The implications of the tentacles of terrorism making Mumbai, the financial capital of India, easy target for brutal dastardly acts seem enormous. No words can be enough to condemn the vile act that took not only lives of many but held the city to ransom for almost three days. With almost 200 dead including foreigners, the aftershocks still reverberate despite the end of one of India’s worst start-to-finish encounters with terrorism and hostage taking 60 hours after it all began. The mission to eliminate the terrorists was a mission of paramount importance for the Indian government relying on its elite forces. However, the bewildering fact remains that the terrorists’ entry into Mumbai went totally undetected till the blow-up last Wednesday. The terrorists, as preliminary reports point out, had come with a clear motive and that was to create panic through the occupation of the two major hotels occupied mostly by western visitors together with other landmark locations in Mumbai. The theory gaining ground is that the idea of the terrorists was to make a visible dent in the image of Mumbai or rather India as a safe commercial and industrial haven.

As per initial reported evaluation, the suicide squad came by sea and entered Mumbai undetected. There are also unconfirmed reports that some of the terrorists had been living in the city for quite a few months and they laid the groundwork for their horrible deeds which not only shocked India but the world. Nepal also immediately expressed shock and indignation over the bloodbath in Mumbai where a significant number of Nepalis live and work. It, however, goes to the credit of the Indian security forces for bringing to an end the ghastly terrorist hold-up. The time taken to end the terror reign may seem to have taken long but the stated priority could have been to save as many lives as possible yet the death of so many was too heavy a price. That twelve terrorists, eleven of whom were killed, could have wreaked so much loss of life and property is very unbelievable. But, it is all a fact and an unfortunate reality.

The counting has begun with blame going further than the city that saw the trauma, but putting together the pieces with forensic science coming to the aid will prove valuable. This attack on Mumbai highlights that firepower alone cannot deal with problems both on the part of the terrorists and the nation concerned. A look at Iraq and Afghanistan can give some reasons to think about. The myriad problems have ramifications on so many stakeholders that pinpointing the logical step to take can be more than perplexing. In India, the different groups of people have their own sets of agendas to fight for and get them agreed by the state. It is difficult to get every demand fulfilled due to various factors, therefore, such violent incidents may continue. Back home, it may not be as bad as in India but, howsoever, a small disgruntlement of a group may turn gargantuan to create problems. Lessons have to be learnt by the powerful countries, as such events can reveal their inherent weaknesses. At the same time, concerted efforts at local, national, regional and international levels are necessary to contain terrorism.