Until last week, when you referred to ‘Bangalore’ in London, the most common response from people would have been, ‘Oh! IT capital.’   After the association of three doctors from Bangalore in the Al-Qaeda style of failed car bombings became public, there was a fear that Bangalore may be seen in a different perception. But fortunately, it is not really so, reports Urmila Doraswami from London.
 Karnataka's capital is still IT capital in the minds of the people here in London. It has definitely not acquired a reputation for being a hot bed of terrorism. “I think any society breeds some negative elements. I certainly don't think of Bangaloreans as potential terrorists. Not at all. I don’t think many people would jump to that conclusion. People involved in criminal acts like these have been brainwashed, and you get that kind of thing in every society. I just think they're nutters. Period.” says London-based journalist Helen Whittaker.
“I don't think the role of Bangalore has been emphasised by the media here,” says Saksham Gupta an intern in Egham.
“But there is a clear association with India in the reporting. For instance, many of my friends in Glasgow have been quizzed and asked if religious fanaticism is widespread in India,” he said.`
Procheta Mallik, who's pursuing a Ph D in Glasgow University has a different take altogether.
He believes more emphasis should be given to the fact that several people involved in plotting the bombings lived in the the UK, rather than that they were born in India.
“We must bear in mind that all of these people have lived in the UK. Just because they're born somewhere else or hold some other passport doesn't mean they got radicalised there. We need to investigate where exactly they got radicalised and whether British society can exonerate itself of the blame,” he says.
Shocked
That said, he’s also concerned about the development of a new phenomenon.  He says, “As Indians, most of us are shocked because in most cases of international terrorism, there have been no Indians involved, so this is the first time we have seen the emergence of an ‘Indian’ jihadi and that’s quite shocking.”
Seeds of doubt
In fact, in people’s minds the common stereotype is the Muslim jihadi who's involved in terrorist attacks. Sabin Jose and his wife Ushus both work here in the health care sector. With NHS doctors being involved in the car bombings they see first hand on how people perceive Muslims.
Sabin says, “It’s true that in the past few days several people have asked me if I am a Muslim. When I say that I’m not, they are relieved as there is a negative perception of Muslims in the health industry right now.”
It's the seeds of doubt that destroy trust, faith and societies. Which is why British Muslims have sought to distance themselves from the attacks.
They launched a ‘Not in Our Name’ campaign, to condemn terrorism after the attempted car bombings They’ve also taken out a series of advertisements in national newspapers calling for British Muslims not to be held responsible “for the acts of criminals.”
Luckily most British people realise that it is the fringe elements who are causing harm. “I condemn terrorists who harm civilians, their religion, nationality. Their address really doesn't  matter,” says Broadcaster Nick Dye.
And that’s why Bangalore can rest easy as the Indian Silicon Valley’s reputation is not quite tarnished.