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印度東北部阿薩姆省（Assam）10月30日遭逢連串炸彈攻擊，至少造成76人死、數百人傷，儘管各地恐怖攻擊事件讓全國持續維持高度警戒狀態，發生爆炸案的城市卻持續增加。

Pirates of the Dirac Sea部落格表示，爆炸案緊接著印度燈節（Diwali）發生，雖然印度已習慣各種衝突不斷，此次爆炸案的規模與強度仍讓許多人震驚：

據我朋友的說法，爆炸案於Ganeshguri地區的停車場旁發生時，十部自動人力車與其他車輛同時引燃，現場也出現一個大洞，由於爆炸威力極強，讓許多罹難者遺體只剩下灰燼、殘骨、牙齒等，一位死者來自我家附近，警方是依據現場找到骨頭、牙齒和他常戴的金戒指，才確認他的身份。

雖然名氣不高的宗教極端團體India Mujahideen出面聲稱犯案，人們仍懷疑恐怖團體HUJI與ULFA涉案。

Pirates of the Dirac Sea 亦抱怨政府對嫌犯毫無作為，也提及其他人的反應：

每每發生爆炸案，許多人因此喪命，但隔天人們立刻遺忘，繼續忙著生活瑣事，他們別無選擇，只能回到工作崗位上謀生。

Varun's Vagaries則談到城市的抗壓性與恢復能力：

我們展現抗壓性，城市幾個小時後就回復運轉，一天內便回歸平常，我們繼續前進，但我個人認為這沒什麼值得驕傲，我對於都市生活如此輕視此事感到羞愧，我對於新聞頻道報導爆炸案幾分鐘後便續播板球賽感到羞愧，我對於人們看著電視裡的死傷卻只覺得無能為力感到羞愧，我也對於人們已對人類苦難失去感受感到羞愧。

Muslim India論及經過數十年動亂與族群衝突，阿薩姆省法治情況每況愈下：

過去一段時間以來，阿薩姆省不斷墜入黑暗之中，反抗中央與地方政府的武裝衝突不斷，族群隔閡與種族分際日益顯著，任何人只要涉入暴力、恫嚇、仇恨、對立，包括政府企圖在政治等層面煽動族群對抗，都要為現況負責。

除了可怕的攻擊事件本身之外，社會上也開始討論宗教與恐怖主義的關係，在Daily Online Alochona部落格上，我們發現有網路團體在討論恐怖主義論述。

有別於嚴辭抨擊所有恐怖份子，他們企圖將責任歸咎於印度恐怖份子，並且捍衛伊斯蘭恐怖份子，好像後者在印度根本不存在，難道他們沒有意識到巴基斯坦、伊拉克、葉門、印尼及其他穆斯林國家發生的事嗎？

Maverick Thinking已厭倦媒體對美國大選的報導，並對國內恐怖攻擊案例日增感到憤怒：

似乎每隔一天，就會有個新地方發生爆炸案，我看著近日阿薩姆連續爆炸案後，傷者與罹難者家屬的痛苦模樣，我就感到怒不可遏，過去六個月有多少城市遭攻擊？班加羅爾、海德拉巴德、德里、阿梅達巴、阿薩姆…下一個是誰？

- Global Voices Online - http://globalvoicesonline.org -

India: Are bomb blasts normal?

Posted By Neha Viswanathan On 2008-11-02 @ 16:12 pm In Disaster, English, Feature, India, Politics, Religion, South Asia, War & Conflict, Weblog | 2 Comments

India's northeastern state of Assam was rocked by a [1] series of bomb blasts last Thursday which killed at least 76 people and injured hundreds. Even as the country is a constant state of high alert given the number of terrorist attacks in the country, more cities appear to be added to the list of those attacked by bomb blasts.

[2] Pirates of the Dirac Sea writes on the blasts that came right after the festival of Diwali. While the state is used to a high level of conflict, the sheer scale and intensity of the blasts has shocked the people.

According to my friend when the blast occurred in Ganeshguri area near the car parking the 10 auto rickshaws standing there started burning simultaneously along with other vehicles. The flyover also got a big hole in it. The intensity was so high that many of the victims' dead bodies were just a mixture of ashes, bones, teeth etc. One person from my district in Assam has been identified as a victim with some bones, teeth found on the spot and a gold ring which he used to wear.

Although an obscure religious extremist group -India Mujahideen [3] has claimed responsibility for the serial blasts, the theories of involvement of the terror outfits [4] HUJI as well as the [5] ULFA are not being ruled out.

[2] Pirates of the Dirac Sea also complains about the inaction of the government against the suspects and comments on how peoples reacted:

Every time a bomb blast occurs, many people die and from the next day people forget about it and get busy with their daily lives.They have no other options as they have to get back to their work for their survival.

[6] Varun's Vagaries writes on the usual rhetoric of cities being resilient and springing back to life:

We showed our resilience,the city started moving within a matter of hours, normalcy was resumed in a day. We moved on. I personally think this is nothing to be proud of. I am ASHAMED that the city life takes such hits so lightly. I'm ASHAMED the news channels will all move to cricket news withing minutes of that first BREAKING NEWS, I am ASHAMED to look at the TV, see the casualties and just move on, saying I can't do anything about it, and I am also ashamed that I have become so desensitized to human suffering.

[7] Muslim India talks of the steady decline of law and order in Assam through decades of insurgency and ethnic conflict.:

Assam's steady descent into darkness has been happening over a period of time, with armed uprisings against the Indian state and Assam itself, with a proliferation of the ethnic divisions and communal divides over the past years. And none who have had association with violence and the politics of intimidation, hatred and confrontation — and that includes the Indian state which has tried to pit one group against another, politically and otherwise — can be absolved of responsibility.

Other than the sheer tragic nature of the attack, it has provoked a debate on religion and terrorism. At [8] Daily Online Alochona, we find a link to an online discussion group talking on the prevalent discourse on terrorism.

Instead of vigorously denouncing all terrorists they are trying to shift the blame to the Hindu terrorists and defending the Muslim terrorists, as if they do not exist in India. Are they unaware of what's happening in Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, Indonesia, as well as other Muslim countries in the world?

[9] Maverick Thinking is sick of the coverage for the US elections in the media and feels anger at the increasing instances of terrorist attacks in the country:

Seems like every alternate day a new place is treated to bomb blasts. My blood couldn't help go boiling after seeing the pained pictures of the victims and their families, from the recent Assam serial blasts. How many cities have been hit with these serial blasts in the past 6 month? Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Assam…who's next?

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Article printed from Global Voices Online: http://globalvoicesonline.org

URL to article: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/11/02/india/

URLs in this post:
[1] series of bomb blasts last Thursday: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-india31-2008oct31,0,4303674.story
[2] Pirates of the Dirac Sea: http://debasishborah.blogspot.com/2008/11/post-diwali-blastguwahati.html
[3] has claimed responsibility: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/PoliticsNation/Govt_probes_all_angles_in_Assam_blast/articleshow
/3663565.cms

[4] HUJI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami
[5] ULFA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ULFA
[6] Varun's Vagaries: http://varunsvagaries.blogspot.com/2008/11/just-another-day.html
[7] Muslim India: http://muslimindiablog.blogspot.com/2008/11/assams-steady-descent-into-darkness.html
[8] Daily Online Alochona: http://dailyalochona.blogspot.com/2008/11/re-mukto-mona-interview-jamaat-e-islami.html
[9] Maverick Thinking: http://maverickthinking.blogspot.com/2008/11/to-hell-with-their-elections-and-their.html

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