November 26th 2008, 9.15pm - Two assailants enter the Leopold Cafe and open fire on innocent diners. This was the start of what is now dubbed as the "9/11 of Mumbai" Within the next hour and half, nine other locations came under siege including prominent locations like The Taj Mahal Hotel, the Oberoi-Trident hotel and the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus.Indiscriminate fire, blasts and grenade attacks took the lives of close to 150 innocent people including 14 policemen and 13 foreigners, and injured hundreds others over a period of three days. NSG commandos fought a gruelling battle to flush out terrorists from the Taj, the Oberoi Trident and the Nariman house and rescue hostages. Curfew was imposed, and the city that never sleeps, came to a standstill.

And we sat back and watched. First with pain and shock, then with horror and then with anger. We were helpless. Even the "Spirit of Mumbai" could not handle this blow.

The icon of Mumbai-the majestic Taj Mahal Hotel, has stood strong for over a century at the Gateway of India. Tonight it burned. The smoke bellowing from the dome rekindling horrific images of the twin towers burning.

The bullets fired from those AK47s took the lives of 150 people but left a gaping hole in the hearts of 18 million mumbaikars and 1 billion Indians.

India has become one of the most terrorised countries in the world. Since the 7/11/2006 bomb blasts in the trains of Mumbai, India has witnessed at least 10 major terrorist attacks. Indians have become so sensitized to this violence that we pick up the pieces of our broken hearts, blame our incompetent government and move on with our lives. After each attack we are thankful that we or our loved ones weren't the victims and hope that we will be equally lucky the next time.

But not this time. This time the country is outraged. The media is abuzz with the theme that India needs to increase it's homeland security. It has taken 5000 innocent lives since 2002, for us to finally realize that we need to protect our own homeland! The Wall Street Journal reports "The country's anti-terrorism effort is reactive and episodic rather than proactive and sustained."
Once again tired and frustrated with the government's politics, bureaucracy, corruption and incompetence, We the People have decided to stand up and protect ourselves.

I agree with everyone who says that it is as much our responsibility as the government's. Our responsibility is to be conscientious citizens and report a wrongdoing. But whom should we report to? Where is our homeland security? Where is our intelligence? This attack was in the planning for 6 months, how come our intelligence had no inkling about it? What are we doing to protect the lives of the common man? While the politicians travel with unparalleled security, our Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS) chief, Mr.Hemant Karkare gets shot 3 times in the chest!

So yes, as conscientious citizens, this is what I think we should do. Let us stand up and claim our rights as the citizens of India who demand to be protected. Talk to your elected officials and let them know that we are serious about protecting our lives. Submit applications and petitions to the government demanding enforcement of Homeland Security. Organize peaceful marches and candlelight vigils. Its a long hard road, but our lives our worth protecting. Let us not lose another life in vain. Every life lost was a life dear to someone.

It is time we take a stand. Indian Life is Priceless! Let us do everything in our power to protect it.