13-09-2008 : Delhi Bomb Blasts | What They Say

A lot of times our opinions are formed from what we read. In a way one can say that a nation’s opinions are formed from what its leading news papers are writing. This is because for majority of people of any nation, the leading news papers are the source of information about events happening around the world.

Here are few interesting statements I stumbled across while reading about Delhi bomb blasts that took place on 13 September 2008.

The Guardian, UK

Although India is seen as relatively peaceful compared to neighbouring Pakistan, there have been concerns about the rising number of bombings. The National Counterterrorism Centre in Washington says 3,674 people had been killed in militant attacks in India between January 2004 and March 2007, a death toll second only to that of Iraq.

Dawn, Pakistan

First, even without the exacerbation it would bring, India is well on its way to becoming a fractured society in which its 150 million Muslims and a smaller Christian community have all but turned into a convenient counterpoint for rightwing Hindu forces to consolidate, by demonising both minority groups. Even as a very scattered number from among the Muslims (so far) may indulge in acts of terror, the wider community is subjected to abuse and mistrust. This anguish came to the fore dramatically recently after the popular movie actress Shabana Azmi claimed in a TV interview that she was denied a house in Mumbai because she was Muslim.

Los Angeles Times

India is home to many militant groups, some of them ethnic separatists and others religious radicals. Attacks, particularly bombings, are not uncommon; suspicion often falls on extremists from Kashmir, who want the contested Himalayan region split off from India or merged with Pakistan.

Arrests are usually swift after such incidents. But human rights groups say that evidence is often elusive and that the police sweeps round up innocent people, many of them young Muslim men.