Eight years have passed since the Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks, but for those who saw it unfold in front of their eyes, the memories of that night remain etched in memory. On this day in 2008, 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists came to Mumbai via sea route from Pakistan and carried out series of coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across the city. The attacks lasted four days killing 166 people and injuring over 300. The then ATS chief Hemant Karkare, Army Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, Mumbai’s Additional Police Commissioner Ashok Kamte and Senior Police Inspector Vijay Salaskar were among those killed in the attack. The attack had begun on November 26 and lasted until November 29. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital, and the Nariman House Jewish Community Centre were some of the places targeted by the terrorists. Ajmal Kasab was the only terrorist who was captured alive. He was hanged four years later on November 21, 2012. India remains a victim of Pakistan terror. 26/11/2008, a day registered in the dark History of India is unwontedly hard to forget. It would be a same day like others or better but the horrific terror attack by ten inhumane Lakshar-e-Taiba terrorists came to India snatched hundreds of lives in Mumbai and turned it out to worst. On the point of bullets they acquired the majorly crowded spots of the most populated city in the country and drove them away to sudden deaths. Indian investigators had traced the Pakistani hand in both the March 1993 Mumbai serial blasts and the July 2006 suburban train bombings. These attacks had killed more people-257 and 187 respectively. But 26/11 was different. It was the first attack carried out by Pakistani nationals who hit civilian targets and foreign nationals with calculated brutality. Unlike the December 2001 attack on India’s Parliament where all five terrorists were gunned down, one of the Mumbai attackers, captured alive less than six hours after the attack began, had revealed the full extent of the conspiracy. Why India at that time did not retaliate is surprising? Today also the main question is if the nation is prepared for war, meaning a possible retaliation by Pakistan which then would have had to be met by a tit-for-tat response by India. Will it be a reality?
