HONG KONG — The death toll of nearly 200 from the carnage in Mumbai last week is small compared with the 5,400 people who die every day from AIDS-related illnesses or the 2,500 mostly children who die daily from malaria. Three hundred Zimbabweans died of cholera while the gun battles in India raged.
Nevertheless, there is something horrific about terrorist attacks that justify the publicity. In the case of Mumbai, there also is the danger of new hostility being triggered between two nuclear armed powers, as well as dangers of a clash between a secular way of life and religious fundamentalism.
The Mumbai killings presented glaring security issues. When I edited a daily paper for the Indian Express Group, I lived in the penthouse of the newspaper building, just across from the Oberoi Hotel. Because the kitchen was strictly vegetarian, with no garlic or onions used, I used to escape twice a week to the Taj Hotel to enjoy a beer and chicken pancake and to watch the smartly dressed monkeys and ragged children playing with hoops and trying to attract a few paise from passing tourists. Just 20 meters away from the Taj windows, hundreds of small boats rode at anchor with regular launches. Commercial and container ships and naval vessels plied the open seas beyond.