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Uddipta Das
Uddipta is a sceptical-optimist. He believes honesty is stronger than truth and hence his journey as a newsman is strongly based on the idea of honest projections. When not destroying his parents' dre ... Read More
Mumbai, November 25: Eight years ago, as India and the World gazed at the horror of terrorism which unfolded in front of the eyes, a city, often called, ‘a city of dreams’, underwent more than 60 hours of turmoil.
Eight years later, the city has moved on but has not forgotten the events of November 26, 2008. Today Mumbai remembers that ill-fated day, when terrorists seized major areas of the city, imparting terror, least when anybody expected.
Mumbai, which is home to around 22 million people, is an economic-social-cultural hub. Tourists from all over India and abroad visit the city and people have settled in the city to fulfil their dreams or at least to make a livelihood. The hard-working city dwellers work throughout day and night to survive in this city of dreams. And then, one day, forces strike the city, taking away the privilege of life, shattering that dream and in the meanwhile exposing great flaws in the nation’s security measures.
The official reports state the number of people who died to be 166, while 300 were injured in the strategic attacks by 10 terrorists. The terrorists shot indiscriminately at people in eateries, hotels, hospitals and threw grenades and successfully wrecked havoc in the city. No doubt, the police, soon assisted by the National Security Guard forces subdued 9 of the terrorists while arresting one. But the whole operation took around 60 hours and killed both Indian and foreign nationals.
Now, after 8 years, people look back at the fading memory and still sharp bullet marks and feel some pride in the series of incidents where civilians, apart from the security forces and the police showed unprecedented courage. While Ram Gopal Verma came up with a docu-drama narrating the events of those days brilliantly, but the stories of the people, who perhaps faced such an adversity for the first time, are beyond any movie script.
For example, there is this tea-vendor, Mohamed Taufiq Sheikh, who reportedly raised an alarm when the shootings began at Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) at Mumbai. Similarly, the story of the manager of Taj Hotel, Karambir Kang, who courageously helped hotel guests to safety, but lost his wife and children in the attack are only a few of the many narratives of the incident that shook the Nation.
The city showed immense strength when it resumed its daily life and even such a major terrorist attack could not stop the city and its spirit. While all Mumbaikars came out paying tribute to those who lost their lives fighting the disruptive forces, in this united effort of the people, brewed the spirit of Mumbai, the sense of belonging to a certain generation, defying the disruptive force.
The incident, however, emphasise the necessity of strict vigilance, given the nature of attacks India face. The reported warnings which Indian authorities allegedly were given prior to the attacks and negligence is one reason why the incident happened the way it did. However, the mistakes of a few decision makers and the actions of a few terrorists threatened the spirit of Mumbai. In that, they failed too.
Today, as Mumbai look back at those days and the years which has passed between, it will, perhaps, not identify any physical evidence of the attacks, but in the mind, the incident must have scarred. Like a scar, which reminds us of a dark event in the past, but at the same time makes us feel proud of the way we faced the adversity.
And the life in Mumbai goes on, with each one living there, a little more cautious than 8 years ago, but otherwise, as the spirit of the city demands, Bindaas!
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