Before Attacks, 55% of Indians OK With Anti-Terror Efforts

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A Gallup Poll in India shows that before the deadly terrorist attacks in Mumbai, a slim majority of Indians (55%) felt their government was doing enough to fight terrorism.

Terrorists have increasingly targeted Mumbai and other Indian cities numerous times in the past several years. At the time of Gallup's most recent survey in India in July of this year, terrorists' bombs had killed scores of people in the cities of Ahmedabad and Bangalore. However, the 55% of Indians who said their government was doing enough to fight terrorism appears unrelated to the attacks at the time; 54% of Indians surveyed in May 2007 also felt their government was doing enough to fight terrorism.

Militant Muslim groups in India have often been blamed or claimed responsibility for these terrorist attacks, as appears to be the case in Mumbai, but a great deal remains unknown about the perpetrators or their motives. Some Indian officials have suggested a Pakistani link, which Pakistan has been quick to deny. However, such rhetoric likely feeds into Indians' belief that Pakistan is not doing enough to combat terrorism. A slight majority of Indians (55%) surveyed in July said Pakistan is not doing enough to fight cross-border terrorism, while only 11% said this about India's efforts.

Bottom Line

India's Congress may have a difficult time trying to place all the blame on Pakistan for the recent attacks in Mumbai, when just a slim majority of its own citizens say it is doing enough to fight terrorism. In addition, the Pakistani government has been quick to offer help to India and unite against a common enemy -- terrorism.

Survey Methods

Results are based on face-to-face interviews with approximately 2,000 adults in India, aged 15 and older, in July 2008. For results based on the total samples of adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.