Terror in Mumbai

Our past few days were spent watching in horror as the terror drama in Mumbai was unfolding. We are sad, frustrated and angry at the senseless killings of hundreds of innocents, the mindless violence and the destruction of an iconic building. The ordeal came to an end yesterday when the last of the terrorists was shot dead but it will take a long time for the city and the country to recover from this.

As the drama was unfolding on the television for over 60 hours, people in India and all over the world were watching in horror at the unbelievable turn of events. The terrorists targeted the heart of India's financial, entertainment and tourism capital by attacking Mumbai. A large number of foreigners were victims of the tragedy making this a truly global event that was covered in mainstream media around the world.

It is a sad commentary on the times that we live in when a group of less than a dozen individuals, armed to the teeth, can land in a major metro city in the world and generate such mayhem. This is a completely unjustified act of cowardice that serves no purpose. Many innocent lives were lost and families were destroyed as these young heartless terrorists continued on their rampage without any emotion or feeling.

We mourn with the families of those who died and were injured in this attack. We salute the brave men and women of the law enforcement force who risked their lives to save others. Several of them laid down their lives in the line of duty. Funerals are being held around the city for the victims of this tragedy. Memorial services are being held to honor the brave.

We hope that this incident will trigger action by the Indian government at the central and state levels to improve their preparedness in dealing with such incidents. This attack has exposed the inadequate level of preparations in major areas such as intelligence gathering, personnel training, upgrading weapons and equipment etc. Most importantly, the politicians must wake up to recognize the need for a coordinated response and leave aside their petty political differences to establish a strong anti-terror system that would ensure that such an attack would never happen on the country's soil again. Countries around the world must recognize that cooperation at a global level is required to combat and win this new "war".