November 27th, ‘08 was a gruesome day any Indian won’t forget in his lifetime, for it was an unprecedented attack on the financial capital of India, killing more than 170 people and leaving more than 300 injured. Gory scenes, flaring fumes, and with highly sophisticated ammunition - Mumbai was held hostage by 10 terrorists for more than 60 hours. Apparently, these perpetrators are from the Pakistan soil, every soul on earth won’t deny that truth but the Pakistan government blindly rejected all the evidence saying they need more information to persuade them. Right from the day, the terrorists attacked Mumbai, the tourists who always frequent India are aghast - they are feeling reluctant to visit India, especially the targeted hotels in Mumbai. Tourism has taken a beating and no matter how much security is provided, the tourists will definitely have second thoughts if they are planning to choose India as their choice for a destination.
A board meeting was convened for poets, columnists, and other journals from Pakistan but due to these ghastly incidents, it was called off. Or perhaps, they were vehemently requested not to come to India. Coming to cricket, the Pakistani umpire Azad Rauf wasn’t given a visa on behalf of this incident during the recent England tour of India but later on, he was cleared of all the actions they were holding him up. Talking about the England team, the skipper Kevin Pietersen and his team after the terrorists attacks, came back to India and played two test matches. That defiant and intrepid gesture won many hearts and indeed, got a standing ovation when the team came out to play. True, many teams would have but simply called off the tour citing security reasons but this gesture is commendable, kudos to them. Many players, however, condemned the terrorist attacks. Having said all these, India will still remain a haunted place for some, if not many. Meanwhile, the hotels that were attacked have reopened again albeit Mumbai hasn’t recovered fully from the massacre. But life still goes on.
