After the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India late last month, many students and faculty at SF State said they were angry, sad and concerned about the change in terrorist tactics and how targets were selected in the conflict.

Students gathered in the Malcolm X Plaza on Monday evening to hold a candlelight vigil. They shared thoughts and feelings about victims of the attack, expressed apprehension about how terrorism was reshaping the world and how students at SF State relate to it.

More than 170 were killed in the attack, and reports indicate the terrorists operated as a professionally-trained militia specifically targeting Israelis and U.S. citizens in addition to Indians. The tightly orchestrated attacks focused on upscale sections of the city like the famous Taj Majal Hotel and the Gateway of India.

“The Gateway of India is to Indians what the Statue of Liberty is to the United States,” said Ramesh Bollapragada, associate professor of the decision sciences department of the SF State College of Business. Bollapragada was born in India and lived there for 21 years, and said he hoped those in the United States could understand the importance of an Indian landmark as a site of terrorist activity.

The Indian Students Association responded to the attacks with Monday night’s vigil and by implementing the Mumbai Relief Fund, a collection of money to benefit those most affected by the violence.

Rasika Chaudhary, president of the SF State ISA, said the association sold Indian food on campus Monday afternoon and raised $300 for the fund. She invited anyone interested in contributing to contact the association at info@sfsuisa.com.

“I was really shocked by the attack,” Chaudhary said. The biggest threat now, she said was the level of anger in the Indian people and the fear of what the new form of terrorism could do next.

Bollapragada said the violence escalated because Indian security was ineffective at containing the attack.

“The secretary for home defense was not able to defend the people,” Bollapragada said. The Indian government was facing serious changes as a result of voters’ anger, he said. “Financing for defense is limited in India, whereas the U.S. can afford to fund almost any defense, but now that may finally be changed to solve the problem,” Bollapragada said.

New policies may be essential for India to defend against the tactics implemented by fresh community of terrorists, according to Sanjoy Banerjee, professor of International Relations at SF State. Banerjee said terrorism in India was usually executed with bombs in public areas until recently. The network of terrorists using bombs in India was recently disrupted by investigators and military, he said, so India was unprepared for a new style of attack.

“Up until now when there was a terrorist incident, the killing has been done by bombing,” Banerjee said.

“What distinguishes this event is the nature of the attack. From the perspective of a person killing with a bomb, they are watching and the killing is almost random,” Banerjee said.

“The psychology of the killer has to be more intense,” Banerjee said. “This attack evokes a new kind of fear in people and requires a different kind of defense.”

The terrorists’ choice of victims during the attacks indicates a new direction for India, as well, according to Banerjee and several defense officials. Israel’s Foreign Minister Tzipi Livini told newspapers that Israelis were specifically targeted and reports in the U.S. said Americans were also deliberately selected as hostages.

Nili Yosha, an exchange student from Tel Aviv, said she thought the attacks might encourage individuals in the U.S. and Israel to contemplate what actions and policies are taken in the name of diplomacy and alliance.

“Just reacting with force is never going to solve the problem,” Yosha said. “One side suffering because of the other is not an answer. We need to listen to people to solve the causes of the terrorists’ pain.”

“People with family in India have been worried and scared of more attacks,” Chaudhary, president of the ISA, said. “When is the next one and will they now bomb somewhere else, even here?”