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2007-08-25 India-Pakistan
Hyderabad: 20 34 killed, 60 injured in twin triple blasts
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Posted by john frum 2007-08-25 12:04|| || Front Page|| [3 views ]  Top

#1 Near-simultaneous blasts and they don't want to conclude but one of them was a bomb?
What kind of eating joint was it? Unless it was Muslim, we can make a good guess as to the religion of the perps (and even if it was Muslim, it might be the 'wrong kind'). Or is that 'profiling'?
India's majority has been mighty patient and accepting of such attacks, even on their Parliament; when (if) that ever ends, the confrontation could dwarf anything in the last 50 years.
Posted by Glenmore">Glenmore  2007-08-25 12:22||   2007-08-25 12:22|| Front Page Top

#2 Reports of a third blast at Osmania University and the recovery of 2 unexploded IEDs at one site.
Posted by john frum 2007-08-25 12:53||   2007-08-25 12:53|| Front Page Top

#3 About a decade ago I went to Hyderabad India on business (they've got a Hyderabad in Pakistan as well). I could be wrong but I think Lumbini park is in Gulcunda fort in the center of town. That's where I saw a light show at least. The center of town is the Muslim part of town, by the way. Gulcunda is one of only two real tourist attractions in the city. The other is a temple (might be Gokul Chat Bhandar, I honestly have no idea).

The people in Hyderabad were nice people even if a few did quiz me on US support for Pakistan (well if you hadn't sided with the Soviets...). It makes me sad to hear the city was targetted.
Posted by rjschwarz 2007-08-25 13:18||   2007-08-25 13:18|| Front Page Top

#4 Good Map Showing Hyderabad: Look South Between the Arabian Sea and The Bay of Bengal
Posted by Red Dawg">Red Dawg  2007-08-25 19:01||   2007-08-25 19:01|| Front Page Top

#5 Some history....

OPERATION POLO: THE LIBERATION OF HYDERABAD

L N SUBRAMANIAN

The State of Hyderabad comprised most of the Deccan Plateau. At the time of India’s independence, Hyderabad was the largest Indian princely state in terms of population and GNP. Its territory of 82,698 sq miles was more than that of England and Scotland put together.
Having risen from the ruins of the Mughal Empire, it was like many other princely states where a Hindu majority was ruled over by a ith a Muslim ruler called the Nizam. Established in the 18th century by Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jha, it came under British protection under the policy of Subsidiary Alliances instituted by Arthur Wellesley.

In 1947 the Nizam of Hyderabad was Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan, a man of vast wealth. Dreaming of an independent state he sought Dominion status from the British only to rebuffed by Lord Mountbatten. The Indian Government was averse to a forced takeover and agreed to conclude a Standstill Agreement. It was hoped that this would open negotiations and the eventual peaceful accession of the state. However this only emboldened the Razakars a militant organization led by Kasim Rizvi. Helped by the manipulations of the Nizam and his men the Razakars aided by the communists let loose an orgy of violence.

The Razakars went on a recruiting spree including many from outside the state. There was an orgy of political murders and Hindu villages were razed. By the spring of 1948 they become bold enough to raid the Union territory. On 6th September a police post near Chillakallu village came under heavy fire from Razakar units. A squadron of Poona Horse and a company of 2/5 Gorkha Rifles were sent to investigate. They too came under fire. The tanks then chased the Razakars to Kodar, in Hyderabad territory. Here they were opposed by the armoured cars of 1 Hyderabad Lancers. In a brief action the Poona Horse destroyed one armoured car and forced the surrender of the state garrison at Kodar. Since the trouble began the Razakars had attacked about 70 villages in the state, 150 attacks outside the state, killing, raping and looting. The Nizam was given a last warning to rein in the Razakars.

The Nizam instead continued to insist that the conditions were normal and that his own troops were capable of maintaining law and order. Then hoping to get the UN to intervene, a delegation of his advisors left for UN headquarters via Karachi. This raised the possibility of the same power politics that plagued the case of Jammu & Kashmir. It was time for decisive action. The first plans for a military operation were outlined by Lt General E.N. Goddard GOC-in-Chief Southern Command. This envisaged the capture of Hyderabad the state capital with a dual thrust by 1st Armoured Division, from Vijayawada (Bezwada) in the East a distance of 250 km and Sholapur in the West, a distance of 300 km while small units will pin down the Nizam forces on the border.

Hyderabad had a large army with a tradition of hiring mercenary forces. This included Arabs, Rohillas, UP Muslims and Pathans. The State Army consisted of 3 armoured regiments, a horsed cavalry regiment, 11 infantry battalions and artillery. There were supplemented by irregular units with a horse cavalry, four infantry battalions (Saraf-i-khas, paigah, Arab and Refugee) and a garrison battalion for a total of 22000 men. Finally there were the Home Guards and Razakars. They were commanded by Major General El Edroos an Arab. The Razakars totaled about 200,000 although only 25 percent were armed with modern small arms and the rest with muzzleloaders and swords.

The Indian Army’s “police action” was as violent as it was swift. It killed 1373 Razakars and captured 1911. In addition Hyderabad State Army lost 807 killed and 1647 captured. The Indian Army’s losses were never officially revealed but a figure of less than 10 killed is commonly accepted. It was a sudden and crushing blow to a movement that had vowed to hoist the Asafia flag on the Red Fort.
Posted by john frum 2007-08-25 19:50||   2007-08-25 19:50|| Front Page Top

#6 There were apparently harsh measures taken against the Razakars, especially the Arabs... summary execution. The survivors were deported to Yemen IIRC

The Indian State took possession of the Nizam's jewel collection. Kept in the vaults of the Reserve Bank of India, they are occasionally put on display


Dating back to the early 18th century to the 20th century, the jewellery includes the world famous 184.50 carat Jacob diamond mined in the 11th century A.D. and priced at over Rs. 400 crore. Twenty-two priceless uncut Colombian emeralds, believed to have been part of the Romanov treasury, the Alexandriate ring, step-cut emerald arm bands weighing 100 to 150 carats and said to be from Tippu Sultan's collections and a 250-carat necklace studded with 12 diamonds unearthed from the hinterlands of Golkonda are also part of the display.

some of the pieces...



Posted by john frum 2007-08-25 19:56||   2007-08-25 19:56|| Front Page Top

#7 The MIM, the Islamist political party that organized the Razakars, still exists. Its main MP is the son of a Razakar leader.

Known for his pro-Pakistan sympathies, he has a history of asking quite detailed technical questions in the Indian parliament on Defense matters. Many think him an ISI operative.
He has built an office block that coincidently overlooks a DRDO defense facility.
Posted by john frum 2007-08-25 20:17||   2007-08-25 20:17|| Front Page Top

#8 The Jacob diamond


Posted by john frum 2007-08-25 20:18||   2007-08-25 20:18|| Front Page Top

#9 WOW great read John. I'll bet the local Mooselimb old timers git royally pissed off every time those Jewells are "Aired Out".
*
damn wouldn't my girls fight over those rocks eh?

~:)
Posted by Red Dawg">Red Dawg  2007-08-25 20:20||   2007-08-25 20:20|| Front Page Top

#10 Hyderabad, Aug. 25: The explosive chemical used in the Hyderabad twin blasts was manufactured at Nagpur, police said on Saturday. Investigators also confirmed that the twin explosions were carried out by crossborder terrorists. Bomb experts who worked on the unexploded bomb found near the Malakpet foot overbridge near Veknatadri theatre, identified the explosive as Neo Gel 90, a slurry and emulsifier (class 2 explosives) manufactured by Ameen Chemicals at Nagpur. A wooden container was used to stuff the slurry. The bomb was fitted with an alarm clock manufactured by Prince Company.
Posted by john frum 2007-08-25 20:22||   2007-08-25 20:22|| Front Page Top

#11 Nasty bit of work ... ball bearings and glass shard shrapnel...


Police said that high explosive slurry (ammonuim nitrate plus emulsifier) was used in all the bombs that shattered the peace in Hyderabad on Saturday. All the three bombs — the ones at Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat and the unexploded one at Malakpet — were connected to mechanical timers for detonation. Commissioner of Police Balwinder Singh confirmed that the blasts were terror acts. “The two explosions are linked,” he said. “At least 36 people were killed and 39 were injured.” Sleuths of the City Security Wing and bomb experts said that high explosives were stuffed in metallic containers and placed in black bags at Gokul Chat Bandar and Lumbini Park. "We found pieces of nine volt batteries and remnants of high explosives at the scene of the blasts,” said a senior police officer.

“At Gokul they used cycle balls and glass pieces as splinters,” the police officer said. He added that the same technique was used in the Dilsukhnagar Sai Baba temple blast to produce maximum casualties. Four persons were killed in that blast in November 2002. “There is a metal detector in Lumbini Park but they don’t usually check the baggage,” said the police officer. Experts from the bomb squad confirmed that both the blasts were triggered at 7.40 pm with timer devices. Black bags were also used in the Mecca Masjid blast which occurred three months ago. But whereas RDX was used in the Mecca Masjid, slurry was used in Saturday’s blasts. Meanwhile, mischief mongers spread rumours across the city and police got 16 bomb threat calls. All of them were found to be hoax.
Posted by john frum 2007-08-25 20:24||   2007-08-25 20:24|| Front Page Top

#12 184.50 carat Jacob diamond, jeebus!!

John is it approximatly the size of a Hard Ball? Damn, looks flawless too, not that I would know.

Worth? Priceless because of its history... the Gulf A-rabs would pay anything to git their hands on it.
Posted by Red Dawg">Red Dawg  2007-08-25 20:28||   2007-08-25 20:28|| Front Page Top

#13 Indian politicians are at it again... the Chief Minister has visited a hospital...

Describing the blasts as the “cruellest act against humanity”, he said its perpetrators could have no religion, ideology or national identity.

Unwilling to point the finger at local Muslim groups...
Posted by john frum 2007-08-25 20:37||   2007-08-25 20:37|| Front Page Top

#14 It must be those stateless, atheist, random bomber people... yes.. anybody but Muslims...

Posted by john frum 2007-08-25 20:40||   2007-08-25 20:40|| Front Page Top

#15 Muslims? Where is the previous tie-in? Certainly not...
Posted by Frank G">Frank G  2007-08-25 20:45||   2007-08-25 20:45|| Front Page Top

#16 The current Indian government has pressured the police against "unfairly targeting" the Muslims.

Not a single terror case has been solved since they have been in power. This will be no different.

The perpetrators will be said to have vanished, either to Pakistan or Bangladesh and that will be that...

Posted by john frum 2007-08-25 20:58||   2007-08-25 20:58|| Front Page Top

#17 /cynical asshole, John, you should be used to me by now ;-)
Posted by Frank G">Frank G  2007-08-25 21:24||   2007-08-25 21:24|| Front Page Top

#18  Reports of unexploded bombs being discovered in a movie theatre in Narayanaguda and in Dilsukhnagar suggested that the attacks —- similar to the Mecca Masjid blasts in Hyderabad that killed 16 people this May —- were well-planned serial attacks aimed at causing maximum casualties among citizens chilling out over the weekend.
Posted by john frum 2007-08-25 22:53||   2007-08-25 22:53|| Front Page Top

#19 It's like a Rambo Series: Same story, over and over again. They aren't stopped and then, finally, people get sick of them and anhilate them.

Since the trouble began the Razakars had attacked about 70 villages in the state, 150 attacks outside the state, killing, raping and looting. The Nizam was given a last warning to rein in the Razakars.

The Nizam instead continued to insist that the conditions were normal and that his own troops were capable of maintaining law and order. Then hoping to get the UN to intervene, a delegation of his advisors left for UN headquarters via Karachi. This raised the possibility of the same power politics that plagued the case of Jammu & Kashmir. It was time for decisive action

The Indian Army’s “police action” was as violent as it was swift. It killed 1373 Razakars and captured 1911. In addition Hyderabad State Army lost 807 killed and 1647 captured. The Indian Army’s losses were never officially revealed but a figure of less than 10 killed is commonly accepted
Posted by Unutle McGurque8861 2007-08-25 23:59||   2007-08-25 23:59|| Front Page Top

23:59 Unutle McGurque8861
23:54 Prince Madoc
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22:27 Redneck Jim
22:25 Beau
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21:34 ed
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21:10 Red Dawg









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