistan aren't entirely in control of their country. As I mentioned in "Al Qaeda: We Killed Bhutto" (December 28, 2007), the frontier areas of Pakistan are a cultural and economic backwater.

Places like that, where people generally are poor, traditional, and don't seem to approve of what's happened since Alexander the Great passed through their territory, are prime spots for Al Qaeda and like-minded groups to set up bases.

And, provided that the terrorists came to an understanding with the local tribal leaders, it probably wouldn't matter what the government in Islamabad thought about the situation.

That may change, though, if whoever winds up running the official Pakistani government gets organized and secure enough to be able to control the hinterlands.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Every one should condemn these activities and I expect true Indian never do these type of activities. Interesting blog please watch my blog give your suggestions.

click once

Brian H. Gill said...

Anonymous,

Thank you for the comment.

I glanced through the most recent few posts in your blog, and take the liberty of quoting a small part of the most recent one:

"Saturday, May 17, 2008
"Don’t kill innocents….

"We don't Know you are may be Hindu, Muslim, Christian or Sikh …….
"We don’t know you are may be Pakistani, Indian, American, Bangladeshi or Israeli ……..
We don’t know you are may be Jihad, LTTE, Maoist, Al-quida…..

"We know what your final goal is,
We know what is your intention is
We know what is your motto is

"...I request all of you
Please don’t kill innocents"

You said a "true Indian" would never do such things.

I'm inclined to agree: a person who understands and follows the best ideas and beliefs of any nation is unlikely (to say the least) to engage in this sort of appalling act.

Krishna said...

Doing such bad work is realy very shameful for Indian. Indian will not sit quite must will reply to such terrorists .... Hindu Temples India

Brian H. Gill said...

Krishna,

Agreed. There must be a reply to these acts of violence. My hope is that the reply is planned with reason, wisdom, and understanding.

Unique, innovative candles


Visit us online:
Spiral Light CandleFind a Retailer
Spiral Light Candle Store

Blogroll

Note! Although I believe that these websites and blogs are useful resources for understanding the War on Terror, I do not necessarily agree with their opinions. 1 1 Given a recent misunderstanding of the phrase "useful resources," a clarification: I do not limit my reading to resources which support my views, or even to those which appear to be accurate. Reading opinions contrary to what I believed has been very useful at times: sometimes verifying my previous assumptions, sometimes encouraging me to change them.

Even resources which, in my opinion, are simply inaccurate are sometimes useful: these can give valuable insights into why some people or groups believe what they do.

In short, It is my opinion that some of the resources in this blogroll are neither accurate, nor unbiased. I do, however, believe that they are useful in understanding the War on Terror, the many versions of Islam, terrorism, and related topics.