General Terrorists Strikes In Mumbai

[kds1980]

NDTV.com: How it happened: A blow-by-blow account

How it happened: A blow-by-blow account
NDTV Correspondent
Thursday, November 27, 2008, (Mumbai)

According to Mumbai Police, a group of 12 terrorists came to Mumbai from Gujarat. They got into one of the many Gujarat Fisheries boats that come into Sasoon Dock.

From Sasoon Dock, they used an inflatable raft to enter Mumbai shores via Gateway of India. They dispersed from here in different directions. Many of them were part of multiple attacks.

The first attack occurred at the Leopold cafe at 9:15 pm on Wednesday night when five terrorists came at the cafe and opened fire.

At 9:20 pm, two men came on a scooter at Nariman house, near the Bootleggers Pub in Colaba and hurled grenade at a nearby petrol pump.

The grenade missed the petrol reservoir but destroyed the facade of station.

After hurling the grenade, the terrorists ran into Nariman House building behind petrol pump, which is a Jewish residential building. The terrorists murdered two people there.

A few terrorists then remained holed up silently for hours. They surfaced again in the morning and hold people hostage and the hostage drama still continues.

At 9:24 pm, another attack occurred at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus where two gunmen stormed in the station. They hurled hand grenades and fired at the people there.

Many were injured after the firing. The terrorists ran out in a short while.

At 9:30 pm, the Taj hotel and Apollo bunder witnessed a ****** attack when terrorists walked calmly through the service door of the Taj.

Terrorists stormed the hotel and opened fire. They also hurled grenades at the people. Many people were evacuated and rescued by firemen through the night.

However, according to reports, about 100 people are still trapped inside the Taj hotel. Major portions of the hotel have been destroyed by fire.

Meanwhile, two terrorists have reportedly dead inside the hotel; though some are still alive and fighting. The encounter is still continuing.

At 9:35 pm, Trident hotel came under attack when terrorists stormed the hotel.

Unknown number of people are still trapped inside the hotel. Sources have confirmed two gunmen inside but there could be more. The operation to flush out terrorists is on.

Meanwhile, two hotel staff and one security guard have been confirmed dead.

At 9.55 pm, a taxi blast rocked Vile Parle leaving three dead. The taxi's debris are lying around.

At 10.15 pm, the terrorists came outside the Cama & Albless hospital in a hijacked Skoda and fired randomly, both inside and outside the hospital.

After the Cama hospital encounter, the police sources have confirmed five people are dead including one police Inspector, two Constables and two watchmen.

The area has been evacuated and there is heavy police presence.

Apart from these, there were attacks outside the Metro cinema at 10.30 pm and at Wadi Bunder at 10.45 pm. In Wadi Bunder, there was a blast in a taxi in which 15-16 people were injured in the vicinity. The driver of the taxi is dead.

At the Girgaum Chowpatty area, two terrorists opened fire after police confronted them at 10:50 pm.

Both the terrorists were killed in the encounter. The police, later on, found two boats here laden with explosives.

 

[spnadmin]

kdsji

We can see this live in the US by watching Live Video feed on CNN world news. CNN.com Live

It is terrifying. Here in the US I think there was a few hours delay until we found out. Really precious lives have been lost. A lot of questions left unanswered up to now. It is great that the Indian security forces have progressed as far as they have at this point. 0611 hours here in the US -5 GMT. Most coverage is in English.

Right now 2 security forces are in the Taj Mahal 20 hours following the first attack This is the ultimate in urban commando operations.

As I watch we are up to 100 killed and nearly 300 wounded including police and top security officials. Israeli hostages in the private apartments Nariman House. Sanitizing operation at Taj but no changes at Oberoi Trident Hotel. Very bad.

Prime Minister of India is now speaking. So I am signing off.

Good luck. Waheguru's blessings to everyone in Mumbai who must be terrified beyond words. I would be.

 

[spnadmin]

I am still watching the live feed. Everything related to communication by live news has broken down at this point. A lot of silence and TV anchors don't know what to say next.

It is inconceivable that a small band of boys really -- tops 25 of them -- can bring a city of 12 million in the largest democracy in the world to this state of chaos and fear and loss of life.

I am still amazed though as to the work of the Indian police and military -- they are probably going to be criticized heavily for this mistake and that error. Everyone needs to remember that this event is unprecedented. it is very different from 911. There was one tactical strike after another in a large city in 13 different locations. This involves multiple attack points in dense urban settings. They are going from room to room rooting terrorists out, sorting out hostages, and securing neighboring streets. They don't know what is waiting for them in the next corridor. And most importantly there are still hostages who can die if there is one false move on the part of authorities.

This one will go down in the text books as a case study for anti-terrorist ops in urban environments. Again Guru's kirpa -- I pray for those soldiers, sailors and policemen, and their families.

 

[kds1980]

People like Raj thackerey and and his marathi supporters were busy attacking poor labourers from Bihar.May be this incident will put some brain their Head and maharashtra Govt will work towards stopping terrorism rather than promoting regionalism

 

[spnadmin]

kdsji

You are making an excellent point. What we are seeing in Mumbai may be the terrorists' style of attack as the wave of the future. Intricate operations require a lot of coordination because look at how they did it! A lot of continuous intelligence will be needed. They came in through the port. Fisherman saw their entry -- people, boat, weapons. Then there were explosives and bags of money discovered. A coordination of resources of personnel, intelligence, and strategic forces requires a national effort.

 

[kds1980]

All terrorists in Taj Mahal Hotel killed
All terrorists in Taj Mahal Hotel killed
November 26, 2008 22:40 IST
Last Updated: November 27, 2008 23:29 IST
11: 37 PM: Military sources say that all terrorists holed up inside the Taj Hotel have been killed by the National Security Guards and Army personnel.
Residents staying in buildings near the Nariman House have been asked to evacuate. Some members of the local Shiv Sena unit have also reached the spot.
10:55 PM: Two Pakistani merchant vessels have been apprehended off the Gujarat coast, say Home Ministry sources.
Security personnel and terrorists have reportedly started exchanging gunfire at the Nariman House.
NSG personnel have taken positions outside Hotel Trident in Nariman Point, on the road between NCPA and the hotel.
An army truck with over 20 commandos has stationed itself near Hotel Trident.
Low-intensity gunshots can also be heard from inside the hotel.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] has rushed to Mumbai and is visiting the injured victims at JJ Hospital.
10:24 PM: The death toll in the Mumbai terror attacks has reportedly crossed 125.
Another explosion has taken place in the first floor of the old building of the Taj Hotel and several rounds of gunfire have been heard.
Columns of Army personnel are marching into Hotel Trident.
Military personnel have taken positions around the hotel
09:42 PM: Firing has started again at Trident Hotel, after a lull of 30 minutes.
A senior official from the Israeli Consulate has arrived at the Nariman House, where two Israeli families are being held hostage. However, he refuses to divulge much information about the hostage situation.
The authorities say that the situation at Nariman House will be tackled only after the hostage crises in Hotel Trident and Taj Hotel come under control.
09:10 PM: Five more foreigners have been evacuated from Hotel Trident.
The operation at Hotel Taj is reportedly over. All terrorists at Taj Hotel have been killed by the security personnel. The situation is under control
At Nariman House, commandos have started entering the building as the offensive against the terrorists escalates.
08:30 PM: Vicky Nanjappa reports from the Taj Hotel that massive explosions are taking place inside the hotel.
A major fire has broken out at the Trident Hotel. The 13th and 14th floors of the hotel are on fire.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has left for Mumbai, in the wake of the terror attack.
The ongoing operations against terrorists in three places were in their final stages and would be over soon, says Maharashtra Director General of Police A N Roy.
Major General R K Hooda, General Officer Commanding, Maharashtra area, said that the Army and other security agencies had completed the first round of room-to-room combing at the Taj Mahal Hotel [Images]. But he said the operation was not yet over and there may still be terrorists holed up inside the hotel.
A huge convoy of army trucks has reached Nariman House. A BEST van can also be seen in the vicinity, and it might be there to cut off the power supply to the building. Two Israeli families have been reportedly held hostage in Nariman House.
08:00 PM: The Taj Hotel's General Manager's wife and three children have been reportedly killed in the attack.
The locals are distributing biscuits to the security personnel deployed at the Nariman House. An ambulance, from Saifee Hospital, is distributing water.
The chief of the Special Action Group has arrived.
07:49 PM: This road in the heart of Mumbai's tourist district looks worse than a scene from Kashmir. The range of forces here is incredible. The deployed personnel are from the NSG, RAF and Black Cats, apart from the city's police.
The city hadn't witnessed such a tight security blanket even during the infamous Mumbai riots.
Major General Hooda has reached Nariman point.
06:07 PM: 70 more people have been evacuated from Trident.

05:57 PM: Railway Additional DGP K P Raghuvanshi has been given temporary charge of ATS following Hemant Karkare's [Images] killing in Mumbai terror attacks, says Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil.

05:45 PM: Lashkar-e-Tayiba has denied involvement in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Death toll in Mumbai terror attacks 101; 288 injured, six of them critically, says Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.

05:31 PM: Commandos are in NCPA apartments across the road from Trident hotel, and firing at the terrorists, police officers said.
05: 26 PM: Gunshots have been heard from inside Oberoi hotel where terrorists are holding around 35 people hostage.

05:08 PM: IAF keeps seven transport aircraft and one VVIP aircraft on standby in Delhi [Images] for airlifting troops and leaders at short notice.
05:05 PM: Grenade sound could be heard from Nariman House building. The residents of Prem Bhavan, next door, have moved out. Nariman House area wears a deserted look.

04:55 PM: About 18 to 20 rounds of gunfire has been reported from Trident Hotel.

04:45 PM: Lot more commandos have arrived outside Nariman House. A team of commandos is scaling the building. Helicopters overhead are providing cover.
04:25 PM: Loud explosion has been heard outside Taj Hotel.
03:54 PM: Third grenade blast has been reported from the Trident Hotel (Oberoi).
03:15 PM: Two grenade blasts have been heard from Trident hotel.

02:54 PM: Grenade blast has been reported from Nariman House in south Mumbai, where six terrorists are holed up. One terrorist had been gunned down earlier.
02:33 PM: Navy helicopters are chasing a Vietnamese registered ship, MV Alpha, which is believed to have dropped terrorists near Bombay. Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta is closely monitoring the situation.

02:10 PM: Our correspondent Krishnakumar K reports that the first 4 floors of the six-storeyed Taj Hotel have been sanitised. Forty bodies have been recovered so far. NSG sources add that four fidayeen (suicide bombers) have been killed in the final assault.
01:50 PM: Director General of Police A N Roy says all people trapped inside Taj Hotel have been rescued and the hostage situation is over. "No negotiations with the terrorists. Either we will kill them or nab them alive," says Roy. Meanwhile, an National Security Guard spokesman says 200 more NSG commandos were being rushed to Mumbai.

01:13 PM: Trident Hotel (formerly Oberoi), has said that it is under the control of police and security forces, and they are monitoring the situation in wake of the terrorist strike.
01:23 PM: Handgrenades lobbed from Oberoi Hotel in south Mumbai where terrorists are holed up.

12:42 PM: Police say one terrorist holed up inside Nariman House has been killed. Six more terrorists are suspected to be hiding inside the building.

12:14 PM: At least four terrorists are holed up in the Taj Hotel where 40 to 50 guests were still trapped, says Major R K Hooda, General Officer Commanding of Maharashtra, Goa [Images] and Gujarat. Two bodies have been brought out of the Taj Hotel and taken away in an ambulance.
11:25 AM: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil has said that there can be 10 to 12 terrorists involved in the terror attack inside Taj Hotel. Five of them have been killed and one of them arrested, he told media persons outside the hotel as security forces prepared to launch an assault to end the terror.
11:09 AM: Latest reports say that the Navy and Army have taken control at Oberoi. Meanwhile, a child of foreign nationality and an Indian maid have been seen coming out of Nariman House in South Mumbai. Reports also say that US intelligence officials are among the foreigners killed at Taj Hotel.
10:57 AM: Fire brigade personnel have started rescuing people from Taj Hotel. Top French Nuclear physicist has also been rescued from the hotel.
10:40 AM: Smoke has been seen billowing from the new building of the Taj Hotel -- which stands next to the old building where terrorists are holed up. While NSG operation was on in the old building, fire brigade personnel were trying to douse fire in the new wing.

10:30 AM: The number of policemen killed has gone up to 16. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will address the nation after 7 PM after the Cabinet meeting. The Maharashtra state Cabinet will meet at 2 PM.

09:30 AM: Terrorist out in the open! A terrorist holed up inside Nariman House jumps to the adjacent building. Meanwhile, an emergency Cabinet meeting has been called at 1100 hours.
09:27 AM: IB has arrested a Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist of Pakistani origin from Mumbai. The e-mail sent after terror attacks has been traced to Russia [Images]. Authorities say the mail was sent by Lashkar operatives. They also believe that the Lashkar terrorists came directly from Karachi to Mumbai.
09:30 AM: Firing has been heard near Nariman House in Colaba. Police have cordoned off the area amid reports that terrorists are holed up in the building.
09:09 AM: Curfew has been clamped in Colaba after firing intensified in the Taj hotel. Police are using smoke cannisters to disable terrorists' vision. Meanwhile, Hostages are being evacuated from the Taj hotel even as gunbattle rages. A journalist has been injured in the firing. All international flights from Mumbai have been cancelled.
08:55 AM: Agencies have reported that terrorists are holed up inside the Cama Hospital. Commandoes have started firing at terrorists.

08:05 AM: Fresh firing erupted early on Thursday in Taj hotel as commandos moved in to flush out terrorists holding some foreigners hostage.
Sharp shooters of army, NSG and other security forces moved into Mumbai's landmark hotel. Police believe that the number of holed out terrorists could be three or four.
Another luxury hotel Trident (formerly Oberoi) was under siege with some terrorists holding some foreigners hostage.
07:50 AM: More grim news is coming in from Taj Hotel, where several staff members have been feared killed in the terrorist attack.
Over 100 guests are still stuck inside the hotel, where two terrorists are reportedly holed up.
At Nariman House in Colaba, onlookers informed that the police exchanged fire about an hour ago.
The place looked like a riot-hit site, swarming with police officials and military trucks. Most people have been holed up here since an explosion shook the area at 10.30 pm.
The explosion occurred when the terrorists lobbed hand grenades at the local petrol pump. The blast was followed by a gunfight between police forces and the terrorists.
06:20 AM: The hostage crisis continued at Taj Hotel in the wee hours of Thursday as Army commandos moved in to flush out the terrorists.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh assured that there was no hostage situation at Cama Hospital in South Mumbai.
An Army commando was reportedly injured in the shoot-out. An explosion was also reported in the lobby of the Taj Hotel

04:23 AM: Vaihayasi Pande-Daniel reports that the fire that engulfed the old wing of the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai has been put out. Though the major conflagration has been contained, flames continue to flicker, occasionally leaping into life, at the corner of the heritage wing.
Police and fire brigade personnel have placed ladders against the side of the building, and are bringing hotel guests out through that means. Some foreigners who had been evacuated were being ferried to a nearby hospital for first aid, while others are being taken by bus to alternate accommodations. Officials here estimate that most of the guests inside the hotel have been evacuated.
Commandos of the Indian navy meanwhile have staked out vantage points covering all exit points, while others of their number prowl around the perimeter of the hotel.
A group of Taj employees stood clustered on the pavement opposite the hotel, staring at the hotel through tear-filled eyes. They had been told to leave, they said � but clearly, they could not bring themselves to walk away from a hotel that, to them and to most Mumbaikars, is shared heritage than mere hotel.
Elsewhere, an attractive young woman attempted to restore some semblance of order to her silver-zari sari. She was drenched, and still disoriented from her experiences of the night.
"We were partying, and suddenly there was firing all over," the woman, who had just been evacuated by ladder from a window some 30 feet up, recalled. "I'd read about such things in the paper, and routinely turned the page� but when it happens to you, when you experience it�"

03:57 AM: Though the firefight at the Oberoi is still far from finished, the takeover of the operation by units of the Indian Army [Images] appears to have taken the South Mumbai hotel off the 'critical' list. ​

Vaihayasi Pande-Daniel reports for Rediff that most of the one dozen fire trucks that had been stationed around the Oberoi have been dispatched to the Taj Mahal Hotel, where a blazing fire threatens to devastate the old wing of the iconic hotel.
Daniel cites police sources as saying the army commandoes are doing a systematic sweep of the hotel, lobbing grenades ahead of them to take out hidden dangers before securing each successive wing of the hotel.
The constant bang of grenades from within the hotel continues to alarm the crowds gathered outside the hotel, and kept at a distance by police. Not all of them have come to gape, however. Vadhavan, a businessman from New Delhi, sits in rumpled attire on the parapet of Marine Drive [Images], trying to stay awake.
He had arrived in Mumbai this evening at the head of a 13-member business delegation. He was in the act of checking into the Oberoi when the firing began. "I think the shooting started at the Oberoi," says Vadhavan. "They ushered us all out through a side entrance and told us to leave. I got separated from the rest of my group; I think they are waiting on the other side of the hotel."
The flushing out operation is far from finished; Vadhavan's wait threatens to extend through what remains of this night.
3:42 AM: At the Taj Hotel, where a joint operation involving the Mumbai police, the Central Reserve Police Force and a commando group from the Navy is engaged in flushing out terrorists within the premises, PTI reports that almost all the guests have been brought out to safety at the time of writing this.
The situation continues to remain dangerous, however, with an indeterminate number of terrorists within the hotel, two of whom are believed to be holding a group of tourists hostage on an upper floor.
Meanwhile, the fire that erupted in the old wing of the historic hotel has spread alarmingly. The fire now burns bright across at least two mid-level floors of the old wing, and thick clouds of black smoke spew from the signature minaret that crowns the hotel's roof.
03: 06 AM: A little over four hours since gunshots first erupted at the CST railway terminal, and coordinated terrorist attacks spread to various parts of South Bombay, the situation remains fluid.
At the Taj Mahal Hotel, a contingent of Navy commandos has joined the police and Central Reserve Police Force personnel attempting to enter the hotel and flush out the terrorists. From within the hotel, word is that occasional explosions, and sporadic gunfire, continue at the time of writing this.
At the Oberoi Hotel, the army has taken over the operation and entered the hotel; it is now reportedly engaged in flushing out the terrorists hiding within.
At the Cama Hospital, a specialty medical center for women and children, official sources say terrorists are holed up on the fourth floor and have been firing from that vantage point. Police have surrounded the hospital and are engaging the terrorists in an ongoing gun battle.
02:50 AM: Communist Party of India-Marxist leader and Member of Parliament N N Krishnadas, who is staying at the Taj Mahal Hotel, reports that as late as 2:10 AM, explosions could be heard from within the premises.
Krishnadas told CNN that he is holed up in a room, and outside of the noise of explosions and gunfire has no real idea what is happening within the premises.
Meanwhile, the fire that broke out in one of the hotel's middle floors has been spreading upwards, adding a fresh hazard both to the police and CRPF personnel engaged in the anti-terrorist operation and to the guests within the hotel.
Even as police sources upped the toll in today's terrorist strikes in Mumbai at 80 and counting, police continue to lay siege to the Taj Mahal Hotel, where two terrorists are believed to be holding at least 15 guests hostage on one of the upper floors of the hotel.
The police are at this point in time unsure whether the two hostage takers are the only terrorists within the hotel.
Meanwhile, the Indian Army has moved into the Oberoi and the Trident, the two other South Mumbai hotels targeted in today's terrorist strikes.
A battalion of the Indian army entered the Oberoi and began an operation against the terrorists holed up inside. The army was called in after the police took several casualties, including the deaths of some senior officers.
With the army now in charge of this phase of the operation � the first time the Indian army is operating in the city since the 1992 riots � the police has fallen back and is focusing on cordoning off the area.
Vaihayasi Pande-Daniel, reporting for Rediff.com from outside the Oberoi Hotel, reports that with the cordon being drawn tight, people waiting outside are in a state of panic, and desperately searching for information. A group of senior bankers from Hyderabad are among those inside the hotel to attend a conference; their Mumbai-based colleagues are outside, awaiting word of their fate.
02: 25 AM: Mumbai's Anti-Terrorist Squad chief Hemant Karkare died of bullet wounds in the ongoing battle against armed terrorists that is raging across several parts of South Mumbai.
Vijay Salaskar, an officer attached to the Mumbai police who has been famed as an 'encounter specialist', was seriously injured in the ongoing gun battle and has been rushed to hospital. In all, seven Mumbai policemen are believed killed thus far.
Meanwhile, Railway Police Chief Ashok Sharma told Rediff.com that at least 40 people were killed inside Mumbai's nodal Chatrapathi Sivaji Terminus. "The attack started around 9.35 pm," Sharma said. "Two terrorists were inside. We can confirm at least 40 people killed."
It is yet unclear whether the terrorists are still on-site, have left, or been killed. Sharma said there had been no firing from within the terminus for the last two hours. "Despite this, we are not allowing people to go into the station as we are worried that the terrorists might have planted bombs or left live grenades in the station," he said.
Sharma said the official belief is that the two terrorists had sneaked out of the station in the confusion following the original assault.
Sudhir Dalvi, a sub-inspector attached to the Mumbai cell of the Anti-Terrorist Squad, told Sheela Bhatt for Rediff.com that his boss, ATS chief Hemant Karkare, and senior police officers Vijay Salaskar and Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte, were killed in an incident outside Mumbai's Cama Hospital.
"Our chief Karkare, my senior officer Salaskar and ACP Kamte died while engaging terrorists outside the Cama hospital," a sobbing Dalvi told Rediff.com. "All of a sudden, terrorists threw grenades at Karkare leading to chaos. We are unable to confirm whether they fell to terrorist fire or were killed by the grenades."
Meanwhile, the army has moved into the Trident Hotel, the third five-star hotel in the South Mumbai region that had been targeted in tonight's coordinated terrorist strikes.

02:10 AM: It is now believed that 15 people, at least seven of them foreigners, have been taken hostage by two terrorists and are being held on the roof of the Taj Mahal Hotel.
Rakesh Patel, a London-based businessman who managed to escape, told NDTV that the two terrorists, estimated to be in their early 20s, came to a restaurant on the ground floor of the Taj, rounded up the hostages and took them to the 18th floor. Patel, who was one among them, managed at that point to escape.
Patel said the terrorists asked if any of the hostages were carrying American or British passports, and said he got the clear impression that they wanted foreigners.
01:50 AM: Krishnakumar reports from the Juhu region that a bomb went off in a taxi that was speeding along the Western Express Highway from Vile Parle towards Andheri, killing two people and injuring two others.
"The taxi exploded and went up in flames as it sped past the traffic island under the flyover at the domestic airport," an eyewitness said on phone. "The vehicle, which was up in flames soon after it crossed the traffic signal, was on the left
side. A bystander and a person in the taxi were killed.
Reports indicate that this was perhaps the night's highest-intensity blast. Krishnakumar reports that the taxi's doors were found a distance of 50 meters or more away, and body parts of the victims had been thrown even further.
01:43 AM: At least two suspected terroristswere shot dead minutes earlier at the corner of Mumbai's Chowpatty. Rediff's Vaihayasi Pande-Daniel, who is on the site, reports that the area has been cordoned off and is swarming with police officers; the Skoda is under guard and a cellphone, a jacket, and items of footwear are strewn around the vehicle.
Meanwhile at the Taj Mahal Hotel, the standoff between police, who have surrounded the hotel, and terrorists who are holed up inside, continues.
A short while ago, power went off in parts of the hotel, adding to the sense of panic and fear. Well known food critic Sabina Sahgal Saikia, who is inside the hotel, told NDTV on phone just now that the guests are terrified, and unaware of just what is happening around them. It is unclear at this point in time whether the power has been turned off by the police as they battle the terrorists.
01:27 AM: Rediff's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel calls in from the Marine Drive region to report that the approaches to the South Mumbai area have been shut down, and that sounds of firing are audible as far away as Mumbai's famed Queen's Necklace stretch, though the source of the firing is unclear.
Meanwhile, a foreign national who managed to escape from the Taj Mahal Hotel, where a state of seige currently exists, told NDTV that armed and masked gunmen were wandering around inside the hotel, looking for people with American or British passports.
The eyewitness account appears to confirm the growing belief among law enforcement circles that this latest attack is aimed directly at foreign nationals -- hence the choice of star hotels as prime targets. They further theorize that automatic weapons are being used rather than bombs in order to orchestrate such targeted mayhem.
Meanwhile, the real dangers of the situation are being exaggerated by a proliferation of rumors. One such that has been aired on a few channels including CNN suggested that firing was taking place at the JW Marriott, another five star hotel in the Juhu region of suburban Mumbai. A source in the hotel however confirmed to Rediff just now that there was no alarm at the hotel, and no incident of any kind had taken place.
12:44 AM: A gun battle is ongoing in the Taj Hotel in Colaba. Within the last ten minutes, a guest at the hotel got word out to CNN via email that a grenade had exploded within the hotel premises just then.
Additional Commissioner of Police AN Roy and other officials confirmed that some armed terrorists are holed up in the iconic hotel.
Police officials said they have no information of a hostage situation; they say guests have been sequestered in safe areas of the hotel, and the police are now engaged in flushing out the terrorists from their hiding place.
Reportage by: Vaihayasi Daniel, Krishnakumar, Prasanna Zore, Syed Firdaus Ashraf, Uttam Ghosh, Sanjay Sawant, Satish Bodas.
Additional reportage: PTI/UNI

 

[kds1980]

All terrorists in Taj Mahal Hotel killed
All terrorists in Taj Mahal Hotel killed
November 26, 2008 22:40 IST
Last Updated: November 27, 2008 23:29 IST
11: 37 PM: Military sources say that all terrorists holed up inside the Taj Hotel have been killed by the National Security Guards and Army personnel.
Residents staying in buildings near the Nariman House have been asked to evacuate. Some members of the local Shiv Sena unit have also reached the spot.
10:55 PM: Two Pakistani merchant vessels have been apprehended off the Gujarat coast, say Home Ministry sources.
Security personnel and terrorists have reportedly started exchanging gunfire at the Nariman House.
NSG personnel have taken positions outside Hotel Trident in Nariman Point, on the road between NCPA and the hotel.
An army truck with over 20 commandos has stationed itself near Hotel Trident.
Low-intensity gunshots can also be heard from inside the hotel.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] has rushed to Mumbai and is visiting the injured victims at JJ Hospital.
10:24 PM: The death toll in the Mumbai terror attacks has reportedly crossed 125.
Another explosion has taken place in the first floor of the old building of the Taj Hotel and several rounds of gunfire have been heard.
Columns of Army personnel are marching into Hotel Trident.
Military personnel have taken positions around the hotel
09:42 PM: Firing has started again at Trident Hotel, after a lull of 30 minutes.
A senior official from the Israeli Consulate has arrived at the Nariman House, where two Israeli families are being held hostage. However, he refuses to divulge much information about the hostage situation.
The authorities say that the situation at Nariman House will be tackled only after the hostage crises in Hotel Trident and Taj Hotel come under control.
09:10 PM: Five more foreigners have been evacuated from Hotel Trident.
The operation at Hotel Taj is reportedly over. All terrorists at Taj Hotel have been killed by the security personnel. The situation is under control
At Nariman House, commandos have started entering the building as the offensive against the terrorists escalates.
08:30 PM: Vicky Nanjappa reports from the Taj Hotel that massive explosions are taking place inside the hotel.
A major fire has broken out at the Trident Hotel. The 13th and 14th floors of the hotel are on fire.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has left for Mumbai, in the wake of the terror attack.
The ongoing operations against terrorists in three places were in their final stages and would be over soon, says Maharashtra Director General of Police A N Roy.
Major General R K Hooda, General Officer Commanding, Maharashtra area, said that the Army and other security agencies had completed the first round of room-to-room combing at the Taj Mahal Hotel [Images]. But he said the operation was not yet over and there may still be terrorists holed up inside the hotel.
A huge convoy of army trucks has reached Nariman House. A BEST van can also be seen in the vicinity, and it might be there to cut off the power supply to the building. Two Israeli families have been reportedly held hostage in Nariman House.
08:00 PM: The Taj Hotel's General Manager's wife and three children have been reportedly killed in the attack.
The locals are distributing biscuits to the security personnel deployed at the Nariman House. An ambulance, from Saifee Hospital, is distributing water.
The chief of the Special Action Group has arrived.
07:49 PM: This road in the heart of Mumbai's tourist district looks worse than a scene from Kashmir. The range of forces here is incredible. The deployed personnel are from the NSG, RAF and Black Cats, apart from the city's police.
The city hadn't witnessed such a tight security blanket even during the infamous Mumbai riots.
Major General Hooda has reached Nariman point.
06:07 PM: 70 more people have been evacuated from Trident.

05:57 PM: Railway Additional DGP K P Raghuvanshi has been given temporary charge of ATS following Hemant Karkare's [Images] killing in Mumbai terror attacks, says Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil.

05:45 PM: Lashkar-e-Tayiba has denied involvement in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Death toll in Mumbai terror attacks 101; 288 injured, six of them critically, says Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.

05:31 PM: Commandos are in NCPA apartments across the road from Trident hotel, and firing at the terrorists, police officers said.
05: 26 PM: Gunshots have been heard from inside Oberoi hotel where terrorists are holding around 35 people hostage.

05:08 PM: IAF keeps seven transport aircraft and one VVIP aircraft on standby in Delhi [Images] for airlifting troops and leaders at short notice.
05:05 PM: Grenade sound could be heard from Nariman House building. The residents of Prem Bhavan, next door, have moved out. Nariman House area wears a deserted look.

04:55 PM: About 18 to 20 rounds of gunfire has been reported from Trident Hotel.

04:45 PM: Lot more commandos have arrived outside Nariman House. A team of commandos is scaling the building. Helicopters overhead are providing cover.
04:25 PM: Loud explosion has been heard outside Taj Hotel.
03:54 PM: Third grenade blast has been reported from the Trident Hotel (Oberoi).
03:15 PM: Two grenade blasts have been heard from Trident hotel.

02:54 PM: Grenade blast has been reported from Nariman House in south Mumbai, where six terrorists are holed up. One terrorist had been gunned down earlier.
02:33 PM: Navy helicopters are chasing a Vietnamese registered ship, MV Alpha, which is believed to have dropped terrorists near Bombay. Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta is closely monitoring the situation.

02:10 PM: Our correspondent Krishnakumar K reports that the first 4 floors of the six-storeyed Taj Hotel have been sanitised. Forty bodies have been recovered so far. NSG sources add that four fidayeen (suicide bombers) have been killed in the final assault.
01:50 PM: Director General of Police A N Roy says all people trapped inside Taj Hotel have been rescued and the hostage situation is over. "No negotiations with the terrorists. Either we will kill them or nab them alive," says Roy. Meanwhile, an National Security Guard spokesman says 200 more NSG commandos were being rushed to Mumbai.

01:13 PM: Trident Hotel (formerly Oberoi), has said that it is under the control of police and security forces, and they are monitoring the situation in wake of the terrorist strike.
01:23 PM: Handgrenades lobbed from Oberoi Hotel in south Mumbai where terrorists are holed up.

12:42 PM: Police say one terrorist holed up inside Nariman House has been killed. Six more terrorists are suspected to be hiding inside the building.

12:14 PM: At least four terrorists are holed up in the Taj Hotel where 40 to 50 guests were still trapped, says Major R K Hooda, General Officer Commanding of Maharashtra, Goa [Images] and Gujarat. Two bodies have been brought out of the Taj Hotel and taken away in an ambulance.
11:25 AM: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil has said that there can be 10 to 12 terrorists involved in the terror attack inside Taj Hotel. Five of them have been killed and one of them arrested, he told media persons outside the hotel as security forces prepared to launch an assault to end the terror.
11:09 AM: Latest reports say that the Navy and Army have taken control at Oberoi. Meanwhile, a child of foreign nationality and an Indian maid have been seen coming out of Nariman House in South Mumbai. Reports also say that US intelligence officials are among the foreigners killed at Taj Hotel.
10:57 AM: Fire brigade personnel have started rescuing people from Taj Hotel. Top French Nuclear physicist has also been rescued from the hotel.
10:40 AM: Smoke has been seen billowing from the new building of the Taj Hotel -- which stands next to the old building where terrorists are holed up. While NSG operation was on in the old building, fire brigade personnel were trying to douse fire in the new wing.

10:30 AM: The number of policemen killed has gone up to 16. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will address the nation after 7 PM after the Cabinet meeting. The Maharashtra state Cabinet will meet at 2 PM.

09:30 AM: Terrorist out in the open! A terrorist holed up inside Nariman House jumps to the adjacent building. Meanwhile, an emergency Cabinet meeting has been called at 1100 hours.
09:27 AM: IB has arrested a Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist of Pakistani origin from Mumbai. The e-mail sent after terror attacks has been traced to Russia [Images]. Authorities say the mail was sent by Lashkar operatives. They also believe that the Lashkar terrorists came directly from Karachi to Mumbai.
09:30 AM: Firing has been heard near Nariman House in Colaba. Police have cordoned off the area amid reports that terrorists are holed up in the building.
09:09 AM: Curfew has been clamped in Colaba after firing intensified in the Taj hotel. Police are using smoke cannisters to disable terrorists' vision. Meanwhile, Hostages are being evacuated from the Taj hotel even as gunbattle rages. A journalist has been injured in the firing. All international flights from Mumbai have been cancelled.
08:55 AM: Agencies have reported that terrorists are holed up inside the Cama Hospital. Commandoes have started firing at terrorists.

08:05 AM: Fresh firing erupted early on Thursday in Taj hotel as commandos moved in to flush out terrorists holding some foreigners hostage.
Sharp shooters of army, NSG and other security forces moved into Mumbai's landmark hotel. Police believe that the number of holed out terrorists could be three or four.
Another luxury hotel Trident (formerly Oberoi) was under siege with some terrorists holding some foreigners hostage.
07:50 AM: More grim news is coming in from Taj Hotel, where several staff members have been feared killed in the terrorist attack.
Over 100 guests are still stuck inside the hotel, where two terrorists are reportedly holed up.
At Nariman House in Colaba, onlookers informed that the police exchanged fire about an hour ago.
The place looked like a riot-hit site, swarming with police officials and military trucks. Most people have been holed up here since an explosion shook the area at 10.30 pm.
The explosion occurred when the terrorists lobbed hand grenades at the local petrol pump. The blast was followed by a gunfight between police forces and the terrorists.
06:20 AM: The hostage crisis continued at Taj Hotel in the wee hours of Thursday as Army commandos moved in to flush out the terrorists.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh assured that there was no hostage situation at Cama Hospital in South Mumbai.
An Army commando was reportedly injured in the shoot-out. An explosion was also reported in the lobby of the Taj Hotel

04:23 AM: Vaihayasi Pande-Daniel reports that the fire that engulfed the old wing of the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai has been put out. Though the major conflagration has been contained, flames continue to flicker, occasionally leaping into life, at the corner of the heritage wing.
Police and fire brigade personnel have placed ladders against the side of the building, and are bringing hotel guests out through that means. Some foreigners who had been evacuated were being ferried to a nearby hospital for first aid, while others are being taken by bus to alternate accommodations. Officials here estimate that most of the guests inside the hotel have been evacuated.
Commandos of the Indian navy meanwhile have staked out vantage points covering all exit points, while others of their number prowl around the perimeter of the hotel.
A group of Taj employees stood clustered on the pavement opposite the hotel, staring at the hotel through tear-filled eyes. They had been told to leave, they said � but clearly, they could not bring themselves to walk away from a hotel that, to them and to most Mumbaikars, is shared heritage than mere hotel.
Elsewhere, an attractive young woman attempted to restore some semblance of order to her silver-zari sari. She was drenched, and still disoriented from her experiences of the night.
"We were partying, and suddenly there was firing all over," the woman, who had just been evacuated by ladder from a window some 30 feet up, recalled. "I'd read about such things in the paper, and routinely turned the page� but when it happens to you, when you experience it�"

03:57 AM: Though the firefight at the Oberoi is still far from finished, the takeover of the operation by units of the Indian Army [Images] appears to have taken the South Mumbai hotel off the 'critical' list. ​

Vaihayasi Pande-Daniel reports for Rediff that most of the one dozen fire trucks that had been stationed around the Oberoi have been dispatched to the Taj Mahal Hotel, where a blazing fire threatens to devastate the old wing of the iconic hotel.
Daniel cites police sources as saying the army commandoes are doing a systematic sweep of the hotel, lobbing grenades ahead of them to take out hidden dangers before securing each successive wing of the hotel.
The constant bang of grenades from within the hotel continues to alarm the crowds gathered outside the hotel, and kept at a distance by police. Not all of them have come to gape, however. Vadhavan, a businessman from New Delhi, sits in rumpled attire on the parapet of Marine Drive [Images], trying to stay awake.
He had arrived in Mumbai this evening at the head of a 13-member business delegation. He was in the act of checking into the Oberoi when the firing began. "I think the shooting started at the Oberoi," says Vadhavan. "They ushered us all out through a side entrance and told us to leave. I got separated from the rest of my group; I think they are waiting on the other side of the hotel."
The flushing out operation is far from finished; Vadhavan's wait threatens to extend through what remains of this night.
3:42 AM: At the Taj Hotel, where a joint operation involving the Mumbai police, the Central Reserve Police Force and a commando group from the Navy is engaged in flushing out terrorists within the premises, PTI reports that almost all the guests have been brought out to safety at the time of writing this.
The situation continues to remain dangerous, however, with an indeterminate number of terrorists within the hotel, two of whom are believed to be holding a group of tourists hostage on an upper floor.
Meanwhile, the fire that erupted in the old wing of the historic hotel has spread alarmingly. The fire now burns bright across at least two mid-level floors of the old wing, and thick clouds of black smoke spew from the signature minaret that crowns the hotel's roof.
03: 06 AM: A little over four hours since gunshots first erupted at the CST railway terminal, and coordinated terrorist attacks spread to various parts of South Bombay, the situation remains fluid.
At the Taj Mahal Hotel, a contingent of Navy commandos has joined the police and Central Reserve Police Force personnel attempting to enter the hotel and flush out the terrorists. From within the hotel, word is that occasional explosions, and sporadic gunfire, continue at the time of writing this.
At the Oberoi Hotel, the army has taken over the operation and entered the hotel; it is now reportedly engaged in flushing out the terrorists hiding within.
At the Cama Hospital, a specialty medical center for women and children, official sources say terrorists are holed up on the fourth floor and have been firing from that vantage point. Police have surrounded the hospital and are engaging the terrorists in an ongoing gun battle.
02:50 AM: Communist Party of India-Marxist leader and Member of Parliament N N Krishnadas, who is staying at the Taj Mahal Hotel, reports that as late as 2:10 AM, explosions could be heard from within the premises.
Krishnadas told CNN that he is holed up in a room, and outside of the noise of explosions and gunfire has no real idea what is happening within the premises.
Meanwhile, the fire that broke out in one of the hotel's middle floors has been spreading upwards, adding a fresh hazard both to the police and CRPF personnel engaged in the anti-terrorist operation and to the guests within the hotel.
Even as police sources upped the toll in today's terrorist strikes in Mumbai at 80 and counting, police continue to lay siege to the Taj Mahal Hotel, where two terrorists are believed to be holding at least 15 guests hostage on one of the upper floors of the hotel.
The police are at this point in time unsure whether the two hostage takers are the only terrorists within the hotel.
Meanwhile, the Indian Army has moved into the Oberoi and the Trident, the two other South Mumbai hotels targeted in today's terrorist strikes.
A battalion of the Indian army entered the Oberoi and began an operation against the terrorists holed up inside. The army was called in after the police took several casualties, including the deaths of some senior officers.
With the army now in charge of this phase of the operation � the first time the Indian army is operating in the city since the 1992 riots � the police has fallen back and is focusing on cordoning off the area.
Vaihayasi Pande-Daniel, reporting for Rediff.com from outside the Oberoi Hotel, reports that with the cordon being drawn tight, people waiting outside are in a state of panic, and desperately searching for information. A group of senior bankers from Hyderabad are among those inside the hotel to attend a conference; their Mumbai-based colleagues are outside, awaiting word of their fate.
02: 25 AM: Mumbai's Anti-Terrorist Squad chief Hemant Karkare died of bullet wounds in the ongoing battle against armed terrorists that is raging across several parts of South Mumbai.
Vijay Salaskar, an officer attached to the Mumbai police who has been famed as an 'encounter specialist', was seriously injured in the ongoing gun battle and has been rushed to hospital. In all, seven Mumbai policemen are believed killed thus far.
Meanwhile, Railway Police Chief Ashok Sharma told Rediff.com that at least 40 people were killed inside Mumbai's nodal Chatrapathi Sivaji Terminus. "The attack started around 9.35 pm," Sharma said. "Two terrorists were inside. We can confirm at least 40 people killed."
It is yet unclear whether the terrorists are still on-site, have left, or been killed. Sharma said there had been no firing from within the terminus for the last two hours. "Despite this, we are not allowing people to go into the station as we are worried that the terrorists might have planted bombs or left live grenades in the station," he said.
Sharma said the official belief is that the two terrorists had sneaked out of the station in the confusion following the original assault.
Sudhir Dalvi, a sub-inspector attached to the Mumbai cell of the Anti-Terrorist Squad, told Sheela Bhatt for Rediff.com that his boss, ATS chief Hemant Karkare, and senior police officers Vijay Salaskar and Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte, were killed in an incident outside Mumbai's Cama Hospital.
"Our chief Karkare, my senior officer Salaskar and ACP Kamte died while engaging terrorists outside the Cama hospital," a sobbing Dalvi told Rediff.com. "All of a sudden, terrorists threw grenades at Karkare leading to chaos. We are unable to confirm whether they fell to terrorist fire or were killed by the grenades."
Meanwhile, the army has moved into the Trident Hotel, the third five-star hotel in the South Mumbai region that had been targeted in tonight's coordinated terrorist strikes.

02:10 AM: It is now believed that 15 people, at least seven of them foreigners, have been taken hostage by two terrorists and are being held on the roof of the Taj Mahal Hotel.
Rakesh Patel, a London-based businessman who managed to escape, told NDTV that the two terrorists, estimated to be in their early 20s, came to a restaurant on the ground floor of the Taj, rounded up the hostages and took them to the 18th floor. Patel, who was one among them, managed at that point to escape.
Patel said the terrorists asked if any of the hostages were carrying American or British passports, and said he got the clear impression that they wanted foreigners.
01:50 AM: Krishnakumar reports from the Juhu region that a bomb went off in a taxi that was speeding along the Western Express Highway from Vile Parle towards Andheri, killing two people and injuring two others.
"The taxi exploded and went up in flames as it sped past the traffic island under the flyover at the domestic airport," an eyewitness said on phone. "The vehicle, which was up in flames soon after it crossed the traffic signal, was on the left
side. A bystander and a person in the taxi were killed.
Reports indicate that this was perhaps the night's highest-intensity blast. Krishnakumar reports that the taxi's doors were found a distance of 50 meters or more away, and body parts of the victims had been thrown even further.
01:43 AM: At least two suspected terroristswere shot dead minutes earlier at the corner of Mumbai's Chowpatty. Rediff's Vaihayasi Pande-Daniel, who is on the site, reports that the area has been cordoned off and is swarming with police officers; the Skoda is under guard and a cellphone, a jacket, and items of footwear are strewn around the vehicle.
Meanwhile at the Taj Mahal Hotel, the standoff between police, who have surrounded the hotel, and terrorists who are holed up inside, continues.
A short while ago, power went off in parts of the hotel, adding to the sense of panic and fear. Well known food critic Sabina Sahgal Saikia, who is inside the hotel, told NDTV on phone just now that the guests are terrified, and unaware of just what is happening around them. It is unclear at this point in time whether the power has been turned off by the police as they battle the terrorists.
01:27 AM: Rediff's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel calls in from the Marine Drive region to report that the approaches to the South Mumbai area have been shut down, and that sounds of firing are audible as far away as Mumbai's famed Queen's Necklace stretch, though the source of the firing is unclear.
Meanwhile, a foreign national who managed to escape from the Taj Mahal Hotel, where a state of seige currently exists, told NDTV that armed and masked gunmen were wandering around inside the hotel, looking for people with American or British passports.
The eyewitness account appears to confirm the growing belief among law enforcement circles that this latest attack is aimed directly at foreign nationals -- hence the choice of star hotels as prime targets. They further theorize that automatic weapons are being used rather than bombs in order to orchestrate such targeted mayhem.
Meanwhile, the real dangers of the situation are being exaggerated by a proliferation of rumors. One such that has been aired on a few channels including CNN suggested that firing was taking place at the JW Marriott, another five star hotel in the Juhu region of suburban Mumbai. A source in the hotel however confirmed to Rediff just now that there was no alarm at the hotel, and no incident of any kind had taken place.
12:44 AM: A gun battle is ongoing in the Taj Hotel in Colaba. Within the last ten minutes, a guest at the hotel got word out to CNN via email that a grenade had exploded within the hotel premises just then.
Additional Commissioner of Police AN Roy and other officials confirmed that some armed terrorists are holed up in the iconic hotel.
Police officials said they have no information of a hostage situation; they say guests have been sequestered in safe areas of the hotel, and the police are now engaged in flushing out the terrorists from their hiding place.
Reportage by: Vaihayasi Daniel, Krishnakumar, Prasanna Zore, Syed Firdaus Ashraf, Uttam Ghosh, Sanjay Sawant, Satish Bodas.
Additional reportage: PTI/UNI

 

[spnadmin]

November 28

No! Ir is Friday morning now in the US and Friday evening in India. There is still one terrorist left and he is still shooting, Grenades are still going off and this is just at the Taj.

Ar Nariman house all hostages are dead but there is still gunfire on the 3rd floor.

The media has done this for 2 days now. They report that all hostages are out, and then military find more and more. Or that all terrorists are dead, and then there are more.

Another train station Victoria Station got hit last night US time.

 

[spnadmin]

This is the live feed -- shooting still ongoing. Just now at 0930 US EST - 5 GMT I have heard 2 explosions at Nariman House and a large crowd outside is being pushed back to safety. And the second one has come from another house nearby.

Guru kirpa for these people. They have nowhere to go but out on the streets which are narrow and winding. I also think the reporter on the feed is finally breaking down too.

IBNLive.com > CNN IBN Live Streaming

 

[spnadmin]

Now at about 9:06 in the evening Delhi time, and 10:37 in the morning US EST -5 GMT the authorities in Mumbai are reporting the the operation in Nariman House has ended. However, operations are still in progress at the Taj Mahal hotel. They think they have one terrorist evading them.

 

[Admin]

My head bows in real shame, How lowly the humanity has come down to... What they have want to achieve... Nothing can be achieved... Nothing... Even if they achieve anything at all, will that achievement be acceptable to Waheguru/Allah/God over the bed of dead fellow human beings...

MAY WAHEGURU BLESS THE DEPARTED SOULS WITH PEACE AND THEIR FAMILIES THE STRENGTH TO COME TERMS WITH THE CALAMITY AND PROVIDE US WITH THE COURAGE TO DEAL WITH THE SITUATION WITH A BOLD FACE...

 

[spnadmin]

Aman ji

Your message is the right message because this is about humanity and not about looking for villains. We know there are villains. Next step to to change the landscape so they do not continue.

Already there are political games -- instead of understanding the challenges ahead.

 

[spnadmin]

Sikh commando pic - All Sikh squad - jungle fatigues and olive turbans - outside of Taj Mahal hotel - Mumbai India

See this link IBNLive | Mumbai Terror Attack

 

[spnadmin]

0825 hours New Delhi time and 2225 hours US EST -5 GMT on my side. Taj Mahal is again on fire on the first and second floor. However authorities are now ready to search the entire building for survivors, dead and injured, and weapons and explosives.

Time will tell.

And now at 0855 hours New Delhi time DG NSG Dutt has just given a press conference and is now saying they will proceed with room to room searches. But there may still be other terrorists in the hotel.

 

[pk70]

Very sad to witness this big human tragedy after 911; how terribly Indian intelligence is fooled is saddening. I hope, the leaders should focus on unity of India to face this enemy in future successfully instead of politicizing it. It will take time to find out the truth though. Our prayers for the all victims and their families !

 

[spnadmin]

Some of us were looking for the role of Sikhs during the confrontation. The live feed from India did not seem to report this -- unless you watched carefully the funerals of Commander Kankare and also that of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan.

I have posted a link below, but also here another pic. It looks as if Sikh commandos who saw action were sharpshooters.

 

[Admin]

Why the Attacks in India Should Surprise Nobody
by Deena Guzder

Most Americans were shocked to learn that coordinated terrorist attacks struck the heart of Mumbai, India's commercial capital on Wednesday evening. After all, India is not Iraq or Afghanistan or even Pakistan. According to pundits such as Thomas Friedman of the New York Times, India is a shining capitalist success story and the next global superpower. In the pro-globalization narrative, India's eager-beaver working class has benefited greatly from neoliberal economic policies. Intellectuals extol India as the world's largest democracy and an example for the rest of the developing world to follow. Today, India is a popular tourist destination for everyone from backpackers on spiritual voyages to white-collar executives on business meetings.

Americans are largely shielded from the shocking reality of India. According to the World Bank's own estimates on poverty, almost half of all Indians live below the new international poverty line of $1.25 (PPP) per day.[1] The World Bank further estimates that 33% of the global poor now reside in India. [2] Moreover, India also has 828 million people, or 75.6% of the population living below $2 a day, compared to 72.2% for Sub-Saharan Africa.[3] A quarter of the nation's population earns less than the government-specified poverty threshold of $0.40/day. Someone should tell the starving masses who have remained largely marginalized and subjugated that India is a "success story" because that's not reflected in most Indian's lives. Income inequality in India, as measured by the Gini coefficient, is increasing at a disturbingly destabilizing rate.[4] In addition, India has a higher rate of malnutrition among children under the age of three than any other country in the world (46% in year 2007).[5],[6] India is possibly the world's largest democracy by some definitions; however, as Mahatma Gandhi, once asked, "What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?"

Pundits such as Friedman play golf with the global elite and then pontificate on perceived economic trends. In Friedman's book, The World is Flat, he suggests that "Indians should celebrate Y2K as its second independence day." Yet, by some estimates, the high-tech sector employs just 0.2 percent of India's one billion people. Americans are largely unaware of the violent, systemic poverty plaguing India because the country is reduced to a caricature where everyone fielding Americans' inquiries in call centers is prospering. Having lived in India for four years and visited the country every other year, I am painfully aware of the reality on the ground. India is a country where children are forcefully amputated by beggar-masters and sent to elicit money; where poor women sell their bodies to truck drivers and contract HIV at alarming rates; and, where American tourists nonchalantly spend enough money in one day to support a hungry family for months.

The recent attacks in India are morally repugnant, but the debate on how to curb terrorism needs to consider why people engage in such desperate acts in the first place. The perpetrators of yesterday's violence targeted two of Mumbai's most luxurious hotels: Taj Mahal and the Oberioi Trident. One night at either of these hotels costs, on average, Rupees 17,500 (US $ 355) in a country where the annual salary is Rupees 29,069 (US $590).[7] The death of over a hundred people on Wednesday should deeply upset the world, but it should also lead us to question the death of the 18 million people who die annually from the systemic violence of endemic poverty.[8] As Yale professor Thomas Pogge notes, the affects of poverty are felt exponentially more in certain parts of our "unflat" world: "If the developed Western countries had their proportional shares of [gratuitous] deaths, severe poverty would kill some 3,500 Britons and 16,500 Americans per week."[9]

Mahan Abedin, an insurgency analyst, told Al Jazeera after Wednesday nights attacks: "We have seen an increase in recent years in indigenous Indian Muslim organizations beginning to take a violent stance towards the Indian state and sections of the Indian society, particularly the commercial elite of places like Mumbai, in order to highlight, they would say, the sheer inequality of life in India."[10] Abedin continued, "there is a middle class of around 100 million who live very well but 800 million-plus people live in miserable conditions." Even people who commit heinous acts of violence occasionally make a valid point. The latest attacks should not evoke a knee-jerk effort to ratchet up the so-called Global War on Terror but, instead, make us question how to avoid such attacks in the future. By showing genuine concern for the plight of the millions of people who are at risk of death from poverty and by honoring the sanctity of the lives of the most destitute, we have the best chance of defeating the ideologies of hate.[11]

[1] One-third of world's poor in India: Survey-India-The Times of India
[2] The Hindu : National : World Bank’s new poverty norms find larger number of poor in India
[3] Define poverty anew- Opinion-The Economic Times
[4] http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr04-05/english/sec/library/0405fs07e.pdf
[5] http://siteresources.worldbank.org/SOUTHASIAEXT/Resources/DPR_FullReport.pdf
[6] Indian children suffer more malnutrition than in Ethiopia - Times Online
[7] The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Average annual income of citizen goes up in State
[8] Thomas Pogge, World Poverty and Human Rights p. 99
[9] Pogge, Thomas W. World Poverty and Human Rights: Cosmopolitan Responsibilities and Reforms . Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 2002 p. 98
[10] Al Jazeera English - CENTRAL/S. ASIA - Carnage in India attacks
[11] Jeffrey D. Sachs "Net Gains." New York Times. April 29, 2006 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/29/opinion/29sachs.html

Guzder works for TIME Asia magazine in Hong Kong and is a dual-degree graduate of Columbia University's School of Journalism and School of International and Public Affairs. Please feel free to email her at dg2190@columbia.edu

 

[kds1980]

In time of need Gurdwara organisations helped Police & other needy people.


Gurudwara volunteers provide food, water for forces
1 Dec 2008, 0311 hrs IST, Sharad Vyas, TNN

:


MUMBAI: In the chaotic aftermath of the terror strikes many ordinary Mumbaikars came out on the streets to offer whatever help they could. One such

group of young Sikhs worked relentlessly in the last few days to offer food and water to security forces at Taj and Oberoi hotels.

About 20 to 25 Sikh men, volunteering for the Gurudwara Shri Dashmesh Darbar in Sion, saw the chilling visuals of the carnage on television and decided to help. Aided by 50 to 60 Sikh women, they set up a temporary langar at several gurudwaras in the suburbs and cooked food day and night. "Once, Shri Guru Nanak Sahab had little money left with him, but he used it to serve food to the needy. We all draw inspiration from that incident. A Sikh's first duty is to serve the needy,'' said Ajit Singh, a volunteer who was serving food outside the Taj.

On Thursday and Friday, the volunteers supplied 500 packets of food and water to forces at Oberoi and Taj, for breakfast. For lunch and dinner, they provided 1000 packets of puri bhaji.

This is not the first instance these men have helped in a major crisis. After the serial blasts in Mumbai's local trains in 2006, the men helped police to pack dead bodies in plastic bags, and immediately thereafter washed themselves and cooked food for the injured at the spot. "That was a completely different experience, one that changed our lives for ever," said another volunteer.

At the Taj and Oberoi, the youth coordinated with the police to make sure everyone received the food. The gesture was appreciated by the tired security personnel, who were glad to see that the common man cared for them. "This shows people care for what we are doing here," said an army jawan stationed at the Taj.

 

[spnadmin]

kds1980 ji

I read this article in the Times of India. And you have done all of us good by posting it. This line goes right to the center of me.

At the Taj and Oberoi, the youth coordinated with the police to make sure everyone received the food. The gesture was appreciated by the tired security personnel, who were glad to see that the common man cared for them. "This shows people care for what we are doing here," said an army jawan stationed at the Taj.

The security personnel and the fire-fighters, all of them, were amazing in their bravery. And they had everything working against them -- including lack of proper equipment, lack of information about the floor plans of the hotels, leadership that had been slaughtered along with all the others, and years of political meddling that in the end did not provide them with the intelligence and support they needed to do the job more quickly and more safely. The support of the people of Mumbai, and throughout India, was all that stood behind them. This is a wonderful story inside a story that has so many tragic angles to it.