Mumbai politician calls terrorist attacks "small incidents"

One of the best sources for news on India is rediff.com. I learned of the site  earlier this year  when I met a sports reporter from rediff.com  in the luxurious lobby of Mumbai's Taj Mahal Hotel, where we swapped business cards.

The Taj Mahal  Hotel was recently  the site of a bloody 59-hour siege by terrorists who appear to have come from Pakistan.

Today, rediff.com has a story about how R.R. Patil, deputy chief minister  of the state of Maharashtra, described the shootings and grenade attacks in Mumbai  as "small incidents". Mumbai is Maharashtra's largest city.

"Such small incidents happen in big cities," Patil said.  "They (terrorists) came to kill 5,000 people  but we ensured minimal damage."  

Later, sources close to him told rediff.com that he didn't intend to downplay the severity of the attacks.