Mumbai carnage
Terrible sounds rocked the very foundation of Mumbai, breaking the deathly silence lying over the business hub of India on the ghastly night of 27th November, 2008. Flashes of spark lighting up the starry sky, silhouetting the azure sky with a layer of dark orange paint. Dead bodies were strewn everywhere, the bodies gushing out blood from the wounds. Blood-gleaming, red, chilling the bone to the marrow. Watching this frightening scene on the television, a question surfaced in my mind "How long will the terrorists shackle us with the bond of their crazy actions?" It is a matter of great concern that the Deccan Mujahedeen has become evidently so powerful that it can kill hundreds of innocent human beings.
The Mumbai carnage was basically a planned attack by a group of gunmen in the city's busy areas like Chhatrapati Shivaji Station, Kama Hospital, Nariman House and two hotels "Taj and Oberoi Trident". The motive behind this second 9/11 was most probably to disrupt India's flourishing business sector and to leave a black mark on the tourist field. The militants held hostage the people staying in Taj, Oberoy and Nariman House and ultimately, they wanted to get away from the situation. Their escape was prevented by the searchlights surrounding the horror-struck area. The night spurring fear inside the heart, passed on with the militants and the people inside the buildings.
Later, in the morning, commandos stormed the Oberoi Trident Hotel and Nariman House and after a raging battle and gunfire exchanges, they made it free from the gunmen. They rescued many tourists including two Americans, a Briton, two Japanese nationals and many Indians. Airline crew members were also evacuated from the luxurious hotel and people were seen leaving with an expression of relief etched on their faces.
The commandos attempted to save the lives of ordinary human beings, although a few Jews were killed in the Jewish centre.
A member of India's commando unit had stated, "The terrorists showed no sense of pity when killing unarmed civilians and they were obviously trained to use AK-47 rifles and handle the explosives. Their preparations for this long siege were only possible by extensive practice on techniques to deal with such operations.”
In the meantime, amid the bloodshed, the national security forces managed to free the Taj Hotel by killing the remaining gunmen and thus putting an end to this drama carried out by the so called Deccan Mujahideen.
It is already known that India has been shaken by a lot of terrorist attacks in the recent years and Mumbai siege reveals a gaping hole in the security the government should provide to its citizens.
The Indian Prime Minister pointed his finger to the arch-nemesis, Pakistan, as the foreign ground from which the militants were getting their back-up support. Already the Indian authorities have pressurized the Pak President which led to the confinement of the leader of Laskar-e-Tayeba.
Islam never provokes such insane acts as displayed in Mumbai and nor does any other religion. Those who do it in the name of Islam do not really know the true meaning of religion.
Many years have elapsed since Al-Qaeda has come into being but we never looked into the depths of these groups--their source of money, their bizarre way of influencing people to hurl themselves into the abyss of crime, causing anguish to a thousand families whose near and dear ones had become victims of their outrageous attack.
The tormented cries and weeping of those poor mothers, who had lost their sons, daughters, must not go unanswered. It is high time that we take some firm actions to eradicate the base of terrorism and violence.
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