Now the hand-wringing and the finger-pointing begins – a dangerous period that needs desperately to be turned to advantage, regionally and internationally.

The first imperative is to ensure that this brazen and bloody raid on India’s most open city does not escalate into confrontation with Pakistan, the presumed origin of the attackers. Twice in 2002, following a jihadi attack on India’s parliament, the nuclear-armed rivals were within hours of open war.