A four day siege. Countless bodies on the ground. Injured people scarred for life. A state of chaos and fear all across the city. The 26/11 terrorist attacks .
Mumbai was bustling as usual, honouring its name as the “City that never sleeps”. Little did these unknowing sleep- deprived people have any idea of what horrors were to take place. 10 terrorists supposedly belonging to a Pakistan based terrorist organisation Lashkar - E - Taiba, entered Mumbai near the Gateway of India by the docks. They had come before to Mumbai a while back too, as foreigners to take pictures and mark the locations for their attacks.
Civilians in numerous locations were targetted. The main hit points were the Leopold Cafe, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Railway station, 2 hospitals and a theatre. These attacks ended within a few hours , leaving the city in shock and to a standstill. But that was not all, the terrorists continued to create terror in Leopold cafe , the Taj palace and the Trident Oberoi. The Taj, being a huge widespread place, proved to be very easy for the terrorists to find hiding places and take over the entire hotel. They spread all over, waiting for their prey. In a span of 4 days, the terrorists wreaked chaos all over the hotel and there were nearly 166 dead and many more injured.
The NSG came to counter these attacks, as well as to round them up. The managed to kill 8 terrorists , and one was killed by the Mumbai Police. The work of our martyrs is the cause that the terrorists couldn't get too far and more innocents didn't die. The last terrorist was captured alive and after a 4 day siege , the attacks ended. Although India has suffered many terrorist attacks, this one was different. The city faced a deadly attack, where the terrorists mercilessly shot at civilians and without an ounce of humanity killed every person in sight - whether it was a child or an elderly. These attacks left the city in a state of stupefaction and collapsation. So many families worried for their members, parents crying over their children, friends and families lost, it was disastrous.
The reason I wanted to share this tragic incident is let my readers know that we take our peace for granted. We don't acknowledge our peace keepers like the police and Armed forces. It is through their bravery and courage that Mumbai could recover and once again become the thriving city is it today.
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