Although India is vast, plenty of Coloradans have ties to the port city of Mumbai.

"We should not accept these (terror attacks), whether they happen in Mumbai or London or Madrid or New York," said Sudhir Verma, a community leader for Colorado's 15,000 emigres from India. Verma, who has lived in the U.S. since 1989, still has friends "near and dear" in Mumbai.

"In the next few days, we will definitely be holding a meeting on this, to see how we can contribute from here and show a unified force," said Verma, who lives in Centennial and is involved in real estate. "We may be living abroad, but there will always be a bond to our motherland."

He commended Indian security forces for rescuing hostages but said politicians need to face the terror issue: "They have to come through and take stern actions."

Ved Nanda, professor of international law at the University of Denver, has been in Mumbai scores of times for lectures and conferences, and visits India several times a year.

He is going back next month and says that the country is too vast to be afraid for oneself.

"International terrorism is such a scourge, and it can happen anywhere," he said. "But India has been inflicted with it for quite some time now."

In the past 48 hours, Nanda has been glued to the BBC and recently got through to friends and colleagues in the beleaguered city. Through them, he learned that the Taj Mahal hotel was rumored to be targeted for attack, but security was lifted in the last week because heavy numbers of police were creating traffic jams in the tourist areas.

Nanda said that the key to thwarting terror in India is for the country to step up its intelligence gathering and work more closely with the U.S. and Israel.

"The message of the terrorists is, they do not want the United States to come closer to India," he said. "The second message is very clear: India has been a dynamo in economic terms, and the terrorists want to frighten foreigners and shatter India's economic base."

Ned Kumar, a businessman and civil engineer from Littleton, still has some relatives in Mumbai, although he has been in America nearly 40 years.

"It's overwhelming; right now, everyone's calling," he said. Even reaching his hometown of Delhi, where his sister lives, is impossible, even though it is two hours away from Mumbai by plane.

Kumar said he doubts that his relatives are affected because only tourist areas were hit. But he mourns the fate of Westerners, who traditionally have been drawn to the idyllic, easy-going safety of Mumbai's tourist areas.

"Westerners can roam freely and never fear for their lives," he said. "Nobody bothers you; there's great food, music, people everywhere. Westerners come back mesmerized."

Kumar recalled staying at the Taj Mahal hotel, which was engulfed in flame in the terror attacks. He recalled it as a grand place of Victorian, old world- charm, "absolutely gorgeous inside."