is india safe after the blasts?

city of joy

9 bomb blasts in Bangalore...Government called the explosions an attempt by anti-national and anti-social elements to create panic and disrupt peace... people may think that they are not safe here ..but its absolutly wrong .

Nick-H

After which blasts? These blasts? The ones before? The ones before that?

I seem to remember reading that India is top of the league for 'terrorist attacks'. How they may be defined, and whoever keeps count I don't know.

So no-one can say it is absolutely safe. Any visitor would have to be very unlucky to be affected, but victims of such attacks the world over are very unlucky to have been where they were at the time.

My perspective: would I go on holiday to Sri Lanka? No. Am I worried about living in India? No; it isn't a war zone, not yet.

PeakXV

The thread title reminded me of some dialogue from the Movie "Marathon Man" between Laurence Olivier(Szell) & Dustin Hoffman(Babe):


Christian Szell: Is it safe?
Babe: Yes, it's safe, it's very safe, it's so safe you wouldn't believe it.
Christian Szell: Is it safe?
Babe: No. It's not safe, it's... very dangerous, be careful.

India & the World in general are somewhere in between those extremes one would think.

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Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

machadinha

The question gets asked here (usually for a very short while, until the news moves on one supposes) after just about every such event in India that makes the (Western) news; what's funny in this case perhaps is the OP asks it only to immediately deny it in the post. If that is meant to reassure people, I'm afraid the title may miss its goal, and still fan their fears.

I thought there was a decent discussion of how it relates to traveler's concerns on this occasion earlier this year: Bombings in Jaipur

For more on what just transpired in Bangalore btw: Breaking News on TV - Bangalore Blasts

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absinthe_brat

It's as safe as anywhere. There's an awful lot of paranoia/needless worry about terrorism.
The IRA was blowing up London for 20 odd years, A few tubes were bombed too. Basque country is still doing spain. Bali and egypt have had 'the bombs' too and tokyo had it's subway gasser.

It shouldn't stop really stop anyone from going. Maybe it's safer with the billion odd people who live in India.

edwardseco

Yes, it should also be considered as a % of the population of which it is small indeed. Still, in the case of Hyderabad one of the places that was bombed was a hangout of my neice and her hubby..

Aishah

I have to agree with absinthe - we had bushfires back in Oz where people could lose their lives. Anywhere in the world might be a risk, you never know, but you don't let these thoughts rule your life. Wherever you live, you just get on with it. We are lucky here, in that, as Nick says, it is not a war zone - for people caught in those areas life must be extremely difficult.
As for coming to India for a holiday - I have heard there have been some group cancellations on the strength of the Jaipur bomb blasts and now these ones on top of it might also have the same effect. Travellers are still coming here I notice so individuals are making up their own minds. I think I would still go ahead with travel plans in spite of these events - there were riots in some place in South India years ago when I was going to come here and I thought will I still come? I did, and had a wonderful peaceful time!

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dhans

Are the USA safe after 9-11?
Is London safe after the subway bombings?
Is it possible to live a risk free life?

One advantage; you're in a much better bargainingposition after the blasts (as I found out in Egypt in 1994).

Hans

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errorinu

Every 10 sec someone dies in a road accident. Does that stop any of us walking on the road. Perceptions are easy to make and hard to break. As IM'ers we should educate people to break the myth about India. This is the land of diversities and heavenly beauty.

No one could stop 9/11 or London mishap or Michigan Uni mass killing .

Terror can attack anywhere.....anywhere, hell yeah!!

billyshake

Shooting a movie in Sri Lanka in the very near future. That's not something I've considered. Should I?

Nick-H

Certainly; There's a civil war on there.

billyshake

Ah, hell. Dang I'm an idiot.

chAos

I do know people who went there (on holiday) and felt certain parts were quite safe; not predictable, though, I suppose.

machadinha

I reckon in Sri Lanka like in many other places it pays to just get as much information in as you can about the ground situation, then move around on that basis. I'm not sure if I wouldn't go right now; I'd certainly get myself informed first though, then decide, and decide what areas to visit if at all. But I believe people still travel there yes, and like elsewhere, the situation will take a big toll on the tourist industry (which doesn't mean one has to make a martyr out of oneself by going no matter what). There, too, it must be remembered the conflict is at least over 2.5 decades old though (and has its roots in much older times of course, the legacy of colonialism and its social divisions being no small part of it), but it's certainly more intense and therefore has its more intense periods of high pressure. The two situations aren't really comparable (or not at all), the backgrounds and stakes and groups involved are very different. Inasmuch as it is a civil war, at least it has its more-or-less clearly defined parties with their respective goals, and its geographic demarcations if often disrespected; whether that would be preferable in terms of visits I'm not so sure about. (By the time you do get bombed I reckon whoever's backgrounds you may not care all that much about.)

The past few years are said to have been particularly bad in Sri Lanka, but as far as I know there have been pretty bad periods before (it's also and as usual hard to say: If official sources say it's bad, could that mean the LTTE is gaining more ground than they care for?) There's probably little more to say about it from a to-visit-or-not perspective. If many tourists there have been victimized even by way of collateral damage over those decades I don't know; if their numbers were very high, you'd think you'd hear more about it.

Meanwhile, I was saddened to hear about the latest blasts in Ahmedabad. Already being discussed of course: http://www.indiamike.com/india/india...edabad-t58997/

Doppelwhipper

I'm sorry but this business of "it's a as safe as anywhere in the world", "is the USA safe after 9/11?" is a truly awful way of skipping around the issues that arise out of the current situation.

Are bomb blasts like those that have occurred in the last two days a common occurence ni India? I some hopw doubt it (though I am open to correction) so it would be foolish to pass it off as "just another day in India". I get the impression that people here are loathe to criticise the nation and take an objective view.

I'm sure these forums get bombarded with such threads every time an inceident occurs but with good reason. I want to know if I'm safe.

Please let me make it clear that I'm not trying to get a rise out of people here. What I'm interested in logical discussion so if someone is going to tell me that India is safe, I'd like a credible explanation as to why and not a broad comparison with bush fires or similar.

Sure terror can attack anywhere, I might die on my next rickshaw journey and I might slip, fall and kill myself in the shower but a spate of terrorist bombings does not fall into the same category.