Terror has rocked India before but never have terrorists been so audacious. South Mumbai is India's economic heart. This attack is "India's 9/11".

Mumbai is no routine urban agglomeration. It is a fabled city where millions of Indians, migrating from poor hinterlands, seek a living; where rags-to-riches stories are not uncommon; where vast business deals are struck. It is where dreams are manufactured by a film industry that gives countless Indians relief from the struggles of life. Millions identify with the city.