Dikhyaa Mohanty 
The horrific terrorist attacks that rocked Mumbai, the financial hub of India, on November 26, 2008, occurred fifteen years ago. Known by most as 26/11, these well-planned attacks by ten terrorists caused havoc in Mumbai’s streets and shocked the entire country and the world. On the evening of November 26, 2008, terrorists belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group made their way into Mumbai. They inflicted 300 injuries and killed 166 people in four days.
The targets—the Taj and Oberoi Hotels, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, the Jewish centre at Nariman House, and the Leopold Cafe—were carefully selected following a survey to ensure maximum impact. Europeans, Indians, and Jews frequented these locations. The only Pakistani terrorist who survived the attack at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station, Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab, was taken into custody while the other nine LeT terrorists were killed. Qasab was given the death penalty in May 2010 and hanged in a Pune city maximum security prison two years later.
The terrible incident has left lasting wounds on the memories of those who saw it, and the lessons learned are still vital to international security. In commemoration of the horrific terror attacks’ 15th anniversary, Israel has formally classified Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) as a terrorist organization. The Indian government did not request this action to be taken. Declaring LeT to be a terror organization has been accomplished, according to a statement from the Israeli Embassy. It was noted that this decision was taken on its own initiative without an official request from the Indian government.
The UNSC or the US State Department recognize terror organizations that are globally recognized. Israel only lists these organizations if they are actively operating against it from within or near its borders, or if they operate similarly to India. The Israeli ministers of defence and foreign affairs have collaborated for the past few months to expedite and extraordinarily list the Lashkar-e-Taiba organization on this date in order to emphasize the significance of a Unified Global Front in fighting terrorism.
The decision was also hailed by Israel’s ambassador to India, Naor Gilon, who described the prohibition on Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) as the “right thing”. He said that Tel Aviv had a few months ago decided to ban LeT after his deputy found that it was not listed as a terrorist organisation in Israel. In the meantime, to commemorate the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, a day-long poster exhibition was held at the Broken Chair in front of the UN in Geneva on Friday.
“Today, we are protesting in front of the United Nations, Geneva,” stated Priyajit Debsarkar, a human rights activist and author who organized the poster exhibition. Here, we have shown a great deal of equilibrium in remembrance of the horrific and expensive terror attacks that shook Mumbai, the financial hub of India.
