Ten years after 26/11 Mumbai terror attack: Is India any safer now?

Sometime in the dark hours of 23rd November 2008 a small cargo vessel slipped out of Karachi harbour; its passengers-ten non sea faring men who had been specifically trained for a purpose and indoctrinated for martyrdom. This ship reached the waters off Porbander in the early hours of the 25th. One of our many powered fishing boats, Kuber, was called alongside, ostensibly to exchange fish for diesel, a practice not uncommon. As it tied up alongside, four of its five crewmen were killed, and the ten men transferred to it along with several sacks of equipment. The boat was ordered to steer for the coast of Mumbai which it did arriving there soon after sunset on the 26th. As night fell, the intruders inflated the rubber craft carried by them, lowered it in the water and boarded this small boat each armed with an AK 47 rifle, ten loaded magazines, and ten grenades. The fifth crew was killed and the craft sped shore-wards, the fishing village off Cuffe Parade its destination. It travelled the three odd miles quickly and beached unnoticed by about 9 PM; the fishermen were glued to their TVs. The ten people crossed the fifty odd yards to the busy road, hailed passing taxis and in five groups of two each, headed for their destinations- Chatrapati Shivaji Railway Terminus, the iconic Taj Mahal hotel, two hotels located at Nariman Point, Leopold Café on Colaba Causeway and a Jewish hostel located not far away. The rest is history; Mumbai was under seaborne attack. Read Complete Article

Business Standard