Where Are They Now?

Joel Fernandes
IST 625- Assignment
Section Number- M800
Instructor- Johanna Birkland
Date- February 11, 2011
General
My paper covers the event of the terrorist attacks that happened in Mumbai in 2009 It was one of
the most brutal attacks the world has seen, the attacks were carried out on famous landmarks like
a nearby railway station, Taj Mahal hotel as well as a famous tourist bar and café called
Leopold. I would like to address Leopold café and bar as reputed business in the city. Leopold is
situated in one of the busiest places in Mumbai called Colaba. It is an area often flooded with
tourists and the cafe mainly hosts two floors the lower deck which is the hangout for all tourists
who come to have a drink and socialize in the evenings and the upper deck a more quitter and
family oriented ambience. The main income to this place is from the tourists which are the
majority of the population who come to drink and dine here. Leopold had started in 1871 and is
one of the oldest café’s in Mumbai it was started by Iranian nationalities. On November 26 th
2008 between 9:30pm and 9:45pm (IST) two terrorists entered the café and opened fire at the
crow present about 10 people were victims of the shooting out of which 8 people were killed, out
of which two were waiters and others were foreigners including one German. There was
extensive damage done to the café tables, chairs and cutlery.
The terrorists entered the country from the Arabian Sea; they were from Karachi, Pakistan. An
Indian fishing trawler was abducted by them and they terrorized the captain of the boat to sail
towards Mumbai. They entered Mumbai through the Gateway of India, which is another famous
tourist location and a harbor for many fishing trawlers. They spent a while in Mumbai chalking
out the attack plans and began training for the same. The terrorist planned attacks on places
which were populated with the maximum tourist and European and American nationals like five
star hotels international hospitals and tourist residential areas. According to Farhang Jehani the
owner of Leopold, he was upstairs in the café watching a cricket match when the attack
happened, he heard loud thuds and thought it was a fire cracker, only later when he heard people
screaming and shouting he rushed down to find everyone on the floor taking shelter under tables
and chairs, he says that the terrorist were looking to divert the attention of the police by attacking
the café so that they could enter the Taj Mahal Hotel, where another set of attacks took place.
Jehani also said that there were bullet holes in the walls and extensive damage done to furniture
as well as the ambience of the café, he also said that he had he saw two young men standing on
the sidewalk with large rucksacks, not an unusual sight in a neighborhood popular with
backpackers. They looked like "decent" people, he said. "I thought they were waiting for
friends." About three minutes later the men began their shooting spree (New York Times, 2009).
After the event occurred the hotel staff tried to move the injred into the cars available so that they
could rush them to the nearest hospital to prevent fatalities.

Short/Long term
The Café and bar opened 48 hours after the attacks with the blood and debris being cleaned from
the floor and the furniture replaced as well as the place tidied up. Immediate measures included
setting up a police booth outside the restaurant with policemen patrolling the cafe. Immediate
employment of more bouncers. The long term measures were metal detectors, CCTV cameras
outside as well as inside the premises, physical bag check so that the guests inside feel safe and
the recruiting process would be restructured with all contact details of the staff on record as well
as background information and checks to be done before anyone was hired.
Outcomes and Changes
On the mid-day of 30th November when the shutters opened customer and media poured into the
café. There was an round of applause all round on the reopening of the café. Jehani quoted “ We
will prove to the terrorists that we have won, and you have not won”. Supporting the owner 67 of
his staff had reported to work at 11 in the morning other than the kitchen staff who arrived early
and participated in the Jewish prayer organized in the café. Many protesters took to the streets
that day infuriated by the weak defense mechanisms of the government as wemm as criticizing
the government’s response to the attacks. Students, teachers, parents and NGO activists all took
to the streets with banners, placards, and shouting slogans of antiterrorism and peace. Since the
attack the number of visitors to the hotel has increased considerably, the window panes and walls
with the bullet holes have been preserved as a remembrance of the attacks, this has drawn
crowds all over Mumbai and the world to enjoy an evening, but also remembering the massacre
that occurred there. The café also started selling cups, T-shirts, and other souvenirs of the place.
The once upon a time café is now one of the most iconic café’s in Mumbai.
Lessons Learnt
A similar attack was staged in October 2002 when Indonesian terrorists’ detonated bombs inside
two popular nightclubs and one outside the US Consulate in Denpasar killing 202 people, again
the majority of people affected were foreigners. Since then the security had been stepped up with
metal detectors and rigorous checking before entering such places. For India the lessons learned
are

 Strict checking of bags and along with metal detection equipment at all entrances of
hotels and other social places
 Installation of CCTV cameras to cover large areas of a social gathering and expert
systems to detect unusual activities with round the clock monitoring.
 All hotels, clubs, cafes and bars should have a fixed armed policemen to counteract an
attack of a similar magnitude
 These places should also be equipped with defense equipment like bulletproof shields,
jackets, advanced first aid for emergencies.
 Multiple exists with emergency exits for escape should be enforced. Floor plan should be
easily accessible to customers to gain an idea of the place and the exits.
 All entrances to the country whether sea, air and land should have tight patrolling and
increased checking for identity of people entering the country.
 Increase the skill, equipment and the training for Indian Security forces so that they be
able to fend off such an attack in the future
 The timing of the security forces reaching the scene was also is disarray, the government
should have had defense mechanisms in place which could act quickly, this would have
lessened the severity of the incident which went from the Leopold to the Taj Mahal
There are many lessons learnt from this event, it is sad that a country has to be reminded about
its security breaches by a brutal event as severe as this. Every person should take responsibility
in contributing to making the country secure and safe.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5260641.ece
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/world/asia/14iht-mumbai.4.18666182.html?
pagewanted=2&_r=1

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7752625.stm
http://www.sunday-guardian.com/a/1368