Mumbai Attack Impact Update

It’s not a good time to be in Mumbai.

You just need to scratch the surface to reach the deep sense of unease amongst Mumbaikars today. And it’s a feeling that spreading. Hotel cancellations are at an all time high across the country, and not just from guests planning to arrive in the next few days, but also from people planning trips to the country.

Hoteliers are already talking about the massive dip that took place immediately after 9/11. They think this is going to be far worse.

The media is having a tough time covering this. For one, the narrative isn’t the sort they’re used to. Almost no breaking news situation has lasted this long. All news channels are staying all 24 hours, and not just for the top half of every hour. This means fatigue is at an all time high in newsrooms. Those surviving on adrenaline and Red Bull have started to feel the hurt.

Amongst businesses abroad, the high profile casualties at the Taj and the Oberoi have struck business leaders badly. I’m already hearing about meetings being cancelled across the country as people refuse to travel here. And a dip in investment is a definite.

The sabre rattling that has already begun between India and Pakistan is making the world jittery. The BBC and CNN are almost exclusively focussed on the “two nuclear neighbours” and the possibility of heightened tensions in the region.

The government in Pakistan is caught between a rock and a hard place as the Indian foreign minister went on the record saying Pakistani elements are involved, a day after Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh said “external” forces were involved.

I am willing to dismiss out of hand the notion that the civilian government in Pakistan was involved in anyway. Read this for more on who could be behind the attacks. And read this for more on the Deccan Mujahideen, the unknown group that has claimed responsibility for the attacks. You can also listen to one of the alleged terrorists talking in Hindi to a television channel.

Think tank Stratfor has published a report on the geopolitical consequences of this attack.

And if you’re wondering why it’s taken so long, Saurabh Joshi’s article about the challenges facing security forces is a must read.

Looking ahead, our hapless dandy of a home minister has been called a fool by a US intelligence analyst.

And if you’re wondering what you can do, going forward, I’d recommend Vijay Parthasarthy’s plan of action.

Recovered from the site’s WordPress archive, where it was published on 2008-11-28.