'Westerners, Indian economy targets of attacks'

Friday, 28 November 2008, 17:51 IST
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Washington: Indian experts at the Indiana University Thursday said the Mumbai terror attacks are significant as they indicate terrorists are now targeting affluent locations and seeking out westerners living in the Indian financial capital. They say the latest attacks could have a "chilling impact" on India's businesses and said the impact on the economy would depend on how the Indian government handles the crisis. Sumit Ganguly, director of the Indian Studies Institute at the university said, it was most significant that the attackers sought out Britons and Americans during their attack on the hotels. "There is a substantial British expatriate community in Mumbai and a growing number of Americans who work there. So it is not trivial that this affluent area was targeted in this fashion. It conveys a message that even the wealthy are not immune", he said. Jamsheed K. Choksy, professor of Central Eurasian studies, history and India studies, at the university said: "The deplorable attacks in India seem to be directed at one of the most vibrant economies in Asia, an economy and country with major links to the West, and specifically at the commercial center of that economy - the city of Mumbai." Supporting the claims in the US media that the attacks were significant for targeting westerners in India, he said the targets seem to have been chosen to inflict maximum terror on business and tourist travellers from the West, Middle East, Asia and from within India itself through attacks on well known hotels.
Source: IANS