The meaning of Mumbai

In a gem of an article at the Atlantic by Bob Kaplan:

...the immediate result of the Mumbai terror attacks will be a further hardening of inter-communal relations within India. The latest attacks will also increase the likelihood that in national elections slated for early 2009, the result will be a BJP-led government, as Hindus, who comprise the overwhelming majority of Indian voters, take on another layer of insecurity.

Internationally, this event will further aggravate Indian-Pakistani relations, making it harder for the incoming Obama Administration to effect a rapprochement between the two countries, necessary for progress in Afghanistan, where the two subcontinental states are engaged in a proxy struggle that goes on behind the immediate conflict between the United States and al-Qaeda.

But the real story is India itself, whose undeniable rise as a major world power is being threatened by these civilizational tensions

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Believe it or not, I have a personal story to share about the bombings. A very good friend of mine and roommate in college recently married an Indian woman and moved to Mumbai. Two days ago I was on the phone with him, catching up after almost two months. We had already talked for almost an hour about life in India and Mumbai's city centre, when the connection was cut off abruptly. I tried to call a couple of more times, but to no avail - a lady in distinctly Indian accent would inform me connection was not possible- so I hang up thinking the battery of his phone must have died. It was only three hours later that I realized Mumbai was hit and that the network got completely clogged the first few minutes after the attack. There was no way they could have been hurt - he was talking to me from home and safely. Still the immediacy of the whole thing disturbed me thoroughly.

I eventually reached him the following afternoon. He sounded concerned, but in his usual jest he played down the danger. He did mention, however, that a few hours before the attacks he was having dinner with his wife in a restaurant next to the cinema that was eventually targeted by the gunners. After dinner, he had suggested that they watch the new Bond film, but she was too tired and wanted to go home. And so they did. Now, you tell me if life isn't funny sometimes.