26th November 2008, a date we should not forget. This was the day when state sponsored Pakistani terrorists attacked the innocent people of Mumbai. Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist terrorist organisation from Pakistan carried out coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai, leaving behind more than 165 dead, and 300 injured.
The attacks took place at multiple locations including Chhatrapati Shivaji railway station, Leopold Café and even at hospitals. While most of the attacks ended within a few hours, the terror continued at three other locations. Nariman House (Jewish Chabad) and the luxury hotels Oberoi Trident, Taj Mahal Palace, and Tower Taj hotel.
More than a decade later, I am left with one question, ‘did Mumbai ever get justice’?
Sometimes we must accept some hard to digest facts. India in 2008 was incompetent, spineless, and lacking in any self-worth. It disgraced itself in the eyes of the world, and with its own citizens. There are many people who run shy of this truth, lest they be labelled anti-national, or suddenly get left out in the cold by the power brokers.
In 2014 for the first time in modern day Indian history we had hope that the government led by PM Modi would right the wrongs of past misadventures. It has been a slower journey than anticipated, but at least its in the right direction that we can all support.
However, in 2022 I still ask the same question again, ‘did Mumbai ever get justice’? And the only answer I can come to is, NO.
You see, I am from the school of thought that says, give your enemy ten times more pain than what they inflict upon you. India has not done this, yet! Justice continues to be delayed, and that as we know means justice is denied to the victims.
Should Pakistan ever make a similar mistake again, I remain hopeful that under the stewardship of PM Modi, India’s response will be such substance that it shakes the very foundations of all its foes.
I do not apologise for my rather blunt response to the barbarism exported by Pakistan. One must not forget, 2008 was not the first time India experienced the madness of its neighbour. This started way back in 1947 when Pakistan reneged on the terms of the partition agreement and attacked India in their bid to steal Jammu and Kashmir. This state sponsored butchery continued with multiple attacks from Pakistani occupied Kashmir, into India. Some of you might even remember the genocide of Hindus in 1990 when mosques declared, Ralive, Tsalive, or Galive (convert to Islam, leave the place, or perish). Astonishingly, only last week Labour Lords were excusing this madness in the House of Lords.
It's time to put an end to this recuring nightmare. A nightmare of our own making because India, time and again, has stepped back and allowed the evil orchestrated by Pakistan to get away with it. To stop this madness, India must now be ready to act with such ferocity, that the enemy can never ever imagine attacking again. India has gone through a period, as did Arjun, of self-reflection and in understanding the meaning of dharma and in being a dharma Rakshak. The lesson he learned was a simple one, when all peaceful efforts to seek justice fails, then you are left with only one option, to wipe out the adharmic forces that are a threat to humanity.
“India can’t forget the wounds of the Mumbai attacks. Now, today’s India is combating terrorism with a new policy and new ways,” – PM Modi
