There was an ominous fragility about the world in 2008. In mid-September, the financial system came close to collapse. The failure of Lehman Brothers, the 158-year-old Wall Street investment bank, triggered panic in markets. The authorities in New York, Washington, London, Frankfurt and Tokyo looked on helplessly. For a few nerve-wracking days and nights, the world appeared to be hurtling toward financial Armageddon.

The crisis was far from over when another assault on the senses took place, this time in Mumbai. Terrorists, laden with plastic explosives, grenades and assault rifles, killed at least 192 civilians across India’s financial capital and laid waste to the luxury Taj Mahal Palace hotel. By singling out symbols of Indian opulence and power, the perpetrators consciously aped the September 11 terrorists who targeted the Twin Towers in New York.