The Indian 9/11

By Nitasha Maindiratta

On Nov. 26, Mumbai was attacked. The seven star Taj Mahal Palace Hotel was destroyed and many residents of the Mumbai area became hostages.

Students regret and mourn the victims of such terrorist attacks, but most have not felt its serious consequences. Some students in Hills West, however, do understand the massacre, for they came in direct contact with it. But if even one student knows what horror the attacks brings, by looking into his or her eyes and seeing the sadness, shouldn't it affect everyone?

Trishna Sharma was one of the few in Hills West that was directly affected by what is now being called the the second 9/11 attack. "When my family and I heard of the attacks, we were completely terrified, trying to reach our family as fast as we could," she said. She had to wait in dread to hear any news of her family. "A day after, my great grandfather in India called back reassuring us. Thank god, the attacks did not affect my family and they are all okay."

Senior Anirudh Maheshwari was also directly affected by the bomb attack, which occurred during Thanksgiving. "I was at home on the Wednesday night before, and I turned on the news. It looked like another random bombing, which, sad to say, I am used to. But this attack became something I felt deeply affected by because the commandoes could not do anything and lives were still in danger. I clearly remember watching TV as we were trying to say what we are thankful for and as we stood silently praying, hearing 'another terrorist killed, there are several left' from the TV," declared Maheshwari.

Anirudh, like Sharma, has family living in the city of Mumbai. "Considering they are frail, I was worried about how they would get food because the bombers attacked their favorite market they visit daily. Luckily, they are okay," he said, talking about his very close grandparents. Maheshwari, who feels very deep about the subject, plans to run a Model UN to teach student about the disputes and attacks that people all over the world have to encounter.

Indians throughout the Hills West community spent their Thanksgiving breaks mourning the loss of many. We as students can try to prevent another terrorist attack from occurring. All we need is greater instruction, like assemblies, events, etc, to teach us about the roots of terrorism. It is our responsibility as the next generation to figure out the roots of such hatred and harm, for it is our duty to correct and prevents attacks that may occur in the future.