Bangalore, India’s IT capital and showcase to the world, was today rocked by no less than eight serial blasts.

Mercifully, the causalities are not on the higher side, but that is no reason to lower the guard. With the horrific memories of Jaipur, Hyderabad, Malegaon, Varanasi still fresh in our minds, we cannot afford to.

Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil says the government will deal with the anti-national forces firmly. While one does not question the bona fide of the resolve, one can not help but wonder if the government would actually be able to translate it into action any time soon.

This is because the people of India have seen these resolves affirmed every time a ghastly act is perpetrated.

Bangalore has given us yet another reason to ponder over our collective response to the menace of terrorism, manifested most sensationally by the serial blasts. It is high time we Indians got into a structured debate to craft our response.

Mere knee-jerk reactions won’t do. Unworkable intelligence inputs won’t do either.

What might work is a more cohesive, all-inclusive approach towards tacking the terror. And all that won’t be possible if we don’t start throwing in ours ideas.

"July 25, 2008 - One woman was killed and another four to 15 were injured when a series of low-intensity, bombs went off early this morning in Bangalore, India. The first three bomb blasts in Bangalore today occurred between 1:30 and 1:45 p.m. according to the Intelligence Bureau as reported by the Times of India. A Bangalore Police Commissioner said the bombs were triggered by timers. Officials state that they are currently interrogating SIMI and LeT operatives in relation to the bomb blasts in Bangalore today.

Banaglore is located in Southeastern India is home to India's technology sector. Bangalore has been nicknamed the Silicon Valley of India, and it was not affected by the bomb blasts."

Update

* Police suspect involvement of Bangladeshi militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad Al Islami

Bangladeshi militants: Police said that the attack bore some hallmarks of the Bangladeshi militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad Al Islami (HUJI).

Low intensity bombs were used so not much loss of lives happen. Spreading terror seemed to be the motive behind these blasts. India needs to be tough with these terrorists, new anti-terror law similar to TADA or POTA should be in place.