Economic and Community Impact

Introduction

The 2008 Mumbai attack happened when a group of ten militants suspected to be from theLashkar-e-Taiba, LeT, (extreme Muslims originating from Pakistani) attacked and killed both the local and the international foreigners living in Mumbai. A total of two hundred people died, when the militants opened fire at the general public. Divided into groups, some of the militants subdued and took hostages at famous hotels in Mumbai likeTrident-Oberoi Hotels and Taj Mahal Palace. The whole operation lasted for sixty hours.

Importance of the Disaster to the Economy of Mumbai

Mumbai is a city within Maharashtra state of India and it is described as both a commercial and entertainment center. In Mumbai, there are several world-class hotels, which serve the locals as well as the international guests. The city is also the home to the Indian film industry, Bollywood, which adds a great deal of value to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The fact that Mumbai is situated at a strategic position, whereby it can be accessed by sea easily, makes it a business destination within the region. It will be true to note that the disaster or rather the attack somehow acted in favor of its economy. This is because the Indian government increased the police presence in the city, thus providing adequate security measures for its citizen as well as the business fraternity.  Due to this fact, both the film industry and the national stock exchange were able to transact more businesses routines than before. The economy is now a 24-hour economy in the sense that the presence of the military as well as police increased the level of security for which business operated. The safe haven created after the disaster increased the level of investment to the city.

 The economy of the jurisdiction remained resilient all along since the infrastructures for which the economy operated remained intact. The militant group was only interested in killing citizens and foreigners and, thereby, leaving most of the investments used to creating the monies intact and operational immediately after the attack.  For instance, the militants at Taj Hotel were never interested with destruction of the infrastructure, but rather in killing the hostages at their hand. It is noted that, the economy of the city even flourished, especially when the film industry (Bollywood) took to the production of movies dramatizing the events that ensued and later selling the movie productions to people in other states, who were far away from the incident when it happened. The sale of movies brought and continued to bring in even more revenues in terms of film proceeds. The economy is also perceived to have remained resilient due to the fact that the city became a major tourist attraction across the globe. It should be noted that, the Mumbai attack was dubbed as India’s “9/11,” which brought with it more benefits than harm. Interested tourists all over the globe become attracted to the sites, where the incidence happened. The monumental sites which were visited by the internet users mostly included the Indian gateway and the five-star hotels. Tourists brought with them foreign exchange, when they visited the state. The commercial viability of the city was not destroyed at all thus the resilience in the economy.

It is difficult to point out for sure any type of looting, which could have took place during the attack as the civilians were caught unaware, hence they were busy finding shelter. However, fewer businessmen reported that some of the locals took advantage of the situation and proceeded to loot items in shops and supermarkets. There was no rationing of the food products as this disaster did not last for long. Although there were many killings, the disaster did not lead to any form of food shortage at all and thus there were no price hikes as the commodities continued to find their ways into the markets. The bombings did not target market centers, but rather targeted transport facilities like the railway stations and the business centers like the Chabad Lubavich center. However, the government administered the price cut for petrol and petrol products, while the inflation rate was reduced hence the facilitation of growth as large corporate as well as individuals took to having loans, which they used for further expansion of their businesses.

Despite the fact that the attack terrorized people in Mumbai, there was any form of migration. Parents were quoted stipulating that they never feared that the circumstances will ever repeat again. Even in case, where migration was reported, it was insignificant making it illogical to state that any of the citizens of Mumbai migrated out of fear. The disaster was significant, but it was not vast enough to trigger any form of migration. As much as the attack hampered the tourism and the hotel industry it will be completely irrelevant to say that the attack shook the fundamental pillars of the economy at large. It is estimated that tourism constitutes only 1% of the total Gross Domestic Product hence a very small and insignificant value is brought to the economy. However, it is logical to state that the act of Mumbai attack lessened the operations of the major companies listed in the Bombay stock exchange, that is, the Taj Mahal and the Belvedere, which held more than 80% of the market capitalization in India stock exchange market as at that particular time. The attacks also came at a period for which India as a country was experiencing the global recession, thereby, creating a margin of at least 0.6% for the period between the attacks (2008 and 2009). The real estate was also downtrodden and was expected to depress even further. For that period alone, the exports of the country fell slightly to 12.3% but then, that never deterred India from accomplishing its objectives. Community-wise, the attacks lead to a tension-type of relationship between India and Pakistan while , on the other hand, tightened the ties with the USA as the United States of America promised to continue trading with India.

All in all, the attacks triggered the need for developing more human labor as this was the major facet for which the disaster affected. It is also wise to state that, the attacks did not target the destruction of the financial sector, but only slowed it down as its impacts were insignificant to the overall economy of the country. In terms of demography, Mumbai still remains one of the most populated cities in India and even more people are finding their way into the city in search of better opportunities.