Mumbai Attacks - What Next??

I remember Wednesday night, when, all of a sudden a friend from US pinged me on gtalk, asking to check if my friends in Mumbai were safe. I didn't know what he was talking about - it was 11.30 in the night, and the last time I checked the news at 8.45, there was no mention about anything out of the ordinary. But, then, I immediately went to one of the Indian news portal, and came to know what he was talking about. People masacared in CST railway station, leaving around a 100 dead and many more injured!!?? And on top of that, the hostage situation in two of Mumbai's best hotels? Was this a joke?

The next whole day, while in office, we kept refreshing the news sites, hoping that this would stop as soon as possible. But, to our shock, it continued for the whole of Thursday and Friday. The terrorists had taken over the Taj and the Oberoi hotels, and there were still speculations going on regarding the count of hostages (the majority of them were US and British citizens). Yes, the terrorists were targeting foreigners. The incessant gun firing, and random blasts continued throughout the day in these hotels.

The National Security Guards (NSG) did their best to bring the situation under control. But some of the bravest of the Mumbai police and the NSG lost their lives in the operation.

After two days of continuous fighting, the hostages were rescued, and most of the terrorists were killed.


Now the question is, why did this happen in the first place? The news channels broadcasted the CCTV coverages of the entire attack, so why was this not avoided before so many lives were lost? A few months back, there were a series of bomb blasts in the Indian capital city of Delhi. Has there been no steps taken by the authorities to protect the lives of citizens from such appalling acts of terrorism? What do WE need to do to make sure such an incident is avoided in the future? Or are we just going to live in fear? Are we going to think twice before going out with friends to a cinema? When are we going to get a reassurance from the government? I agree, no one is safe in today's times - you keep hearing about such incidents throughout the globe - but the things happening in India in the last few years makes you think back and notice...


I pray for all the brave souls who lost their lives in the attack.... May God bless us all....