Indian biz industry at gunpoint of terror: Experts

36 hours after terrorists struck in the heart of Mumbai in planned and synchronized attacks, its important to understand how these attacks will impact voters' trends ahead of elections next year. What impact will it have on the business climate and will it hit international capital flows? Experts like Vinod Sharma, Political Editor, The Hindustan Times; James Lamont, Bureau Chief-Delhi, The Financial Times; and MJ Akbar, Chairman and Director of Publications, Covert, delve deeper.

  

James Lamont, Bureau Chief-Delhi, The Financial Times, said globally, the attacks are perceived to be targeted at the business interests in the country and Mumbai as a financial centre.

 

India has been suffering from global crisis; and last thing that needed to add to the fire was this attack, which has escalated terror threats in India. “The Taj Hotel in Mumbai is where every big industrialist or cheap executives of any global companies, that has anything to do with India, has possibly stayed in that hotel, so its been seen as an attack on business interest and Mumbai as a financial center. Thus international businesses will now review their India plan,” he added.

 

Vinod Sharma, Political Editor, The Hindustan Times, said, as far as rural India is concerned it's the real India which is the bigger India, so inflation and unemployment will be major issues going forward. But the country should fight unitedly and keep aside their internal differences.

 

India’s economic welfare is more important than fighting terrorism, as the economic crisis is impacting huge masses of people, he said.

 

On similar lines, Lamont said expatriates working in Mumbai will be jittery. However, international agencies around the world will help India, as threat is global, and not just Indian.

 

He feels the security and infrastructure has to be tightened and improved, but whether the city authorities will learn from lessons of these attacks needs to be watched.

 

Meanwhile, Sharma said, terrorist attack is aimed at gathering sustained publicity for long time. Terrorists have targeted landmarks frequented by foreigners; thus capital inflows will be brought to its knees in due time if nothing done.

 

Impact of terror attack on elections:

 

Sharma said terrorism will impact voters’ mind in big cities like Mumbai and Delhi. “Political parties should let voters know that they are serious about fighting terror. Inflation and unemployment will be major issues going forward, but the country should fight unitedly keeping aside their internal differences. India’s economic welfare is more important than fighting terrorism, as the economic crisis is impacting a large mass of people.”

 

This view is also shared by Akbar. He feels the Congress may be headed for a meltdown in Maharashtra. The balance of Congress may change. “I imagine the congress might do better in Orissa, Kerala, but in most sage the congress would loose a distinct 2-3%, which can be a very decisive vote. It will certainly lose in the Hindi heartland and this would have a very big impact on UP, for instance.”

 

He said it is a combination of anti incumbency over ten years, plus rising consolidated anger against completely ineffective government both in the state and in the centers.

                                               

Sharma said, “I don’t think any government which gets elected to power in India or anywhere else in the world to give a 100% guarantee that there shall be no terrorist attacks and if there are any terrorist attacks then there could be conviction which comes only with evidence."

 

The kind of police system that we have inherited in this country and the training of this system which will take enough time, conviction again is a major problem, even if we reduce the political interference element to a large extent, so it’s a battle that the country has to fight unitedly and not fight over so to speak, he added.

 

Om similar lines, Lamont said, the Prime Minister was talking about possible links with neighbors and by that he means Pakistan and Bangladesh, but whether it is an Al-Qaeda attack which has an international network right across the world or this is an attack similar to those attacks on Western Capital is still to be known, but it has escalated the terror threats in India.