INDIA on Wednesday (November 26) marked six years since militants stormed Mumbai in three days of horror that left 166 people dead, as survivors said they would never be “beaten back by terror”.
Families of victims and politicians laid flowers and wreaths at sites around the city to remember those slain in 2008 when Islamist gunmen stalked luxury hotels, a popular cafe, a train station and a Jewish centre.
“Today, as we remember the horror of the terror attack in Mumbai in 2008, we feel the endless pain of lost lives,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a speech at a regional summit in Kathmandu.
“Let us work together to fulfil the pledge we have taken to combat terrorism and transnational crimes.”
Live television footage was beamed around the world as commandos battled the gunmen, who arrived by sea on the evening of November 26. It took authorities three days to regain full control of the city.
India blames the attacks on Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba. Tense relations between the rival neighbours hit a fresh low as New Delhi pressed Islamabad to bring the alleged masterminds to justice.
Sourav Mishra remembers enjoying a beer with two friends at Leopold Cafe, a popular haunt for foreign tourists, when a grenade exploded at the next table and the militants opened fire.
“Something went off with a flash close to my table and the guy there crumpled,” Mishra told reporters.
“I was sipping beer one moment and then death had become a very real possibility as blood soaked my clothes,” said Mishra, who suffered shrapnel and a bullet wound.
At the Chabad House Jewish centre, another high-profile target where six people were killed, an official said its reopening in August showed its community would “never be beaten back by terror”.
“Followers of the movement passing through here have been lighting a single candle for the past week in remembrance of the people slain in this disaster,” Naftali Charter, head of security at the centre, told reporters.
A memorial for all of the victims of the Mumbai attacks is being built on the centre's roof and will be “finished shortly”, Charter said.
