26 November 2008, yeh sirf ek tareekh nahi, balki woh zakhm hai jo aaj bhi dard deta hai, aur saath hi humein hila kar taiyaar bhi karta hai. Lekin us raat kuch alag tha Mumbai ki raat hamesha shor, roshni, bhaag-daud aur zindagi se bhari rehti hai. Hawa bhi jaise ruk si gayi thi, shehar ki saanson mein ek ajeeb sa sannata tha. Log apne rozmarra ki zindagi mein the. koi dinner kar raha tha, koi train pakad raha tha, koi apne ghar laut raha tha. Kisi ko ehsaas tak nahi tha ki agle kuch ghanton mein unke shehar ka chehra hamesha ke liye badalne wala hai.
Samundar se 10 anjaane chehre Mumbai mein pravesh kar gaye, aur tabhi, andhere ko cheerte hue. Nafrat se bhara irada, hatyaaron se bhare haath, and kisi masoom ki jaan lene ka bas ek hi maqsad. Kuch hi der mein Taj Mahal Palace ki goli ki garaj ke neeche dikhai dene lagi. Afra-tafri mach gayi Oberoi Trident ki khamosh lobby. CST jahan har roz hazaaron log apni zindagi ki daud dhote hain. wahi platform cheekhon se bhar gaya. Nariman House ke aas-paas ki galiyon mein darr ka saaya mandraane laga. Cafe Leopold, us raat ranbhumi ban gaya, jo hamesha muskurahat aur gupshup ka adda tha.
Goli ki awaaz, dhamake ki goonj, logon ki cheekhen, bachchon ka darr, or shehar ki dhadkan ek pal ko ruk gayi thi. Lekin isi andhere ke beech kuch aise log bhi the jinhone bhaagna chuna nahi. Firefighters, NSG commandos, and Mumbai Police officers unhone apni parwah kiye bina sidhe maut ke saamne khade hone ka faisla kiya.
As far as Hemant Karkare, Tukaram Ombale, and Vijay Salaskar are concerned, there is no doubt that the Qurbaan karke humein yeh sikha gaye ki veerta ka matlab kya hota hai. Tukaram Ombale ne apne sharir par goliyan jhelkar Ajmal Kasab ko zinda pakda, ek aisi bahaduri jise shabdon mein bayan karna mushkil hai.
