Bomb Blasts in Mumbai 13-07-2011

[bihutoli]

IMO the current HM is better than anyone we've had recently (remember shivraj patil). He has brought in some sembalance of an active response plan in place with the NIA and the response was instantaneous yesterday. One man can never make a difference in our country' date=' unless we strengthen ourselves internally, we are sitting ducks. Unless RAW instills fear into anyone wishing to harm our country like what MOSSAD does, there is no way we can stop these brainwashed dipshits[/quote'] Shivraj Patel is no benchmark. That guy defined incompetency. Our emergency response may be faster but that amongst the easier change to make. Our intelligence is still a failure and our retaliation non existent. Our investigation agencies are still busy settling political scores and our judiciary incapable of implementing punishments on the few arrests we make.

[Sidhoni]

We should not tour England to ensure Mumbai's safety. Remember 26/11?

[saneindian]

What you dont understand is whatever security measures are taken it is almost impossible to prevent such attacks 100% of the time in a country like India when homegrown terrorists are involved. I dont see nothing wrong in telling truth...

Telling the truth is all fine, but why at this juncture? I have a problem with the timing of these statements. By saying such things , aren't we conceding defeat to the rascals who want to destory our nation? Rather than saying such things, why not repeat your resolve to fight the nutjobs? At least it sends a positive message. The other issue I have is obviously the word impossible. Did we not end the militancy in Punjab by taking the terrorists head on? If we can succeed in one state, why not elsewhere? All we need is political willpower, which as the above statements show, is clearly lacking in the political leadership of recent times.

[Anonymous]

Shivraj Patel is no benchmark. That guy defined incompetency. Our emergency response may be faster but that amongst the easier change to make. Our intelligence is still a failure and our retaliation non existent. Our investigation agencies are still busy settling political scores and our judiciary incapable of implementing punishments on the few arrests we make.

Mate, I agree he is no benchmark, but do you know anyone else in the current govt who can do a better job. Pranab Mukherjee? AK Antony? We are'nt spoilt for choice, are we?

[bihutoli]

Mate' date=' I agree he is no benchmark, but do you know anyone else in the current govt who can do a better job. Pranab Mukherjee? AK Antony? We are'nt spoilt for choice, are we?[/quote'] Agree! Doesn't mean the currenct incumbent earns plaudits for being a shade better than the ******* before him!

[achilles]

All so depressingly familiar. We really are a spineless country.

Time to bring back, Sree_israel !

[akshayxyz]

Very sad to know about the terror attacks and people killed. But unfortunately' date=' I dont see how these attacks in public places where millions of people walk around could be stopped. You can blame the security apparatus if a bomb goes off in an airport or a mall but its impossible to secure places like Zaveri Bazar which appears to be an extremely crowded commercial center with lots of shops and millions of people around. [b']Situation in Indian cities is vastly different from that in US or European cities.

+1 People do not want to see the truth. All they want is to hear over-commitments, and then when that will fail, they will be even more bitter and unforgiving. Loss of life is loss of life, be it due to terrorists, poverty, unemployment, health issues, corruption, or fighting on the border.... You cant just say, lets invest all our focus and resources in fighting terrorists. If possible do your bit in helping those who are actually working in the field. but, unless you have some credible data do not jump on the blame-bandwagon - "everyone else but me is incompetent".

[bihutoli]

+1 People do not want to see the truth. All they want is to hear over-commitments, and then when that will fail, they will be even more bitter and unforgiving. Loss of life is loss of life, be it due to terrorists, poverty, unemployment, health issues, corruption, or fighting on the border.... You cant just say, lets invest all our focus and resources in fighting terrorists. If possible do your bit in helping those who are actually working in the field. but, unless you have some credible data do not jump on the blame-bandwagon - "everyone else but me is incompetent".

I doubt people want to hear commitments. Because thats what they've been hearing all along. What they want to see is results. Sadly we see none. Apart from some headway made into the Samjhauta blasts none of the other terror attacks/blasts in India have been solved and culprits brought to book. But no, we are a big country so we should all just stfu. And this proclivity of people to mix all ailments India is facing when talking about one really does not really help the situation.

[akshayxyz]

I doubt people want to hear commitments. Because thats what they've been hearing all along. What they want to see is results. Sadly we see none. Apart from some headway made into the Samjhauta blasts none of the other terror attacks/blasts in India have been solved and culprits brought to book. But no, we are a big country so we should all just stfu. And this proclivity of people to mix all ailments India is facing when talking about one really does not really help the situation.

Ok lets talk in context of 'attacks'. does yesterday's attack means 100% failure? Do you have some minimal data to show #of failed attempts ( with help of intelligence) vs #of attacks through completion, and whether such numbers have improved or declined over the past decade or so?

[bihutoli]

I don't. Do you have such data? Pls share if you do. Has the government/intelligence ever shared information on any attacks that they have prevented? If not why not? Are they afraid to put their claims under scrutiny? But there is data on the successful attacks all in the public domain right? Do you want me to put up a list and you can then go over the list and tell me how many of these have been solved. Talking of 100% this and 100% that does not mean anything.

[ganeshran]

Akshay what is your acceptable criteria of failure in an intelligence scenario? 10%, 1%, ? There have been 92 successful bomb blasts in India is recent times (15 years I think). If we say that 10% have succeeded that means 808 attempts have been foiled. If we say 1% then 9108 attacks have been foiled.

[NareshK]

I doubt people want to hear commitments. Because thats what they've been hearing all along. What they want to see is results. Sadly we see none. Apart from some headway made into the Samjhauta blasts none of the other terror attacks/blasts in India have been solved and culprits brought to book. But no, we are a big country so we should all just stfu. And this proclivity of people to mix all ailments India is facing when talking about one really does not really help the situation.

There's no denying that a lot needs to be done to improve the security situation in our country including bringing culprits to book and improving our police force's capability but what doesnt help are knee jerk reactions from some people like nuking Pakistan, blaming a certain community and ridiculing security forces who are also putting their lives at risk to protect cities. With Indian cities being unorganized and chaotic to a large extent, its not easy for the police force to guard every busy street corner and stop a bomb from going off. Yesterday's attacks also happened in one of the busiest areas in the city where thousands of people and cars move around during the rush hour. So its important to be reasonable before we can go blaming the failure of police or anyone else. But certainly more has to be done like setting up CCTV cameras in important areas, being vigilant 24X7, gathering intelligence, equipping police force with modern weapons and defense equipment and stopping as many attacks as possible. Also judging from what's happening on the ground level, the security situation seems to have improved since 2008 where there was a bomb going off every month. Yesterday's serial attacks were only the first terrorist attack so far this year and only the second since 26/11. The first being the attack in Pune last year.

[bihutoli]

bujjigadu, fyi there was a train blast in Assam this very month. I can agree with the fact that some terror attacks in India are unavoidable. What is needed is to reduce it through either detection or deterrence. As far as detection is concerned we do not have public data to make an informed judgement, and I agree that there may have been minor improvements. But for deterrence I see nothing. Very few cases have been solved, guys like Madani are still enjoying political patronage and Kasab is still wasting oxygen.

[Roshanrocks]

Holy and the others in Mumbai(South Mumbai especially): I've returned form Saifee hosp some time ago and there is a shortage of O+ve' date=' O-ve and B-ve (not that urgent) blood group donors at the moment. The doctors are asking for donations for the patients and to replenish stock. If you know anyone, friends or family who will be willing to donate blood, [b']PLEASE ask them to head towards: Bhatia Hospital 022-56660666 Saifee Hospital- 022-67570111 KEM- 022-24136051 Harkishandas-022-30095555 Nair Hospital- 022-23098150 Your efforts could help some people survive. If you guys are heading towards Saifee, don't take your vehicles. The stretch from Lamington Road to Opera House and further is jam packed and there are lots of Police and Commandos near the Opera House blast site. Saifee is also full with reporters, families of patients, police and donors. Its totally chaotic. Please call up the number before you go, as the doctors will give you a specific time slot so you don't unnecessarily crowd around there. They will take 350 ml of blood from you. Carry your own bottle of juice and some biscuits, because by the time I was done with the donation, the hospital had run out of Parle G and Orange juice. But they would have bought some by now, I guess. The air around the blast site near Saifee smelled putrid and different. Saw a small kid sitting near his injured father on a make shift bed. Luckily the father wasn't hurt bad. Also, those who are not in a position to donate blood now, can register at www.bloodaid.com and donate blood tomorrow morning between 10 am and 11am. Blood aid is organizing blood donation camps in different parts of the city. Pass this message on to everyone you know in the vicinity.

Serious respect lady

[ravishingravi]

I was in Matunga at the time of the blast. I had visited Opera house just an hour before the blast. Physically I am here. Mentally I am numb with anger, frustration, disappointment and cynicism. I am not watching anything on this. I feel shattered. Thanks to those asking for me. I hope other ICFers are doing okay. Great job Mariyam, I ll try to make it.

[Roshanrocks]

Opposition slams Rahul's statement on terror New Delhi: Opposition parties Thursday slammed Rahul Gandhi for stating that every single terror attack could not be stopped, and said it would demoralise Indians and showed a careless attitude on the part of the Congress general secretary. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders said it would "embolden" terrorists. "The BJP would like to state categorically such statements will embolden all indulging in terror. I think this is a statement that will demoralize the people of the country and we cannot expect anything," party leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy said adding that they expected the government to admit its lapse. Communist Party of India leader D. Raja told IANS: "It shows a very casual and careless attitude to say something like this." With three blasts rocking Mumbai Wednesday evening -- at Dadar, Zaveri Bazar and Opera house, killing at least 17 people and injuring 131, Rahul Gandhi said in Bhubaneswar Thursday that 99 per cent of terror attacks in the country had been halted thanks to improved intelligence and other measures. But he also said: "It is very difficult to stop any single terrorist attack." Reacting to this, Raja said: "Chidambaram said it was a coordinated attack, why were we not able to stop it? Chidambaram has failed as a Home Minister and Rahul Gandhi was trying to protect him." "It is a failure of intelligence, we should try to understand what was the loophole. Since the 26/11 attack, Mumbai is on high alert, yet this incident occurred. Saying all terrorist incidents cannot be stopped is careless," he said. Senior BJP Leader L.K. Advani said even though he would not comment on Rahul Gandhi's remark, the repeated occurrence of terror attacks showed government lapses. "I will not comment on the statement. America is a democratic country like us, but I have not heard of anything after 9/11," Advani said. Congress defends Rahul Gandhi's remarks The Congress defended remarks of party leader Rahul Gandhi that 99 per cent of terror attacks in the country had been stopped and said that the need of the hour was to arrest those responsible for Mumbai blasts that killed 17 people a day earlier. (Read: 99% terror attacks stopped, says Rahul Gandhi) "The incident (in Mumbai) is very unfortunate. While the security forces have to be correct everytime, the terrorist has to succeed once in his designs. Rahul Gandhi said this evident truth," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said here. He said the need of the hour was to tighten up our belts, work for providing relief to affected families and arrest those responsible for the incident. "Hence, irresponsible statements should not be made and I hope opposition will understand," he said. Earlier in the day, Gandhi said in Bhubaneswar that the government had been prompt in its response to the blasts in Mumbai and emphasised that 99 per cent of terror attacks in the country had been halted due to improved intelligence and other measures. "I don't say it is impossible...it is very difficult to stop any single terrorist attack," he said, adding that 99 per cent of attacks had been stopped. "We must stop 100 per cent attacks," he said. Singhvi rejected suggestions that Maharashtra Home Minister R.R. Patil had failed in his role. "It happened suddenly. There was no prior intelligence...It is time to work collectively," Singhvi said.

[mishra]

Good to see ICFers safe and sound. Not sure if all Mumbaikars have reported the thread. Mods can confirm it. I just hope that all admitted to hospital survive.

[ravishingravi]

Once Again Mumbai The tragedy of terrorist attacks in India is that you can take a blog-post from three years ago, make a small change here and one change there, and it would seem like I just wrote it. Fresh and hot. That’s the thing. Nothing changes. Not a bit. The same bomb blasts, the same canned responses, the same floundering in the dark, the same impotent social media rage, the same sense of headless chicken-ness. I saw one person splutter angrily on TV ” There was no police here before the blast. No security.” Security? Hmm. Well in February I went to Gateway of India. Post 26/11 and to borrow a Shastrism “after the horse has bolted”, there was security there. A lot of it. Limited access. People in wardi. Metal detector. Only bug in the program—–people could walk around the metal-detector, without standing underneath it, and no one around seemed to be mildly concerned at this small fly in the security ointment. Security? Hmm. Could better “security”, of the kind alluded to by the angry bystander, prevent such incidents? No. It is just not feasible to have eyes everywhere in the country, even if we consent to a Orwellian police state, eyes strong enough to detect every rigged umbrella or booby-trapped suitcase. Though of course one would like the administration to try a bit harder in gathering intelligence. Not that they can get it right every time but at least can we expect them to work as sincerely as they do while discharging their most important function—make sure there are no parties after twelve and girls and boys are not dancing “indecently”. It is not so much what happens before but what happens post-blast, each and every time, that gets my goat. After 26/11 we were told that emergency response teams would be ready to roll at a moment’s notice. I presumed they meant ambulance. I presumed they meant trained personnel providing critical care immediately, the kind that can save lives. What we saw instead were injured people, festering in blood and tears thrown together like dying chickens in the back of a truck. Surely, with all that India-shining and everything, we can expect to have a decent emergency response system in place for Mumbai, the highest priority target for our enemies, if not for the entire country? It’s not as if premium emergency services are not available. If one of our politicians gets so much as a hangnail, ambulances rush in, red lights flash and the Red Sea parts. But people, common people, well that’s another thing. There is more. After 26/11 we were also told that the press would be kept away from the scenes of terrorist incidents. What did we find this time? The same old vultures swooping down. Mind you I do not blame them. They are out to make money errr sorry inform the public. The responsibility to cordon off blast sites lies with the police and the police’s alone. And why is this so critical? Two reasons. The main aim of terrorists, as their name helpfully suggests, is to create terror. And nothing serves that aim better than the Blair-Witch-Project style shaky images of bloodied bodies and weeping innocents that are being beamed to every home, accompanied as they are by the hyperventilating “on-the-ground-breaking-news” voice that exists to prevent us from flipping channels. The second reason why a large perimeter needs to be enforced is that pressmen and the assembled tamasha-watchers contaminate the crime scene. This happens always and every time comes to bite the justice system in the bum. Suspects walk free because of lack of physical evidence, providing the opportunity for the Arundhati-Setalvad dementors to fly in and scream “minority victimization” and, of course, for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to say it is an RSS conspiracy (it may be argued he will do it regardless of what happens). One would also have expected that after so many feet-in-the-mouths before, there would be just one official spokesman for the administration. Nope. The whole apparatus, on crisis night, was leaking like a sieve with one talking head finding the hand of Indian Mujahideen and the other saying everything is pre-mature. And why is this multi-speak bad, more specially the pinning of blame on Indian Mujahideen? Because within two hours of the blast, one cannot say, with any certainty, who has done the deed. So taking names so soon just gives ammo to our detractors in pushing forward the hypothesis that it is the Indian government/Hindu-Zionists/RSS which did this to tarnish Pakistan/Muslims. And finally, yet once again, when the nation bled, we found out we had no Prime Minister. No one expects the PM to come and give a Sunny Deolian “Kasam Ganga Maiyya ki ,ghar mein ghuskar maroonga” shout-out but is it too much to expect a bit of inspiration in a dark hour, something even George W could provide after 9/11? Some may say silence is MMS’s style (like it was for Charlie Chaplin even after the technology of sound came into being) and should not be taken for inaction (ahem ahem) but surely there must have been reasons why when their nations were attacked, two of the greatest leaders of the last century, Roosevelt and Churchill did not take such a “awaaz neeche” stance. If there was any silver lining, it was to see how ordinary people came together on Twitter—-doctors volunteered services, houses were opened for strangers, and those stranded were picked up. It was inspiring and a reminder that on the darkest of nights, the light inside us burns the brightest. But this realization, in itself, is small solace. Very small solace. http://greatbong.net/2011/07/14/once-again-mumbai/

[ravishingravi]

What every Kashmiri Jihadi should know http://zeenews.india.com/news/exclusive/what-every-kashmiri-jihadi-should-know_719501.html Brilliant article by Ramanand Sengupta

[Anonymous]

What every Kashmiri Jihadi should know http://zeenews.india.com/news/exclusive/what-every-kashmiri-jihadi-should-know_719501.html Brilliant article by Ramanand Sengupta

I just dont get it. Why do our policy makers act like angels when it comes to our strategic interests. FFS, we are already being accused for drought, famine and also flooding, so why not just do it. Use water as a leverage, why is it so difficult to comprehend? What have we gained by playing the victim card in the international community? The US will release a press statement pretending to be from the president and after all dust settles down, some diplomat will fly down to India and compliment us for showing matured restraint and say a few words against Pakistan which our 24/7 news channels will analyse for another month. All the other countries will just release a press statement and if their heads of states are due in India, they'll make sure to lay a wreath or soemthing at their respective diplomatic missions. WTFFFF!!