More than six million people pour in and out of India’s commercial capital every day from the suburbs, most packed tightly into commuter trains with barely room to breathe. Jammed up against each other, intent to get home to their families after a typically long day, none of Bombay’s workers would notice a suspect package or an unattended bag.

It is these workers, devastated by the worst terrorist atrocity to hit their city since the blasts in 1993 that claimed the lives of 257 people, who will determine how quickly Bombay bounces back.

Unlike 1993 the Bombay Stock Exchange was not a direct target. Bankers and businessmen rarely travel on the overcrowded train network, preferring their own car despite the longer commute. This time the intended victims were the ordinary salaried men and women, the service staff of the upper classes and the government clerks on their way home.

The destruction will be compounded by the monsoon, which closed parts of the city for days last week. The torrents of rain will now not be the only reason for people to stay at home. Fear of further attacks will ensure that Bombay remains closed for business for several days at least.

With the train networks out, the already overcrowded roads will be unable to cope with additional traffic. While companies conduct a head count of staff to ascertain their own human cost, offices will remain closed.

Communications networks, both land-based and mobile, are down across the city, and the economic cost will be large. The impact of the blasts is bound to affect confidence in the city that aspires for a place in the corporate world alongside Shanghai and Singapore, according to analysts. Trideep Bhattacharya, the Asia head of technology research at UBS Securities, said: “Terror attacks like these could negatively swing the risk profile of India. Investors, sitting on the sidelines, would definitely rethink to put in money.” Shares in Indian stocks fell on news of the blasts.

Whether investors stay away will also be determined by the ability of the Government to keep calm. Reports that it had intelligence ahead of the bombings will not foster confidence.

Politicians fear a repeat of 1993, when the situation descended into communal violence with running street riots between Hindus and Muslims. The civil unrest claimed many more lives than the bombs, mostly among the Muslim community.

If Islamic fundamentalists prove to be behind the latest attacks, the result could be a reawakening of hatred between India’s two biggest religious groups, stirred by Bombay’s criminal underworld.

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