Today is the anniversary of 26/11 Mumbai attacks, where ten terrorists from Pakistan ventured into the shores of Mumbai and wreaked havoc. 172 people lost their lives and 293 got injured. The panic it created in the minds of Indians was beyond these numbers; but we as a nation responded courageously, the security forces swung into action and killed 9 terrorists and captured one alive. The assault lasted for long 72 hours, where the whole country was dreadfully watching the television to know the events as they unfolded.
The terrorists went on a killing spree at Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), Cama Hospital, Leopold Café, the Nariman house, the Oberoi-Trident Hotel and the Taj Mahal Hotel. People from the security forces and laymen died in the attack, but only after giving a good fight back. The bravery shown by ordinary people, including the staff of the Taj and Oberoi hotels is part of the folklore now. Brave men in uniform, with scant regard for their own lives, went on to take on the terrorists and defeated them. Some of these brave men lost their lives while doing their duty and we salute them for their courage and bravery. The courage shown by ordinary Mumbaikars is in itself a matter that deserves huge accolades.
When we Indians are observing the first anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks, the Pakistani anti-terror court has indicted seven men - Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi (the operations commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba, LeT), Abdul Wajid alias Zarar Shah, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Mazhar Iqbal alias Abu al Qama, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younus – for the attack. All these men have pleaded not guilty for the crime. The court proceedings are expected to go on for some months, if not years. In the meantime, the court proceedings against Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist captured live by India is also moving on in a slow manner.
Though there were a lot of knee-jerk reactions from people in India, including some political parties, the Indian government showed restraint and didn’t go on for a war with Pakistan. It was a sensible thing to do because had India gone out for a war with Pakistan we would have done exactly what the terrorists wanted from the attack on Mumbai - the destabilising of the region. At the same time the Indian government has been on the offensive ever since using the diplomatic channels by pressurising Pakistan to bring to justice those responsible for the attack on Mumbai. As of now, no credible actions have been taken by the Pakistani government as is expected because of the overt and covert support that the Pakistani ISI has been giving to the terrorists to launch attacks against India.
Since the Mumbai attack last year, there have been no more attacks of that scale till now. But is this a matter for complacency or is it just a lull before the next major strike that the terrorists are planning, we don’t know. But what we know is that we have to beef up the security apparatus in the country. A step in the right place was immediately taken by the government by removing the incompetent minister Shivraj Patil from the Home Ministry and posting the ever-competent P Chidambaram to the post. The no-nonsense attitude of PC has already started to show some results and he is working over time for making sure that the security services in the country are ready to face another eventuality. But he has warned the country that we are still vulnerable to terrorist attacks and therefore has to work ever so faster to close all gaps that are there in the security system of the country. Not only the central government, but also the state governments, public and private organisations as well as ordinary citizens need to be alert and should do everything possible within their realm to increase the security systems in the country.
People in Mumbai were killed by the terrorists irrespective of their religion, race, caste, creed, nationality, gender or the states from which they were coming. Indians from different parts of the country came out in support of the Mumbaikars during their time of grief. NSG commandos from north India came to Mumbai and rescued the city from the clutches of the terrorist and the Mumbaikars gave a great reception to the NSG commandoes after the operation was over. This sense of strong nationality should have opened the eyes of regional chauvinists like the Shiv Sena of Bal Thackeray and the Maharashtra Nava Nirman Sena (MNS) of Raj Thackeray, but unfortunately it hasn’t. Instead they still go ahead with their narrow regionalism and it is up to the people of Mumbai and Maharshtra to teach them a lesson by voting both these parties out of reckoning.
Mumbai is not only the major trade centre in India but also a place that is an avenue for all those who pursue their personal and professional dreams. Mumbai has always been a resilient city and the resilience of the Mumbaikars was made all the more evident by the opening of the Leopold Café only after two days of the Mumbai attacks. And what more, people thronged Leopold Café in such large number to show their support on the opening day that the café had to be closed earlier than normal time on that day as it was not able to meet the demand of the large number of customers. With such show of solidarity the Mumbaikars were telling the terrorist that they may be able to shock them but can’t beat them. On this day, I join in the grief of the bereaved, salute those brave men who lost their lives saving the city and country’s pride and show solidarity with the people of Mumbai.
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