MUMBAI UNDER 60-HOUR SIEGE: 166 DEAD AS SECURITY GRID FAILS
Intelligence Warnings Ignored; Coastal Patrols Missing; NSG Commandos Delayed in Delhi for Hours
On the night of 26 November 2008, ten heavily armed Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists entered Mumbai via sea route unhindered, carrying out coordinated gunfire and bombing attacks at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Oberoi Trident, Nariman House, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), and Leopold Cafe.
Despite specific intelligence warnings from RAW and IB about seaward terrorist strikes, no preventive coastal surveillance was mounted. The central government response was paralyzed: elite NSG commandos in Manesar were stranded waiting for an aircraft in New Delhi for over 5 hours while Mumbai burned.
Public outrage escalated when Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil was reported to have changed clothes multiple times during the crisis for media briefings, while Maharashtra Deputy CM RR Patil dismissed the carnage saying "Bade bade shehron mein aisi chhoti chhoti baatein hoti rehti hain".
📌 Key Figures & Decision Makers
- ▸ Shivraj Patil (Union Home Minister)
- ▸ RR Patil (Deputy CM, Maharashtra)
- ▸ Manmohan Singh (Prime Minister)
"Bade bade shehron mein aisi chhoti chhoti baatein hoti rehti hain (In big cities, small incidents keep happening)."
- • Ram Pradhan Committee Inquiry Report on 26/11 Mumbai Attacks (Government of Maharashtra, 2009)
- • 26/11: The Night Mumbai Stood Still and New Delhi Stalled (The Indian Express Archive, 2008)