I was in India for 3 months in 2001 (before, during and after 9/11) and even before 9/11 the security measures were very impressive, in Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi, and even Pune, where we were based (Pune is a pretty big city, but not huge.) They certainly made our pre-9/11 airport security look essentially non-existent.

Every carry-on and checked bag was x-rayed as you entered the terminal, and then most were opened and rifled through, right there on big tables in front of everyone (). [And believe me, there was a good bit of general interest in what everyone had packed in their luggage!] Also, only ticketed passengers could come into the terminal and out to the gates, or people with special clearance.

Then at the gate, before walking out onto the tarmac, every carry-on bag was screened again, and opened and looked through, and ID was checked again, and every passenger was "wanded" and patted down. They had a little screened area where a female officer patted down the women passengers. It was very throrough, and I felt quite safe after all that scrutiny.

We were on one of the first few flights out of India to the US after 9/11, and when we left from Mumbai, it was pretty much the same security measures, but with a more fierce kind of attention to it.