By Rob Tokanel

In response to the terrorist attacks in Mumbai that left more than 170 dead and 300 injured, several Northeastern student groups have been working to raise awareness for the victims and bring students together in recognition of the tragedies.

The attacks, which took place Nov. 26 through Nov. 29 across India’s largest city, targeted members of diverse religious and cultural sects and have further complicated already unstable relations between India and Pakistan.

Mumbai is the second-most populous city in the world. It’s harbor allows for the transport of more than half of India’s maritime cargo, making it the financial capital of the country.

Northeastern University’s South Asian Student Organization, UTSAV, and the Sanskriti Group, Northeastern’s Indian Graduate Association, held a vigil to recognize the victims of the attacks on Dec. 3. They traversed campus with an Indian flag, an American flag and candles, inviting people to join them along the way. They made several stops to discuss both what happened in Mumbai and how students on campus can understand and cope with the attacks.

“The vigil was more important to me than just showing our support,” said Samir Mistry, cultural co-chair of UTSAV. “This was about sparking thought and discussion, which is what can eventually lead to action.”

UTSAV and Sanskriti were not the only groups that responded quickly to the tragedy.

The Northeastern Hindu Association and members of Hillel, the university’s center for Jewish life and activities, organized a commemoration in the Spiritual Life Center where students held moments of silence, said prayers and discussed their feelings about the attacks.

Speakers at the commemoration included Director of Spiritual Life Shelli Jankowski-Smith, Northeastern Hillel Director Beth Meltzer and Director of the International Student and Scholar Institute Scott Quint.

“Northeastern Hillel mourns the lives of not only the six Jews who lost their lives in Mumbai, but the hundreds of others who lost their lives as well,” Meltzer said in an e-mail to The News.

Harish Krishnamurthy, president of Northeastern’s Hindu Association, said that although prayers were said, the goal was to show support for the victims of all backgrounds and all were welcome to attend.

“This was an attack on humanity, not on any religion,” Krishnamurthy said.

Vice-President of the Hindu Association Gokul Ramakrishnan said he was glued to the television in the days following the attacks, but wasn’t sure whether the majority of Northeastern students were as aware of the attacks as members of the Indian community.

To rectify that notion, Saiee Shevade, secretary of Delta Phi Omega, a South Asian interest sorority, moderated a discussion in the Asian American Center following the attacks.

“There were so many conflicting arguments about the attacks that even the news organizations couldn’t get things straight,” she said. “We really just wanted to know what other people on campus thought about what happened.”

Shevade said she thought students were more informed about the attacks than they may have outwardly shown. “One of the things that we talked about is how awareness is definitely increasing because of these big attacks,” she said. “The western world got an awakening during September 11, and because of that they relate to the attacks in India.”

Ramarkrishnan said the attacks were a wake-up call for him, and even though they were unfortunate, they may cause some students to be more politically aware of international issues.

Middler engineering major Evan Weiner said hearing about the attacks in Mumbai made him less faithful in the United States’ own ability to defend against similar attacks.

“”We’re told that [the United States] is fighting a war on terror, but it’s hard to believe we’re making much progress when something like this can happen so easily and without warning,” he said.

According to recent media reports, India’s President Pratibha Patil signed a new anti-terror bill into law Dec. 31. The bill calls for a new national investigation agency similar to the FBI and doubles the amount of time suspected terrorists can be held without charges from 90 days to 180.

Mistry said a more holistic approach to dealing with terrorism might be the key to solving the problem of insurgency.

“We have to not only defend ourselves using violence but we should also try to change the culture from which these people emerged,” he said.

“The groups have been discussing different ways to move forward with relief efforts.

UTSAV’s President Amrita Chabria said UTSAV and Sanskriti have discussed ways to raise money for the families of those who died. They will continue to take Mumbai into consideration as they plan South Asian week, which is set to run Jan. 26 through Jan. 30.

Shevade said she would like to see the United States lend intelligence services to Interpol to help find out the reasons behind the attacks, in addtion to donations from civilians.

“We can all send monetary donations that will obviously help a lot, but sometimes just finding the answer is the best thing you can do,” she said.