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Ceremonies are being held in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) to mark the first anniversary of a series of devastating attacks on the Indian city by militants. Police have paraded in the city, a memorial has been inaugurated and a candle-lit prayer service held.The attacks, which began on November 26, 2008 and lasted nearly three days, left 174 people dead, including nine gunmen. Marco Werman talks with correspondent Tinku Ray, who is in Mumbai for the commemoration. Download MP3
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MARCO WERMAN: I’m Marco Werman and this is The World, a co-production of the BBC World Service, PRI and WGBH Boston. The people of Mumbai, India held tearful memorials today. They were remembering the attack that militants launched against their city one year ago. It was November 26, 2008 when ten gunmen staged the attack. They hit the city’s biggest train station, luxury hotels, a Jewish center and other sites. The raids killed 166 people. Fursaj Jahani owns one of the places that was hit, the Café Leopold. Jahani says he and other shop owners in Mumbai are back in business one year after the terrorists struck.
FURSAJ JAHANI: We wanted to prove to the world that we won, they lost, we pull the shutters up, we’ve opened again. You know people that had come twenty years back, thirty years back, they came back. These are the people that supported me, supported this place to bounce back.
WERMAN: The Pakistan based book, Lashkar-e-Taiba is blamed for masterminding the attacks. India broke off talks with Pakistan after the violence. Yesterday, a Pakistani court indicted seven Pakistani’s in connection with the siege. Shashi Tharoor is India’s Minister of State for External Affairs. He’s urging Pakistan to prosecute, convict and punish the attackers. He also says Indians should feel pride in their country today.
SHASHI THAROOR: Today where of course we remember our grief and our mourning, a day in which a horrendous loss of life a year ago will continue to stir our consciences and our hearts. But it is also a day to salute the courage and the bravery of so many people, our security forces, the police and then the ordinary human beings, the hotel workers, people who went out of their way to save the lives of innocents. Let the message go today from India to the rest of the world. India will not be terrorized.
WERMAN: That seems to be the mood at the Trident Hotel, one of the targets of the militants. The BBC’s Tinku Ray is there.
TINKU RAY: I’ve spoken to people here at the hotel. Many of them here were actually present when the gunmen entered the hotel last year and the stories are so harrowing and so eerie, I actually had nightmares last night but thankfully, it sounds like none of the staff actually left their jobs. Both of them came back within a few days of the incident ending and people basically have really, really bounced back.
WERMAN: I mean those scenes, those dramatic scenes are unforgettable, the scenes coming from the security cameras at some of the city’s cafes and the train station and the, of course, the gunmen storming the Taj Hotel and where you’re staying, the Trident. What is the sentiment now among the Indians who came back to their jobs and are now working in those places? Any sort of heightened sense of vigilance among them or it’s just kind of business as usual?
RAY: Oh, security is just amazing at these hotels now, Marco. You’re talking about airport type security and both of these hotels which were struck, the Taj and the Trident, have spent millions of dollars on increasing their security. Cars are not even allowed to enter up to the doors. You have to have your bags scanned and then you are frisked by security personnel. It’s amazing. But, shockingly, the station which was also attacked, this is the main station here in Mumbai, has practically no security. I went there yesterday and we’re talking about a station where millions of people go through every single day and there was not a single bit of security to check people, stop people and I think it’s impossible to do so, that’s the main thing.
WERMAN: Now Tinku, another target of attack was the city’s Jewish community and I’d like us to listen now to some comments from Rabbi Abraham Berkowitz who is in charge of rebuilding Habbad House. It’s a Jewish center where six people were killed last year in these attacks. Here he is explaining why instead of rebuilding the destroyed center, it’s been moved to another location.
RABBI ABRAHAM BERKOWITZ: Our immediate security concerns take us to a discreet location and I must say that there hasn’t been one week that we haven’t had continued activities and we are not giving up and we won’t go away. We will not let terror ruin our way of life. We just are doing it very carefully, with very important steps to be taken.
WERMAN: Rabbi Abraham Berkowitz there in Mumbai. Tinku Ray, you said there was no security at the train station, a contrast with the elaborate security at hotels in Mumbai. The fact that the Jewish center has moved to an undisclosed location suggests a lack of faith in Indian security forces. Do the Jews of Mumbai feel safe?
RAY: Well Marco, I think it’s not really a lack of faith for the Jewish community. I mean you heard Rabbi Berkowitz, who’s from Brooklyn, he’s come here to take over the center from the Rabbi and his pregnant wife who were killed in those attacks last year and he said that the Jewish community in India has never been attacked by any of the communities here so they’ve always felt safe.
WERMAN: And a year after these attacks, what is the plight of the city’s Muslims? Do they feel threatened at all?
RAY: Well that was a really surprising thing. Following the attacks, there was absolutely no backlash and nobody in Mumbai or even India blamed the Muslim community for these attacks and especially after it was discovered that these gunmen came from outside of the country. In fact, there were rallies and protests and marches in which people from all communities came together.
WERMAN: The evidence points to the Pakistan based militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba being behind the attack and many Indians claim the Pakistani government hasn’t cracked down enough on the group or at all. Is the Indian government satisfied that Pakistan is taking steps to ensure similar attacks aren’t in the works?
RAY: There’s always been this uneasy relationship between the two countries, Marco, India and Pakistan, ever since partition. Every time there’s an attack in India, Pakistan is automatically blamed. I think this time there has been a lot more cooperation between the two governments and just yesterday we saw the Pakistani government charging seven people in connection with these attacks and I think that’s a very positive step to be taking by the Pakistani’s and I think we’ll have to see how things develop and whether the dialogue between the two countries can now resume at some level at least.
WERMAN: Tinku Ray, one year after the attacks in Mumbai. Thank you very much for speaking with us.
RAY: It was a pleasure talking to you, Marco.
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