Sunday, November 30, 2008

INDIA VS. PAKISTAN


By pointing fingers, I feel like we're school children arguing about a lost wicket.

In my mind, (and please disagree if you think so) terrorists have no home. They're so blinded by hate that words like homeland, family, culture and heritage don't really mean anything.

Apparently India is claiming that the gunman in custody is tied to a Pakistani group...I'm wondering whether this really is a statement that the Indian government has made or a tagline that the media created to get my click as I was accessing my Yahoo! mail...


CANDLELIGHT VIGIL FOR PEACE

Dear friends,

We encourage each of you, no matter where in the world you are, to light a candle and say a prayer for peace, individually or as a community.

For those of you in New York City, please join us at Jivamukti at 9pm tomorrow, Monday, December 1, for a candlelight vigil and brief meditation session.

The people who committed these acts of hate sought to incite anger, violence and more hate. Tomorrow, together we will respond with peace.

We will light a candle, express our thoughts and engage in silent meditation. All are welcome to join.

Location:
Jivamukti Yoga Center
841 Broadway (b/w 14th and 13th Streets) 2nd Floor

The IndiaUnite team

DEFINING TERRORISM

The American Oxford dictionary concisely defines terrorism as: the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.

We believe that there is a broader meaning, and based on some feedback that IndiaUnite has been receiving, we believe that some of you do too. Please openly share your thoughts on this topic.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

STEP-by-STEP ACCOUNT OF THE ATTACKS

From the Associated Press via Yahoo.com:

India terror begins with corpses on train platform -
By TIM SULLIVAN and RAVI NESSMAN, Associated Press Writers

MUMBAI, India – 9:21 p.m. Wednesday, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus __ Two young men walk casually through Mumbai's main railway station, a worn Victorian hulk bustling with late commuters heading home, scurrying past small food stands and juice bars and vendors selling newspapers. They enter near the taxi stand, where long lines of battered black and yellow cabs wait for fares. One wears khaki cargo pants and a blue T-shirt. A pair of small knapsacks are slung over a shoulder. He looks like a college kid.

They are, says a photographer who follows them on part of their grim journey, "backpackers with assault rifles."
The two — and other death squads working in pairs — are to wreak carnage in landmark after landmark across Mumbai over the next three days, creating panic in this normally unflappable city and killing more than 195 people.

Sebastian D'Souza hears the gunfire at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus from his office across the street at the Mumbai Mirror tabloid.

He follows the sound through the sprawling station, slipping unseen through parked trains. When he first catches sight of the young men, he doesn't realize they are the gunmen. They look so innocent. Then he sees them shooting.

"They were firing from their hips. Very professional. Very cool," says D'Souza, the newspaper's photo editor. For more than 45 minutes he follows as they move from platform to platform shooting and throwing grenades. Often, D'Souza isn't even 30 feet away. The few police at the station are either dead, in hiding or had long fled.

There are billboards everywhere, signs of India's economic boom. At one point, he photographs them standing beneath a tea company sign. They appear to be having a calm conversation. "WAKE UP!" the billboard reads.

Click here to keep reading

SUKETU MEHTA - NYT OP ED - What They Hate About Mumbai

What They Hate About Mumbai

MY bleeding city. My poor great bleeding heart of a city. Why do they go after Mumbai? There’s something about this island-state that appalls religious extremists, Hindus and Muslims alike. Perhaps because Mumbai stands for lucre, profane dreams and an indiscriminate openness.

Mumbai is all about dhandha, or transaction. From the street food vendor squatting on a sidewalk, fiercely guarding his little business, to the tycoons and their dreams of acquiring Hollywood, this city understands money and has no guilt about the getting and spending of it. I once asked a Muslim man living in a shack without indoor plumbing what kept him in the city. “Mumbai is a golden songbird,” he said. It flies quick and sly, and you’ll have to work hard to catch it, but if you do, a fabulous fortune will open up for you. The executives who congregated in the Taj Mahal hotel were chasing this golden songbird. The terrorists want to kill the songbird.

Click here to continue reading

SURVIVOR STORIES

I watched this segment on CNN yesterday and was amazed at the strength of Jonathan Ehrlich. Please click here to see his story - how he didn't open the door that evening when he was going to bed, and was unaware that there were terrorists in his hotel...how he would still come back to India...and the importance of family. 

Share what you have seen and heard from these brave and lucky men, women and children.

Friday, November 28, 2008

THE POLITICS OF THE EVENT

Has Mumbai become a pawn in a larger political chess game? And who are these players? 

Send us your thoughts