India mourns its victims of terror

India reared its united face to the world as it mourned the victims of last year's 26/11 terror attacks in the city of Mumbai. Indians cut across caste, creed and religion to illustrate their resolve in the midst of grief. The world's largest fully-functioning democracy illustrated that it would not allow terrorism to derail its ambitions, or unity.

This is the new India — where a resilient economy does not discriminate on grounds of faith, or which part of the country its citizens come from. Virtually everybody has a role to play in its success.

And perhaps the most poignant tribute was the fact that even when cities came to a standstill to mourn the loss of lives in Mumbai at a designated hour, the nation did not falter in its momentum. And by this act alone the terrorists who plot murder and mayhem are defeated — not by governments, but by simple people.

Many lessons have been learnt, especially by the administration, since last year. Fail to prepare is to prepare to fail. Trading charges in parliament for political capital is not the solution. Even rival politicians should be patriotic enough to unite. Human lives are not cheap and the guilty must be held accountable.