India
Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism under Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU led to independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. Fundamental concerns in India include the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, massive overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic strife, all this despite impressive gains in economic investment and output.
Those who choose to travel to India are advised that travel to most regions of the country is considered safe, particularly in major urban areas such as Bombay, Madras, Bangalore and Calcutta. Nevertheless, travel to all border areas between India and Pakistan should be avoided, including those regions within the border states of Gujarat, Punjab, and Rajasthan, and in all of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Sporadic incidents of violence by ethnic insurgent groups, including the bombing of buses and trains, are reported from parts of Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, and Meghalaya. Meanwhile, due to continuing terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir State, all travel to those areas should be avoided. Violence in Punjab State and portions of northcentral and northwestern Uttar Pradesh State in northern India warrants a recommendation that all but essential travel there be avoided.
Manmohan Singh was appointed prime minister in May 2004 after the Congress Party's unexpected success in general elections. The party's president, Sonia Gandhi, the widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, shocked her supporters by declining the top post, apparently to protect the party from damaging attacks over her Italian birth. She said she had never wanted to be prime minister. The stock market, which went into a tailspin, as investors feared that the return of Congress would derail economic reforms, rallied when Singh was chosen as prime minister. He established his reputation as a finance minister in the early 1990s, under the Narasimha Rao government. He is credited with being the driving force behind the liberalization of the economy. When he took office India was in financial crisis, but the reforms transformed the situation. When the Congress Party was voted out of office, Singh became opposition leader in the upper house.
Border tensions with Pakistan have remained high since December 2001 when suspected Moslem extremists launched an attack on the Indian Parliament in New Delhi that killed 14 people. After 3 years of border tension, newly elected Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stated in 2004 his desire for friendly relations with India's neighbors, especially Pakistan.
Conflict between Moslems and Christians in Gujarat State over alleged attempts to convert Moslems to Christianity has resulted in several recent attacks against churches in which priests, nuns and worshippers have been injured. Despite attempts by local and national authorities to quell the violence, tensions remain high in the state and more attacks are likely.
Ethnic and religious conflicts between majority Hindus and India's minority populations are manifested in several regionally based insurgencies, which account for most of the country's bombing attacks, assassinations and kidnappings. There is little history of politically-motivated violence against Western companies; however, in 1995 in Maharashtra, New Delhi and elsewhere, some U.S. firms were picketed and their franchises temporarily closed in ongoing, politically-motivated disputes sparked by the federal government's economic liberalization program. In certain regions, foreigners risk being abducted. The most widespread crime problem is pocket picking, but muggers may target visitors wandering the streets at night. Women should dress and behave conservatively when in public, but still risk being singled out for sexual harassment by Indian men. Foreigners of either sex should avoid public transport because buses, trains and crowded terminals are frequent venues for criminal and terrorist attacks.
Riots can erupt at a moment's notice almost anywhere in India, but are most likely to occur around elections, on holy days or after significant political events. Personnel should carefully monitor political developments, learn the location of violence-prone areas to avoid. If rioting breaks out, personnel should stay indoors and conduct their business from their homes or hotels. Short-term visitors, in particular, should avoid exploring cities without the benefit of a knowledgeable companion, and should never venture beyond urban areas without first inquiring about local security conditions. Curfews, often imposed with little warning, should be obeyed, as security elements enforcing them have "shoot-to-kill" orders.
To the extent possible, visitors should use chauffeur-driven vehicles. Traffic is anarchic, and few newcomers will want to trust themselves behind the wheel. Passengers should sit in the back seat of cars with all doors locked and windows rolled up to avoid India's notoriously persistent beggars. Although cabs and for-hire limousines are widely available, they rarely have functional air-conditioning, a necessity if proper security is to be observed. Taxi drivers may be tipped by rounding off the fare, although passengers may wish to give more if they have received exceptional service.
The Kashmir is a region divided between both India and Pakistan, but claimed in its entirety by both countries also. The region has caused the countries to go to war three times so far. The last flare-up began in December 2001 when India accused Pakistan of supporting suspected Kashmiri guerrillas responsible for an attack on India's Parliament in New Delhi that left 14 people dead. However, in recent months tensions have eased.
Muslim separatists in Jammu-Kashmir have the sympathy and cooperation of many local residents. Some Kashmiri factions support independence from India, while others desire union with neighboring Pakistan and receive support from Islamabad. The largest Kashmiri militant group, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), operates both as a political front and as a guerrilla movement and seeks an independent Kashmiri state. It does not single out foreign targets but has kidnapped numerous Indian and Kashmiri political figures and members of their families to trade for its own militants held by the security forces. The JKLF's main competitor, the Hizbul Mujahideen, advocates the union of Jammu-Kashmir with Pakistan, and has sought to capture international attention by abducting several foreign tourists and field technicians.
The Naxalite movement began in the 1960s in the northeastern Naxalbari region. The movement's rural-based, Maoist-inspired guerrillas have continued a low-level insurgency that has spread through much of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh states in north India, some central parts of the country, and the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, where the local Naxalites are known as the People's War Group (PWG). The leftist guerrilla units operate more or less as politically motivated bandit gangs. There was an upsurge of PWG violence in late 1993 and in 1994. Suspected PWG guerrillas in October 1994 dynamited a freight train engine and a village administration building in Andhra Pradesh to protest the death of one of their leaders. The rebels stopped a freight train near Warangal, 90 miles southeast of Hyderabad, ordered the crew off and then blew up the engine.
A few Sikh guerrillas remain active primarily in the northwestern Punjab region, where they seek to establish an independent Khalistan or "Land of the Pure." They also operate in several neighboring states, notably Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, and carry out occasional attacks in New Delhi. Nevertheless, the Sikh insurgency has waned in last six years and doesn't pose a significant problem for expatriates.
The United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), based in the northeast state of Assam, accuses the New Delhi government of exploiting the state's oil reserves and claims that local culture is being threatened by the migration of other Indians to the region. Militants want to create an independent Maoist country in the area. Assam State has also seen activity from separatist guerrillas from the National Security Council of Nagaland (NSCN). The NSCN wants an independent Naga nation to include areas of neighboring Assam and Manipur states. It survives by extorting businesses, especially tea plantations, but in the past has also raised funds from bank holdups and highway robberies.
India has been a logistical base for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), an insurgent group fighting a separatist war on the nearby island of Sri Lanka. Authorities long tolerated an LTTE presence but the relationship soured after 1987, when Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi sent Indian troops to help the Sri Lankan government fight the Tigers. The LTTE's Black Tigers suicide squad took revenge in May 1991, assassinating Gandhi during a campaign stop in Tamil Nadu. Tamil extremists continue sporadic operations in southern India, notably in Madras, Pondicherry and Palk Bay.
