Mumbai, or Bombay, India’s business hub, is under siege. NDTV, India’s leading television channel, reports that more than 100 people have been killed and hundreds injured in a series of well-coordinated major terrorist attacks at 10 places. (Photo above: India’s famous Taj Hotel under attack: Courtesy Times of India.
“Gunmen wanted anyone with British or American passport,” said one eye-witness. (Meanwhile an Israeli rabbi is among at least three people being held hostage by gunmen in a Mumbai apartment building. The Israeli rescue service Zaka, an ultra-Orthodox organization, identified the hostages as Rabbi Gabriel Holtzberg and his wife, Rivka. Israeli media reported an unspecified number of Israelis were being held hostage in other hotels and sites in Mumbai.)
“Fresh firing resumes at the hotels, Army is out and encounters are still on.
“There is a desperate hostage situation in at least two locations — the Taj and the Trident hotels. In the Taj Colaba, at least 100 people are believed to be trapped probably held hostage by terrorists.
“At least 12 policemen have been killed across the city, including the head of the Maharashtra state Anti-Terror Squad Hemant Karkare, who was shot three times in the chest. Well-known ‘encounter’ specialist Vijay Salaskar is also dead. Additional Commissioner of Police Sadanand Date is critical.
“Every top line anti-terror force in the country has been pushed into Mumbai including commandos of the National Security Guard, Marine Commandos and Army commandos. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called an emergency Cabinet meeting. Home Minister Shivraj Patil is back in Delhi from Mumbai for the meet.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: TMV International Columnist Swaraaj Chauhan is a veteran New Delhi journalist who lives in India.]
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.