On November 26, 2008, ten members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamic terrorist group, began 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks in Mumbai, India. The attacks started at 9:30 pm when Hindustan Unilever CEO Harish Manwani and chairman Nitin Paranjpe hosted a dinner at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. In the aftermath of the attacks, it would be revealed that almost all of the guests of the dinner were either killed or injured. Britannica explains that the armed terrorists carried out these attacks all around Mumbai, and while the firing ended after only a couple of hours, the terror continued until November 29 because hostages were held in three locations - the Nariman House and the luxury hotels of Oberoi Trident and the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower. By the end of the day on November 29, at least 174 people, foreign nationals and Indians alike, were killed, and more than 300 people were injured. Nine of the ten terrorists involved in the attack were killed as well. The events of 26/11 shocked India and even thirteen years later have caused trauma to the survivors of the attack.

According to Harvard Business Review, the nature of the terrorist attacks– particularly with how the attackers singled out Westerners at both hotels– first suggested that the attacks were carried out by Islamic militant group Al-Qaeda. The previous 9/11 attacks from this militant group caused Indian civilians to immediately grow suspicious, and Al-Qaeda was amidst this large speculation. However, this proved not to be the case when arrested terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab admitted Lashkar-e-Taiba’s responsibility for the events with detailed information regarding the planning and execution of the attacks. He was later put on trial in 2009 and found guilty in 2010. Two years later, Kasab was executed.

India and Pakistan’s relations were already strained due to previous terrorist attacks occuring in the former that have been linked to terrorist groups primarily originating in Pakistan. These attacks had in turn caused India to blame the Pakistani government. In fear of the rising tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors as a result of these persistent and controversial arguments, US officials and others urged Pakistan to take internal measures preventing future terrorist attacks, thereby inherently placing the blame on Pakistan, much to Pakistan’s chagrin. However, Pakistan’s government officials’ continuous efforts to prevent and eliminate anti-Indian sentiments did not thwart the rise of newer groups as a result of the strong divides between India and Pakistan.

The Mumbai attacks of 2008 not only shook India but also exposed the country’s vulnerability to terrorism, causing other countries to evaluate their own security protocol. Many nations such as the United States have expressed concerns over global security given the rise of terrorism over the past two decades. When the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee met in Washington, DC, on January 8, 2009 to discuss “Lessons from the Mumbai Terrorist Attacks,” Senator Joe Lieberman, chair of the committee, raised a large question: “What are the implications of this [Mumbai] attack from the waters of our own homeland security here in the United States?” This concern was raised when evidence showed that the attackers traveled undetected from Karachi, Pakistan, to Mumbai by boat. The November attacks prompted India to tighten the loopholes in their security system and on December 17, 2008, the Indian National Investigation Agency was created to prevent future tragedies.

With the 14th anniversary of 26/11 this past November, India paid tributes at the numerous martyrs’ memorials on November 26, 2022. The nation came together to remember those that lost their lives in the tragic attacks, a memory that they will hold heavily in their hearts forever.

Information retrieved from Britannica, Harvard Business Review, and Govinfo.gov.