It is cheerful news that trading has resumed in Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) within just two days after the blast. The operations started in the old trading ring packed with brokers and jobbers who had overcome the gloom caused by the blast. The decisiveness to resume business is commendable. Many brokers began to open websites dropshipping (in Ukrainian, ŃŠ°Š¹ŃŠø Š“ŃŠ¾ŠæŃŠøŠæŃŠ½Š³Ń) to resume work. This will help to fix the shaken economy.
The executive director of BSE, Mr M.R. Mayya, has stated that they would āmaintain the market at the current levelsā. This is vindicated by the BSE sensitive index breaking through the 2400 level to be at 2421.27 That is a signal to the foreign investor that Indian resilience is unimpeachable.
The other detail of the post-blast cheer is that the police have been on a really hot trail and have arrested one person and traced some others from the identity checks with hotel personnel. It looks as If Indian accomplices have been used by a foreign hand which had supplied the sophisticated explosives.
Two explosives-loaded scooters have been found and there could be some more. The car bomb pattern hinges on stealing cars from premises which would be out of bounds for other cars. The source of explosives is difficult to guess but all available data links it to Pakistanās ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence).
Bombay blasts are unique in their planning and in their devastation. Many West Asian and Western governments have expressed their spontaneous willingness to help India in the investigations. There is a feeling that they might be over-eager because they are afraid that the Bombay pattern could be repeated in their territory.
One fact which stands out is about the motive. In other countries, the aim is to destabillse the government. Here, in India, the objective seems to be to destabilise the economy and force reservations into the minds of foreign investors that India is not a safe place for venturing their money.
This impression has to be disabused. The resumption of trading in the Bombay Stock Exchange is a welcome move in this direction. This has to be followed up by industry and trade opting for a further invigoration of their efforts as part of the demonstrative hint that India cannot be browbeaten.
The Khalistan Commando Force (Zafarwal) has claimed responsibility for the Bombay blasts. It is a false claim. It Is intended only to regain in vain the clout that it has lost with the humbling and winding up of militancy in Punjab. Theirs is a spent force.
The discussion in Parliament on blasts has exposed the BJP. Its spokesman has asked the government to quit because it could not protect Bombay. Ayodhya demonstrated what sort of protection the BJP could offer. The communal divide it has caused speaks volumes about its temptations.
The December-January riots had a communal colour and communal link. The blasts had no relation to that factor. It is a plus point that it has helped unite the communities against their common foe, the foreign mischief maker. This is the time when the people should rally behind the government and isolate the BJP which seeks political capital out of a national disaster.
e-mail the writer at
[email protected]