26/11 attack: Indians pay tribute to the fallen

Today marks the 13-year anniversary of the cowardly attack on Mumbai which shook the nation for the next 3 days and scarred the memory for a lifetime.

United Indian Leaders

President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday said the nation will always be grateful for the bravery and sacrifice of the security forces who laid down their lives in the line of duty during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks 13 years back.

All the leaders of the nation in unison thanked the security forces of the nation who laid their life and who protect us from the dangers of dogmatic sectarian hatred which is spreading in the world to divide the world.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi thanked the security forces and shared a two-minute video of the pictures of those who lost their lives in the attacks. “Protects the country by staying at the border away from the family in difficult weather, saves innocents by risking his own life during a terrorist attack. He cares about the world without bothering about his own life, our Jawan is the pride of the family, the village and the nation,” he tweeted. “Salute to the heroes of 26/11 #MumbaiTerrorAttacks.”

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal also paid tribute. “I pay homage to the immortal martyrdom of our brave soldiers who laid down their lives in the 26/11 Mumbai attack and served the nation. The country will always be indebted to its brave martyrs.”

Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan wrote an article which deserves a special mention for showcasing the spirit of India and its belief in the constitution of India.

“In the immediate aftermath of 26/11, India acted with remarkable sobriety and restraint. Despite immense pressure, it did not give in to the temptation of military retaliation against Pakistan — even as the capture of Mohammad Ajmal Kasab and the revelations of David Headley stripped Pakistan’s military-ISI establishment of the alibi of non-state actors beyond its control, and left it no fig leaf. India gave a normal legal trial, and accorded due process to the one surviving attacker, even though evidence of his guilt had been splashed large on all our TV screens. We made it clear: Those who had died in the attack, the bravehearts defending us, had  sacrificed their lives for the nation and its commitment to justice and the Constitution.” –reads an excerpt from the article written by Amitabh Bachchan to pay homage to the fallen 13 years ago.

Indians in Israel

Indians in Israel commemorated the victims of killings by Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks of 2008, demanding swift justice by punishing the masterminds of the crime and seeking coordinated efforts to tackle the menace of terror, on the eve of the 13th anniversary of the deadly attacks.

Indian students at all the leading institutions in Israel, members of the Indian Jewish community, and Indians living and working in Israel organised separate events across the country on the eve of the anniversary of 26/11, paying respects to the innocent victims of the terror attack, including six Jews who died at the Chabad House. Several events are also planned for November 26.

“The terrorists do not really have a real objective. They have only one goal — to harm people. India and Israel are democracies that seek peace and will continue to raise their voice against the menace of terrorism anywhere in the world,” Mr. Solomon said.

Mr. Isaac Solomon is an Indian Jewish community leader at an event organized at the club Sitar.

Jewish connection to the 26/11 attacks

The second site of the attack was the Nariman House business and residential complex where a Rabbi, his wife, and six others, including five Israeli citizens, were killed by the terrorists who first held them hostage.

The two-year-old child of the Rabbi couple, Moshe, survived the attack. Then ‘Baby Moshe’ became the face of the innocent victims of ruthless terrorism.

Nariman House business and residential complex is a place often frequented by Jewish community in India.