A NATION of more than 1 billion citizens contains many with grievances. India's democracy allows freedom of expression of such grievances, but many times in the past the impatient and ruthless few have used violence to make their point. The US State Department estimates that about 2300 people died in attacks by various groups in India last year. Mumbai, the nation's financial capital, has suffered six major terrorist strikes since 1993, including a campaign of bombings in 2006 that killed more than 200 people.

This week's co-ordinated terrorist attacks on India's largest city came suddenly, but not without warning. Police had earlier been warned by self-declared Islamists that Mumbai would be attacked in reprisal for the country's alleged failure to protect the human rights of its Muslim citizens.

Terrorism, of course, has no religion, but for at least a quarter of a century now, political extremists professing religious piety have staged attacks in different parts of the country: Kashmir, Gujarat, Punjab, Orissa - the list is long. At the same time this week's atrocity bears the hallmarks of the global jihad that brought us the September 11, 2001 attacks and the Bali, London and Madrid bombings. Targets included transport infrastructure, five-star hotels and restaurants frequented by westerners, as well as a Jewish centre. The assailants were young men, heavily armed and well trained.

It is not yet known if they were imported for this purpose or were home-grown terrorists. India has known both in the 62 years since independence. At times, Pakistan has done its best to pour fuel on India's internal fires, and India's Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, has been quick to warn of serious consequences if the latest attacks are linked to neighbouring countries. Indian naval vessels have boarded two Pakistani merchant ships in the Arabian Sea amid claims the attackers arrived in Mumbai by boat and spoke a dialect of Punjabi unique to Pakistan. But these are early days. It is to be hoped that a rush to judgment - egged on by India's highly competitive news media - will be avoided. The terrorists' modus operandi was similar, for example, to previous attacks by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or Tamil Tigers, in Sri Lanka, who have in the past co-operated with other terrorist groups. The world needs to know the identities, motivations and connections of the perpetrators of these latest attacks, and a patient, methodical and open-minded investigation based on hard, publicly-available evidence has the best chance of success. Like al-Qaeda, the aim of terrorists everywhere is to sow insecurity and hatred in free societies. Those who have attacked Mumbai would like nothing better than to ignite a new and destabilising round of enmities between India and Pakistan.

They will also be gratified if their handiwork should trigger sectarian violence between Hindus and Muslims, and as India heads for national elections in the first half of next year the scope for political polarisation is obvious. In the twilight of the Bush Administration it is worth remembering that while terrorists can temporarily disrupt life in democratic nations, they can never destroy us. But democracies that lash out blindly in retaliation can do great damage to their own social and political fabric. India has demonstrated in the past a capacity for restraint in the face of extreme provocation. It deserves our strong support in this difficult time.

Australians are among the dead in Mumbai and their loss should cement our determination to fight shoulder to shoulder with the nation under attack. The Australian Government has a legal obligation to warn its citizens about security threats prevailing in India, but it would be perverse if such warnings serve the terrorists' purpose of damaging confidence in India. Many Australians know the risks and are still prepared to continue visiting and doing business there. Before and since independence, Indians have paid a heavy price for their freedom. Their nation has been called a functioning anarchy, the land of a million mutinies, but there is something miraculous and important about its progress. Australia must show solidarity with India's cause, and be ready to share the sacrifices necessary to ensure its ultimate victory.

Painful swelling is a no-brainer
IF YOUR sore limb looks big, it will hurt more, according to a researcher at the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute. It is part of a complex interaction within the brain between information from nerve endings in the affected limb, and the brain's perception of how sore the limb appears. The researcher, Lorimer Moseley, describes it as possibly a response to danger: if it looks bigger, it looks more swollen, and therefore the brain acts to protect it. Actually we think there may be another explanation. Let's be frank: the brain is bunging it on. Having been silly enough to fold the ladder up on its arm, say, after clearing out the gutters, the brain is trying to milk the situation for sympathy. The brain is clearly angling for a sickie here. Well, it's not going to get it. The rest of us have to work for a living; what's so special about the brain? Let us make things clear: the brain should get a haircut and get a job.

They will also be gratified if their handiwork should trigger sectarian violence between Hindus and Muslims, and as India heads for national elections in the first half of next year the scope for political polarisation is obvious. In the twilight of the Bush Administration it is worth remembering that while terrorists can temporarily disrupt life in democratic nations, they can never destroy us. But democracies that lash out blindly in retaliation can do great damage to their own social and political fabric. India has demonstrated in the past a capacity for restraint in the face of extreme provocation. It deserves our strong support in this difficult time.

Australians are among the dead in Mumbai and their loss should cement our determination to fight shoulder to shoulder with the nation under attack. The Australian Government has a legal obligation to warn its citizens about security threats prevailing in India, but it would be perverse if such warnings serve the terrorists' purpose of damaging confidence in India. Many Australians know the risks and are still prepared to continue visiting and doing business there. Before and since independence, Indians have paid a heavy price for their freedom. Their nation has been called a functioning anarchy, the land of a million mutinies, but there is something miraculous and important about its progress. Australia must show solidarity with India's cause, and be ready to share the sacrifices necessary to ensure its ultimate victory.
 

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