Series of Bomb Blasts across India's Business Hub - Mumbai

The business hub of India, Mumbai, is known to be the city that never sleeps. However, life in Mumbai came to a standstill on Wednesday night, 26th November, 2008. India’s financial capital suffered yet another major loss this November. Over 100 people have been confirmed dead as the minutes pass and one can only hope this number doesn't increase. Over 280 people have been reported injured, and we can only hope they survive. Indians as well as foreigners have been killed and held hostage causing trauma to their near and dear ones.

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station, Leopold Café at Colaba, The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel, The Oberoi Trident hotel, Vile Parle, Napean Sea road, Mazagaon Docks, Cama Hospital, Metro Cinema etc. have all faced attack in the series of bomb blasts across Mumbai. Reports reveal there were shootings and grenade attacks and people have been held as hostages in The Oberoi Trident hotel, The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel and Cama Hospital. There are reports about hostages at the Nariman House located in Colaba. Currently, it is being reported that the hostage situation at the Taj Mahal hotel has been resolved.

Reports have revealed that the first terrorist attack of the ten simultaneous strikes may have begun before 22:00 hours on 26th November, 2008 at the CST station in Mumbai. The attacks have resulted in the death of a large number of police officers and the Chief of the Anti-Terrorism Squad in Mumbai, Hemant Karkare, Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte and encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar. It’s reported that Deccan Mujahideen, an Islamic terrorist group, had sent an email to news channels claiming ‘responsibility’ for these attacks. However, the authenticity of this email, which has been traced to Russia, is yet to be verified. There are some reports that suggest other groups such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Loss of life and property, the people of Mumbai have always witnessed in the recent years. This financial capital has been the constant target for many such terrorist attacks. How does the average common man from Mumbai feel and what does he/she have to say? Says Rahul (name changed to protect identity), a resident of Mumbai, "Basically the attacks have been on the heritage structures and important landmarks in Mumbai, with the intention of setting fire. One obviously feels terrible about this incident especially when innocent people lose their lives. As a local person, I always feel insecure as these attacks can happen anytime in Mumbai. However, we have to learn to live again and move on with our lives. I only wish the security would improve to prevent such incidents from taking place in the future."

Be it an Indian or a foreigner, the fact is, people have died, been hurt and have suffered. When innocents lose their life, it is not their ethnic group that matters. What matters is humanity in these troubled times and proactive measures against these issues. As the blame game continues, life in Mumbai goes back to normalcy as areas of Mumbai continue to burn.