BY JACKIE ALBRECHT NEWS EDITOR
A recent set of attacks in Mumbai were like India’s 9/11 said Naiya Khushalani, an international student from India.
Over 170 people were killed by machine gun and hand grenade assaults when 10 terrorists attacked the city of Mumbai Nov. 26-28.
Many people were taken hostage, and the attackers singled out Americans and Britons, according to cnn.com. Although bodies of water separated the U.S. from India, many Wartburg students were impacted by the attacks.
Khushalani, from Kolkata, and Dalbir Kour, from Poonch, India, were shocked and upset to hear about the attacks happening in their home country.
“It completely shook the country beyond our expectations,” Khushalaini said.
“The fact that the attack was so unexpected and sudden, and that so many people were killed during the three days of battle between the Indian police and army, and the terrorists, affected everyone connected to India in a huge way,” Kour said. She would not, however, consider this set of attacks to be India’s 9/11.
“In the past, there have been even more harsh attacks in which thousands of people had died and caused deeper sorrows. India has been the center of terrorist attacks for a long time because of tensions with Pakistan and the whole Kashmir issue.
“I’m not trying to say that this attack was nothing, but what worries me is about the future of, not only India, but also other countries in the world,” Kour said.
Kour and Khushalani have been in continuous contact with their families in India. Although Kushalani has family in Mumbai, she said they are safe.
“My cousins in Mumbai told me they had friends who could hear the sound of every gunshot as well as the grenades and bombs near some of the targeted areas,” Khushalani said.
Many international students from India have turned to the media to keep up-to-date on new information about the attacks.
“CNN has been continuously covering the news in great detail, which has also been extremely helpful to me and my friends from India here at Wartburg,” Khushalani said.
Khushalani believes the attacks serve as a reminder that terrorism can occur anywhere.
“This is a warning, not just for Indians, but for everyone, because no one knows where and when [terrorists] will attack,” Khushanlani said.