What the Mumbai terror attacks really mean

Sukumar Ranganathan — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 08:17:00 GMT

Under News

If media reports -- and that's all we have at this time -- are to be believed, the terrorists involved in the ongoing attacks in Mumbai came in by boat and landed at the Gateway of India. Apart from tourists and pleasure-seekers taking joyrides on boats (for a nominal fee), this is a route used by the rich and famous. Their yachts are parked at the Gateway, a proud symbol of what they (or their ancestors) achieved, and an equally proud symbol of a country whose economy -- until a few months ago -- appeared to be on steroids.
The attacks included those on a Mumbai cafe popular with the city's smart set and tourists, and on two five-star hotels. The two hotels, the Taj at Apollo Bunder and the Oberoi are both popular with visiting CEOs and businessmen (the CEO of Unilever was at the Taj at the time of the attack).
Going by media reports that are using the term hostage a little too freely (it is also being used to describe people trapped in the hotel but not being held by the terrorists), there do seem to be a few "real" hostages, and lots of people have been killed.
This isn't the first time terrorists are targeting Mumbai and it is not even the first time they are targeting business establishments (the stock market was bombed in the 1993 terror attacks ). But it is the first time they are directly targeting the so-called movers and shakers of the city's and, by extension, the country's economy.
The rich and the relatively-rich -- that includes a lot of people writing for this site and many reading it -- in India have largely escaped bearing the brunt of terror attacks.
The affected have been the poor, the middle-class, and, in a few cases, politicians. The latest attacks in Mumbai show that wealth is no protection. No longer can we assume that terrorists do not attack five-star hotels (or shopping malls).
What will this do to the slowdown-battered psyches of Indian businessman and executives?
I have no idea, but we can all be sure that the result will not be business as usual.

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What the Mumbai terror attacks really mean