26/11: The day India changed forever

There are points in a nation’s history that become watershed moments from where the trajectory of a nation takes an irreversible turn. In the history of independent India too, there have quite a few such path-breaking events. If the first war between India and Pakistan triggered by an infiltration by tribal militias ‘Kabalias’ in October 1947 hastened the amalgamation of Kashmir into the Indian Union, the 1971 war led to the birth of a new nation, Bangladesh, and the 1999 Kargil War led to a complete review of border security and intelligence infrastructure along the northern Kashmir.

However, if there was one event that shook India and has transformed the Indian security mindset, it has to be the Mumbai terror attack of November 26, 2008. It was not as if this was the first terror attack outside Jammu & Kashmir because the Parliament attack of December 2001 or the Pune German Bakery Blast of February 2010 were significant too. But the manner in which India fought back and the fact that the 26/11 attacks specifically targeted places frequented by foreigners, especially Jews, made it even more significant in terms of a security landmark.

What Happened That Day?

The night of November 26, 2008, 10 terrorists from the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group of Pakistan entered Mumbai city across the sea route in inflatable speedboats after embarking from Karachi in a trawler on November 21. Having entered Mumbai fairly undetected and uncontested, they split into small teams to carry out coordinated attacks in carefully chosen places to cause maximum impact. Over the course of the next four days, they killed 166 people and injured 300. The targets—the Taj and Oberoi Hotels, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Railway Terminus, the Jewish Centre at Nariman House, and the Leopold Cafe—were carefully chosen, surveyed in detail, and targeted specifically, since these places were often frequented by foreigners, especially Europeans and Jews.

Among the 166 killed were 141 Indians and 25 foreign nationals, including 6 Americans and 4 Israelis. According to transcripts of phone calls between the terrorists and their handlers during the attack, terrorists were specifically instructed to kill foreigners, especially Jews. Nine terrorists were eliminated while Ajmal Kasab was captured alive, who later confessed to the conspiracy being hatched in Pakistan and executed by LeT.

What Changed Thereafter

26/11 was not the biggest terror attack in India and not the last too. The 1993 Mumbai serial attacks had killed 257 people, while the 2006 Mumbai train attack had killed 209 people. 14 months later, the Pune German Bakery Blast in February 2010 too resulted in 18 deaths, including 5 foreign nationals. However, what perhaps changed after 26/11 was the way it shook the national security consciousness. Having witnessed the visuals live on television over four days, it became embedded in public memory forever too.

There were two other major structural changes that took place, among many others. Firstly, a specific focus was now put on coastal security, with the Indian Navy being entrusted with the overall responsibility of maritime security, including coastal security and offshore security, while the Coast Guard was to guard the territorial waters. The National Command Control Communications and Intelligence (NC3I) Network was set up as part of the maritime security measures.

Surveillance across the long coastline was a challenge. Coupled with satellite coverage, many other measures were instituted, including the fact that all boats with a length greater than 20 meters were required to have an Automatic Identification System (AIS). Systems for better coordination between local police and other security and intelligence agencies too were put in place with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) being set up in December 2008. The National Security Guard (NSG), which operated from Delhi earlier, now had new bases across the country for faster response.

However, the biggest change for India that happened as a result of the attack was that for the first time since the 1990s, when India’s fought against terror took shape, there was a near unanimous global acceptance that India was fighting its ‘war against terror’. Earlier, despite volumes of evidence of Pakistan-based terror attacks in India, most countries and global platforms were rather dismissive about Indian claims, leaving India to fight its battle alone.

The 26/11 also led to greater intelligence sharing mechanisms between the countries, especially the US, EU, Israel, and Russia, as well as the West Asian region. The acceptance of the Indian line on terror had another significant outcome, something that the Modi government fully capitalised on after 2014, which led to vastly enhanced relations with countries in West Asia and built a number of strategic partnerships.

Against a compulsive show of Muslim solidarity with Pakistan earlier, thereby limiting the options to enhance ties with India, there was now a unanimous acceptance of India’s position on terror, and on more than one occasion thereafter, the countries in the region have strongly supported India. Whether it was Uri, Pathankote, or Pulwama, countries in the region, especially Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar, not only condemned the attacks strongly but extended support to India in any action (including military) that it took to fight and eradicate terror.

The Pakistan Factor

A significant result of 26/11 has been India’s stance towards Pakistan and its ‘no talks till no terror’ policy and nullifying the ‘Pakistan Factor’ in all forums in all possible ways. It has not only led to the isolation of Pakistan in the region but has starved it economically too. The proofs of financial support by Pakistan to terror submitted by India and other global agencies have led to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global body that investigates and grades nations on issues of combat money laundering and terrorist financing, sanctioning Pakistan multiple times in the past decade and placing severe restrictions on international aid into the country.

In addition, Pakistan, which was the poster boy of US policy and the fight against terror in Afghanistan in 2008–09, now finds itself completely out of favour. To add to its woes, with the US-led international forces having left Afghanistan in August 2021, Pakistan is not only left high and dry from a financial point of view but has to also contend with terror attacks on its own soil frequently. Plus, due to India’s success in de-hyphenating its ties from the Pakistan factor with the countries in West Asia, the blanket support and aid that Pakistan got from the region earlier is no longer forthcoming.

Perhaps the biggest change has been in the policy mindset of the Indian security establishment. Whether it was Uri in 2016, Pathankot in 2016, or Pulwama in 2019, India, through prompt and effective surgical strikes, has made it clear that Pakistan cannot get away with terror attacks any longer. Also, the nuclear bogey of Pakistan too has been called out, with the air strike deep into Pakistan in Balakot being a clear example of it.

Conclusion

26/11, often called the 9/11 of India, was a dark chapter in India’s security history, an event that shook the collective security consciousness of India and changed the security paradigm in the region forever. It also made India realise that terror cannot be ‘taken in the stride’ any longer and that any future attack has to be replied with strong punitive measures in a ‘whole of nation approach’.

The changed approach in Kashmir, with a focus on two-pronged strategy: focus on economic development and infrastructure development on the one hand and very close coordination between the security agencies on the other, has resulted in a drastic reduction in terror threats manifesting within India over the years. The abrogation of Article 370 from Kashmir in August 2019 too has contributed to ensuring closer integration of the region with India. Who knows how much and how soon these changes would have happened if 26/11 had not forced us to wake up?

Col Rajeev Agarwal is a military veteran and West Asia expert. During his service, he has been Director in Military Intelligence as well as Director in the Ministry of External Affairs. His X handle is @rajeev1421. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.