« Monday's | Main | Chicago Subway Train Derailment »
July 11, 2006
Confused Americans for Truth - Possible Terror Attack in India Possibly from Islamic Rebels
At least 145 people are dead and 300 wounded in a coordinated series of train bombings in Mumbai (Bombay), India. The bombings are believed to be the work of Kashmiri rebels, though we do not yet know if they are seeking independence for Kashmir or annexation of the Indian portion by Pakistan. The reason for the assumption that the attack is Kashmir-related is that clashes over Kashmir have been non-stop in recent weeks. A simple Google search reveals a strike in Batamaloo on June 23, two gun battles on June 30, and another two on July 3.
This latest attack is only newsworthy because it killed so many people. In addition, it has the signature of a terrorist attack rather than simple armed mayhem, and that makes it a sidebar to the Global War on Terror.
The history of Kashmir is complex. At the time of India's independence, Kashmir's population was mostly Muslim, but it was ruled by a Hindu king. Some Muslims preferred the idea of rule by the more secular government of India and the king himself preferred independence. There was, however, a strong component for unity with Pakistan, and the king's suppression of the pro-Pakistan forces eventually ballooned into a war and dragged in India, Pakistan, and finally the UN. The people of Kashmir were supposed to hold a vote to decide who would rule them, but it has never materialized, and the multiple wars since then have resulted in very little movement from the cease-fire line determined by the UN in 1949.
In the late Nineties, both Pakistan and India experienced a rebirth of nationalist fervor, and in 1998 both began testing nuclear weapons despite protests by the Clinton Administration. Thankfully, neither nation has threatened to use them during the armed conflicts that have peppered the region since. Today's attack, however, was not an attack by a nation against another nation, but an assault on civilians in a non-combat zone by covert combatants that wear no uniforms and answer to no government-- in other words, terrorists.
India and Pakistan have been conducting peace talks since 2003, but it has not stopped Pakistani sympathizers and independence advocates from conducting their terror campaigns. It's also worth noting that part of the Kashmir territory that India claims is currently run by China, a larger and far more capable nuclear power. Today's attack.comes right on the heels of the opening of a new trade route between India and China, giving the Chinese an economic reason to let India keep its section of Kashmir.
So, it's a mess, and today it just got messier. The one bright spot is that Pakistan has used this opportunity to condemn all terrorism as a despicable act. We need more of that.
Respectfully submitted,
Ferdinand T. Cat
# At Tue 3:18 PM | Permalink | Trackback URI | Comments (1) | More Confused Americans for Truth | Tags: Bill Clinton Bombay China conservative India Kashmir Mumbai Muslim nuclear proliferation Pakistan terrorism UN War on Terror
Trackback Pings
» 7 Explosions Hit Trains in Bombay, India from Morning Coffee
Seven explosions hit Bombay’s commuter rail network during rush hour Tuesday evening, ripping apart train compartments and reportedly injuring dozens of people, police and Indian media said. Indian television news channels broadcast video of the ... [Read More]
Tracked on July 11, 2006 7:23 PM
» It's not Cashmere it's Muslin - Bombs over Bombay from Planck's Constant
It's quite simple. It's not border disputes; it's not sectarian violence; it's nothing to do with Kashmir.
Before I tell you, here's the background: The blogosphere is engorged again ... [Read More]
Tracked on July 13, 2006 2:37 AM
Comments
Posted by: Amira at July 11, 2006 5:47 PM
| HTML is not allowed in comments; however, if you put in a raw URL (http://www.somewhere.com/page.html) it will automatically be converted to a link.. Also, it is likely your comment will not appear unless you refresh the page manually after posting it. |
