India faces terrorists calmly

In May, when Islamic terrorists attacked a bus full of civilians near an Indian army base in Kashmir state, Indian leaders pledged to retaliate, and told the Army to be prepared to sacrifice their lives in an all-out attack.

But when two Islamic gunmen shot their way into a Hindu temple in Gujarat state late Tuesday afternoon, killing 32 worshipers before being killed by Indian commandos, the same Indian leadership was much more restrained.

While most officials blame Pakistan, none have called for military reaction, let alone war. Indian President Abdul Kalam, for example, appealed to different religious groups to remain peaceful. "We should unitedly defeat all the evil designs against our country," he said. "Our police and security forces are fully capable of defeating all forms of terrorist attempts against our country."

After months of beating the drums of war over what it sees as Pakistani-funded terrorist attacks, India has suddenly changed its tactics. Growing closeness with the West and increased isolation of its enemies – particularly Pakistani-based Islamic militant groups – have left India more confident in its fight against domestic and cross-border terrorism, analysts say.

The timing and location of the attack, which ended around dawn Wednesday, are wrapped up in the often bloody politics of Hindu-Muslim tensions in South Asia. The attack coincided with the second round of elections in turbulent Jammu and Kashmir state, which both India and Pakistan claim. Gujarat, a western state bordering Pakistan, is a hotbed of riots between the Hindu majority and the Muslim minority. With much less security than Kashmir, it was a relatively soft target.

The question now, observers say, is whether Indian officials can control religious tensions within Gujarat. "I don't think the government at the central or state level will let the situation get out of hand," says Bharat Karnad, a senior fellow at the Center for Policy Research, an independent think tank in New Delhi. "They are reacting much more maturely, and it doesn't serve the purposes to heighten tensions any further."

Some Indian leaders have come to this maturity fairly recently. A few weeks ago, Gujarat's top state official, the fiery pro-Hindu chief minister Narendra Modi told voters, "[Pakistan's president, Pervez] Musharraf, doesn't know what Hindu terrorism is. When that happens, all of Pakistan will be wiped out." Some took that as an unsubtle reference to India's possession of nuclear weapons.

Tuesday's attack, which drew swift condemnation from the US and Britain, followed months of violence in Gujarat, and increasing reports from Indian intelligence agencies that Kashmiri militants were moving to the state to take advantage of growing religious strife there.

"We have been saying for months that terrorists are moving to Gujarat, because Pakistan would want to create problems there," says Ajay Sawhney, director of the Institute for Crisis Management, a think tank in Delhi.

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