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 Parliament, Nation observe the 26/11 anniversary:
On the first anniversary
of the 26/11 Mumbai attack, both houses of parliament on Thursday
adopted a resolution, reiterating the nation’s firm commitment to
fight the threat ...
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Mumbai/New
Delhi: There were official
commemorations and private moments of grief, sombre reflections and
avid debates - a speeding country paused in its tracks Thursday to
remember the traumatic night of Nov 26 last year and the 60 hours of
terror that followed.
They went to school, college and office but the fear and
helplessness of that day was never far from the mind as Indians
across the country and the world mourned the 166 dead in India’s
most wounding terror strike that had left behind scars perhaps never
to be healed.
In
the national capital New Delhi, parliament began with two minutes
silence and a resolution in the Lok Sabha to wage a united war
against terror. In Kanpur, the cricket Test between India and Sri
Lanka began with a similar homage. Tributes to the brave who died -
and those who survived - were planned in many cities with citizens
collecting at designated places.
And
all thoughts were with Mumbai, India’s thriving commercial capital
that was ravaged by terrorists who came by boats from Pakistan on
the night of Nov 26 to begin a bloody siege that ended only on the
afternoon of Nov 28.
“The
house salutes the indomitable courage of the security forces who
gave a crushing blow to the terrorists on Nov 26, 2008, and
fortitude of the people of Mumbai. On this day the house resolved to
unitedly fight and defeat the forces of terrorism and never again
allow them to spill the blood of innocent people,” Lok Sabha Speaker
Meira Kumar said.
Events were slated through the day in Mumbai - at Gateway of India,
the two luxury hotels ravaged by the attacks, Chabad House? every
place the terrorists had left a bloody imprint.
The
morning rush hour showed the famed resilience of the Mumbaikar with
commuter trains and buses packed and roads as choked as ever with
traffic.
But
memories of that night were uppermost.
Thousands of commuters rushing to their offices halted to pay
respects to those slaughtered in the blaze of bullets at the
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST).
Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel also laid wreaths inside
the station to remember the commuters and their colleagues brutally
gunned down by terrorists.
And
while Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and his cabinet colleagues visited
the precincts of the Hotel Trident-Oberoi at Nariman Point, people
gathered outside the Leopold Cafe in Colaba - where the first attack
was launched.
“We
shall leave no stone unturned to protect Mumbai and its citizens,”
said Chavan as everyone — from the celeb to the ordinary person —
relived the trauma.
Said
Bollywood star Aamir Khan: “It was a very tragic event, but good
thing that happened was that the tragedy brought the people of
Mumbai together and closer.”
Domestic worker Suvarna Kamble agreed with him when she said: “I
came to Mumbai only three months before the terror attacks, but I
was amazed by the sheer grit of the city. A year later, I feel safer
and more confident of living in this big city.”
The
1.5 km wall at Marine Drive was full of messages at 5 p.m. and
thousands more came to read them.
“People want to unite, they want to jointly tackle the common
challenges confronting them like terror? that is the reason the 1.5
km wall at Marine Lines has got several thousand messages,” said
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Shaina NC.
In
Hyderabad, Noorjahan Begum, who lost her 22-year-old daughter Amina
at the CST and whose husband Rashid was seriously injured, is still
angry.
The
wounds are still wide open for the family, which was about to board
a train to Hyderabad after visiting the famous Haji Ali dargah in
Mumbai when terrorists struck.
“He
was the only source of livelihood for the family. Now he can’t go
out of the house and is completely bed-ridden,” said Noorjahan of
her auto-driver husband who sustained three bullet injuries.
For
the makers of the Hindi comedy “De Dana Dan” being released Friday,
it was a bizarre coincidence. The film had started on 26/11 last
year and was being released a day after the anniversary.
Akshay Kumar, whose wife Twinkle was at the Taj when the terrorists
stormed in, remembered the indomitable spirit that let them go on
and how director Priyadarshan insisted on continuing the work “with
full strength” to defy the terrorists.
“They wanted to stop us. And now the film is coming, one year and a
day after the incident.”
Remember but move on undeterred, the “De Dana Dan” story may
epitomise the spirit in which India observed the 26/11 anniversary.
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