India Marks 17 Years Since 26/11, Remembering Mumbai’s Darkest Night

Seventeen years ago on this day, November 26, 2008, ten heavily armed Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists slipped into Mumbai by sea and launched a meticulously planned 60-hour siege that claimed 166 lives, injured over 300 people, and scarred India’s financial capital forever.

The attackers, directed from a control room in Karachi, fanned out across south Mumbai shortly after 9:30 p.m., striking iconic landmarks chosen for their symbolic value and high footfall: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, the Oberoi Trident, Leopold Café, Cama & Albless Hospital, Metro Cinema, and Nariman House, the Jewish Chabad center. Automatic gunfire, grenades, and improvised explosive devices turned bustling public spaces into killing zones as the terrorists hunted foreign nationals, particularly Americans, Britons, and Israelis, alongside ordinary citizens. The siege ended only on November 29 after National Security Guard commandos neutralized nine terrorists and captured Ajmal Kasab alive.

Kasab’s trial and subsequent execution in 2012, along with extensive investigations and intercepted communications, confirmed the attack was orchestrated by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba with logistical support from elements within Pakistan’s establishment. The assault exposed critical gaps in coastal security, urban policing, and crisis response, prompting sweeping reforms, including the creation of Force One, the strengthening of NSG hubs, and the enactment of tougher anti-terror laws.

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Today, memorial events were held at the 26/11 police memorial near Marine Drive and inside the restored Taj Hotel, where survivors, families of victims, and senior officials paid homage to the 18 police and NSG personnel among the fallen, including Mumbai ATS chief Hemant Karkare, Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, and Tukaram Omble, the assistant sub-inspector who helped capture Kasab alive.

Seventeen years on, the rebuilt Taj dome gleams again, the railway terminus bustles as always, and Nariman House continues its outreach work, yet the memories of that night remain vivid. Annual tributes, strengthened security protocols, and an unwavering demand for justice serve as Mumbai’s quiet vow: the city will never forget, and it will never again be caught unprepared.

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