From the Vault

Five years after 26/11 Mumbai attacks, as India commemorates that tragedy, Haris Khan brings to attention the many related tragedies whose memory continues to be denied and suppressed…

The fifth anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai attack was recently commemorated, with people from all walks of life condemning the attack and the perpetrators of the attack – assumed to be working for Pakistan – and expressing solidarity with the families of the deceased.

This episode five years ago had consequences that were grave in magnitude; it nearly triggered yet another war between the two neighbouring countries. Perhaps “war” is a less appropriate term here and could be accurately replaced it with “attacks by India on certain areas of Pakistan”.

Let us revisit the past for a moment, however painful it may be.

It all started when the Indian parliament was attacked in 2001 by unknown men who the then union minister L.K.Advani referred to as “Looking like Pakistanis” – whatever that means. The attack was rather comical as a few men came in an Ambassador car, entered the premises (without being stopped by the highly efficient and disciplined security personnel deployed at the gate for the security of the People’s representatives), got out of the car and started firing recklessly at anyone and everyone in their way and eventually getting killed without doing much damage. The encounter between the dreadful terrorists who “looked like Pakistanis” and the brave Indian army was telecast live on TV and the feisty editors in their stout voices were demanding answers from their comfortable studios.

Eight years later, Mumbai was attacked by a few men who came from across the border made their voyage through an ocean and effortlessly reached their targets – innocent people, mostly civilians – and destroyed them, murdered them, with ease.. Then, these people moved on to the Taj, a hotel that plays host to India’s elite and many rich tourists. These men laid siege to the hotel and continued their mission of seek and destroy.

Again, this carnage was telecast live and the angry media was demanding answers, with the editors of news channels screaming out their lungs about how this cannot be tolerated and dictating what should be done. Their TRP’s were skyrocketing and the Jingoism and war mongering continued in the studios which looked more or less like war fields. Within hours of the attack, reports were flowing in and it was established – with startling promptness – that these men were Pakistanis, trained by Hafiz Sayeed, the chief of Jamat Ud Dawah in Pakistan which is supposed to be a terrorist organization with the sole aim of destroying India.



These men were painted as poor, uneducated cave men who were brainwashed and given false promises of Paradise by their masters in Pakistan but somehow they assumed to be able to operate Blackberrys with ease and communicate with each other through BBM, travelling over oceans, carrying ammunition and roaming through Indian cities without any interference. The most startling claim of them all was the perpetrators eating tandoori chicken at the hotel before attacking, which seems a little hard to digest.

Anyway, the pogrom continued and people were being mercilessly killed, among them were foreigners, who had come to India to explore and enjoy; little did they know they were coming here to explore their graves. Soon, the whole world was watching and their sympathies were with India, once again India, the ever so caring and considerate India, was being marauded by the cruel and heartless Pakistan. The media moguls were rejoicing – TRPs reached dizzying heights – for every cloud has a silver lining.

The Aftermath

After the 2001 parliament attack Provision of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) was replaced with the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). A Delhi University professor was arrested and accused of masterminding the attacks, who was later acquitted as there was no evidence against him. Eventually Afzal Guru, a former militant from Kashmir, was arrested and charged for waging war against India and subsequently hanged on 9 February , 2013. His hanging was done in a most clandestine fashion, his mercy pleas rejected, his family uninformed and within hours after his hanging (at dawn) the whole of Kashmir was put under curfew. Every sane person in India (who doesn’t wilfully choose to believe otherwise) knows that there was no evidence against Afzal that proved his involvement in the attacks. He was buried in Tihar jail and his body was not returned to his family. All of it is eerily reminiscent of the Maqbool Bhat hanging so many years ago.

After the attacks of 26/11 the Unlawful Activities Act was made more stringent and Pakistani citizen Ajmal Kasab was arrested and hanged on 21 November , 2012 – again in a clandestine fashion. Pakistani authorities were not allowed to meet him. These attacks established India as the victim and Pakistan as the bad neighbour who is hell bent on destroying India. It brought Pakistan on the verge of being declared a terrorist state and being reduced to rubble by the world, eliminating India’s need to attack it– all of which was unnecessary, as Pakistan is already battling and suffering at the hands of terrorist organizations. It’s worthwhile to mention that Hemant Karkare, then chief of the Anti Terrorist Squad was killed in the attacks Karkare, incidentally, had sought to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Samjhota express blasts and the Malegaon blasts.

Recently R.V.S Mani, an Indian Administrative Service officer who worked in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), made the startling assertion that the 26/11 attacks and the 2001 parliament attacks were orchestrated by India itself, though he denied having said so a day after – but he sure did manage to pluck a nerve for many. I am not making a judgment regarding any conspiracy theories, but sadly, these are some of the facts.

I would like to conclude this article by expressing my grief and condolences to all the families of the people who were killed in these attacks and the family of Afzal Guru and demanding the return of his body to his family.

P.S., I am not using a Blackberry again.