A Witness to Mumbai

From a world wide prayer blog, one man shares the horrific details of what we were not given too many details about in American news.

My heart goes out to all who have suffered and those far away who cannot find lost loved ones.

As I read the feed on my prayer group today, I was moved to tears and feel great sadness for the magnitude of the terror in Mumbai.

Anirban took a great deal of time to explain to us in America, some of the details that were not emphasized enough in American media.

The operation in Mumbai to flush out the terrorists from the 2 hotels and one residential complex is finally over, after more than 60 hours of bloody battle which the city of Mumbai has NEVER seen before in its history... As much as people are overjoyed at the conclusion of this battle b/w the commandos and marines vs the terrorists, there is that much grief and emotional outbursts scenes in Mumbai and all over the world, for the battle has ended at the cost of shaking everyone's confidence and with a long list of the dead.

Anirban expresses facts and views about what has happened, for those who are interested in knowing the real facts and praying for the safety and peace of this world of ours that we call Home.

1. The attacks started on Wednesday night, IST 21:30 hours, when 12 militants, all aged b/w ages of 25-30, educated, arrived in to Mumbai by a "Gemini" speed boat, apparently from Pakistan.They docked right in front of the symbolic "Gateway of India" in South Mumbai, which is few yards away from the Taj Mahal Hotel.

2. The terrorists broke up in teams and went in to Taj Hotel, The Oberoi and Trident hotel on Marine drive which is a mile away from the Taj Hotel, one team went in to a hospital, another team went in to the Victoria Terminus Train Station in heart of Mumbai .and the last team went in to a resdential complex in South Mumbai and in to the apartment of a Jewish Rabbi and his Family of 5 people.

3. The attacks in the hospital and train station were short lived, though bloody and the terrorists in both these places were shot dead by the police in less than an hour from the attack. Still by that time, many people had borne the onslaught of the terrorists.

4. The Taj Mahal Hotel and Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai are BOTH landmarks of Mumbai, they are both premium hotels with history and serve as hosts for heads of state, ceo's of top corporations worldwide and India, Hollywood film stars etc...especially the Taj Mahal hotel is an Icon of India's visionary and legendary business man Mr. Jamshedji Tata who built the hotel in the year 1903, right in front of the Gateway of India. The Taj is an architectural marvel, a stunning bastion of opulence, culture and traditions of the Parsi Community (Zorastrians) , who migrated to India few centuries back from erstwhile Persia and today are one of the most successful and artistic clan of businessmen in the nation. Today the taj has 2 parts, there is an old or heritage wing, and there is a new wing, which is about 30-40 stories high.

The Taj in mumbai has a soul, one cant help but fall in love with this beauty its royal and mesmerizing both from outside and inside as well.The old wing of the Taj which is the heritage part, consists of luxury suites at the top two floors, next to the grand dome, the suites are a class apart, every inch of the heritage hotel is nurtured and cared with love by the staff at taj.I cant explain in words, one has to see it to understand what it feels like.

In the last 60 hours, it is the central dome at the heritage wing of the taj which got engulfed in fire repeatedly owing to exchange of fire and bombs by the terrorists and the marines.Seeing this jewel of the crown, the central dome burning just squeezed my heart out..I felt like a part of me is in flames.

Today, the Minister Of State of the Indian Govt, has resigned, taking responsibility of lapse of security to its citizens. Today's newspaper has photographs of the damage done inside the Taj and Oberoi, once when media was allowed inside the hotel premises. Words are not good enough to express or communicate the extent of devastation caused inside the hotel, Everything is charred black, burnt without any recognition or familiarity of what existed earlier.The heritage wing of the Taj, the exquisite Harbour bar, restaurants and shops are all burnt out. It looks like an abandoned ghost building.

5. Not even in our nightmare, could any of us imagine that one day the Taj and Oberoi would become a venue for hostage and terror activity .It is a shock for everyone. It appears that the terrorists knew every inch of the hotel well .It seems that two other terrorists had checked in to the hotel afew days before the incident, smuggling in guns and granades and ammunition for the terror operation. Further, two more terrorists had apparently joined the staff at the Taj as housekeeping men through procedural recruitment. This was the level of the in depth planning by the militants.

6. India has never seen terror attacks of this nature earlier.The meticulous planning of the operation, the knowledge and information about all the terror sites, perfect timings etc ... make it evident that this attack is a part of a bigger conspiracy, backed by a very intelligent terror group. Possibly the same ones who executed 9/11.The terrorists did not make any demands, This scale of operation will not be done by someone for petty stuff like money or release of terrorists who are held as prisoners in Indian Jails. This scale and thoroughness of the attack shows the vision and perspective of a strong group who has a larger mission in mind. The terrorists came to spread terror and to Kill people, period.

7. The US media is giving distorted information about this attack. Aniban has been getting frantic calls from friends and relatives in the US, saying that they heard terrorists are after all US and UK citizens and are singling them out, to be taken as hostages This is inaccurate information. The media is renowned for doing this stuff repeatedly in past to spice up their news, even if it is at the cost of causing panic in people with incorrect fact. It is sad that such corporations are allowed to operate freely in the media, which is actually supposed to be responsible for relating true facts and news to people and not raise ratings at the cost of causing panic with wrong info.

Two of the terrorists were themselves UK passport holders.The terrorists were NOT after US or UK citizens, They were looking to single out Jewish citizens,

They had prior information that a huge delegation of Jewish people from Israel are here in Mumbai staying at the Taj and Oberoi, to attend a diamond trade conference, which was actually going on during those days.

8. Taj has 800 rooms and Oberoi has 400 rooms.The terrorists went inside the 2 hotels are fired indiscriminately at guests at the lobby, restaurants, bars, ball room, conference and convention centre, shopping arcade, and in the guest rooms as well.They were carrying bag packs filled with grenades and rocket launchers, which they used inside the hotel complex freely. Dead bodies were strewn around, people who were in their rooms were asked to lock their doors, shut off lights and cell phones, and stay inside and NOT open the doors .At the time of the attack the hotels were filled with guests including, hotel guests, staff, and local people of Mumbai who had come to the restaurants with family or for business dinners. A lot of prominent Indian and international personalities from different fields were also present at both hotels at the time of the attack.

9. Few managed to escape after the attacks started. Others scrambled in to their rooms in fear and locked up the rest were not so lucky and were victims to terrorists firepower.Meanwhile outside these hotels there was hustle and bustle, the army, marines, commandos were called in and they swung in to operation to flush out the terrorists.Firing and explosions went on throughout day and night.After about 24 hours, there were scenes of hotel guests stuck in their rooms frantically waving to people below asking them to save them . It was painful for Aniban to see all this. On the second day, the marines managed to get some more guests out of the hotel from the floors which they could reach and escorted them out to safety.

Anxious and shocked friends and relatives of guests and visitors who were in these 2 hotels gathered outside the hotels, waiting for their loved ones and family to come out, as they had no news of whether their loved ones were dead or alive.There were about 150 people as guests in the Taj and about 200+ people at the Oberoi who were stuck inside. By the second day, about 50-60 people were evacuated from the Taj and about 40-50 people from the Oberoi hotel.The balance were still stuck inside, The media reported that balance people are stuck in their rooms in fear and that they would only come out once the marines and commandos have killed all the militants and taken control of the hotels, The relatives of the ones stuck inside continued to wait outside day and night in anxiousness waiting to see if the next person out from the hotel is their loved one.

But by the end of second day, as the battle raged inside with rapid gunshots and explosions, the ghastly news emerged.

The balance guests inside the hotel and rooms were NOT stuck, they were ALL DEAD out of suffocation or fear or were killed by the terrorists.

10. Meanwhile, all rescued people from the 2 hotels started leaving the premises under security cover were escorted to airports. The scene was overwhelming.

There was a family of 5 from abroad at the Oberoi, including a 2 month old baby today the only survivor in the family is the 2 month old baby .

Husbands were separated from their wives, brothers from sisters, wives lost their husbands, brothers, sisters and friends.

11. Meanwhile at the residential complex, terrorists killed ALL family members of the Rabbi including the Rabbi himself, along with many other innocent people nearby.

12. As o f now, all 3 operations are over, All terrorists have been killed. Now starts the painful and ghastly job of evacuating all the dead bodies and authorities fear that the dead count is going to cause a huge fur and will be huge.

Anirban expresses," I believe an incident like this, shakes us all up and reminds us that life is not about money, power, problems and attitudes only the basic and core attribute of life is to be thankful to God that we are alive, We are lucky, We are here for a purpose in life and that we should all look beyond problems, petty ego issues and arrogance, material gains and realize the basic virtue of life, which is to love unconditionally, compassion, affection, forgiveness and sharing love and happiness with ones who mean a lot to us."