26/11: What it really means

Life goes on. And the first anniversary of 26/11 is just that to everybody who did not lose somebody in the terror attack on the city... a date

to recall the horror of that night when you thanked your God that your loved ones and you were not wining and dining at the Taj or Oberoi, nor catching a beer at Leopold, waiting for a train at CST, delivering a baby at Cama Hospital, when ten armed terrorists sailed in from Pakistan and ripped the soul out of Mumbai. Nariman House at Colaba, nobody had heard of existed — much less as a pilgrim centre for Jews, until the terrorists killed the harmless and friendly rabbi and his wife there and orphaned their little son.

But it’s a year since then. And not unless you are the widow Kavita Karkare demanding to know what happened to your husband Hemant’s bullet-proof jacket, the widow Vinita Kamte struggling to discover the dying moments of your husband Ashok, the daughter Vaishali turning down the government compensation for your father Ombale... would you know what 26/11 really means. Notwithstanding the tributes to the heroes and victims that make this page, the brave words by a regrouped police force that offer hope, the truth is the candles you light on the first anniversary of that dark and deadly day are in memory of those who got killed... and they’re not because they died for us, but because they died instead of us.


The silver lining may well be the awakening of our country to an improved platform in the way our citizens involve themselves in demanding an elevated level of operation in
our democracy..
Parmeshwar Godrej

I am feeling more Indian after 26/11. I’m happy to witness the new movement that’s gripping India to bring about change. For peace in our nation, there needs to be peace in our hearts.
Shah Rukh Khan


Post 26/11, my children asked me, ‘Will this happen again?’ It will not, if we are determined. Zero-tolerance should be our response to acts of terrorism.
Nita Ambani
It hurts me deeply when I see the kind of security an undeserving politician gets and I’m speaking as a normal citizen... because I am a normal citizen.
John Abraham
I hope the government will be responsible enough and act now. We pay taxes and as a responsible citizen, I am questioning where’s the money going? I need an answer...
Bipasha Basu
We the People’ can save our country, no one else... We are respected for our strength and our humble hearts, let’s do the right thing — fight for peace, not war.
Akshay Kumar
To the younger generation, I implore you... don’t accept mediocrity, don’t aid corruption, be vigilant and above all, participate in our collective future.
Priyanka Chopra
We cannot continue to have such a facile approach towards terrorism... The attack has not only united us to fight terrorism but all kinds of evil.
Sanjay Dutt

India News,  26/11