MUMBAI - SHOCK gave way to grief and anger on Saturday as India grappled with what has been described as its own '9/11', with protesters accusing neighbouring Pakistan of being behind attacks that killed 195 people.
Commandos and rescue personnel were still cleaning up the wreckage of a three-day rampage when about 50 protesters gathered near the still-smouldering Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.
What could happen after the Mumbai attacks
NEW DELHI - HERE are some political, economic and geopolitical scenarios for India after the attacks in Mumbai. At least 195 people were killed during coordinated attacks by Islamist militants.
POLITICS The Congress-led government faces several state elections and a general election in early 2009. Many analysts expected it to fare badly before the Mumbai attacks, with voters frustrated at rising prices and an economic slowdown.
MUMBAI - THIS seaside city of 18 million known for its resilience has bounced back from wrenching tragedy before, but after the most brazen terror attack in India's history, the people of Mumbai are worried.
In crowded trains, corner stores, office buildings and neighborhood parks, residents ask each other the same questions.
MUMBAI - FROM dead bodies and blood-spattered walls to cowering in hotel rooms without food or water for 36 hours, eyewitnesses have given dramatic accounts of the terrifying carnage in Mumbai.
Caught up in the brazen attack on India's financial hub, many said they hid in the dark for hours, waiting to be rescued and fearing armed militants would shoot them dead at any moment.
'Our soldiers came and Pakistan ran away,' they shouted, pumping their fists skyward. One waved an Indian flag.
India has blamed the strikes on 'elements' from nuclear rival Pakistan, and evidence is mounting that the Islamist gunmen may have hatched their plan there.
For relatives of the victims, the reality of the attacks was laid bare at a morgue at the JJ Hospital in Mumbai.
'For three days, we kept hearing different reports about my sister. Finally, today when I saw her, her face was blown off,' said a relative of journalist Sabina Saikia, who was killed inside the Taj Mahal hotel.
A text message circulated throughout Mumbai urging people to wear black on Sunday as a mark of condolence.
Elsewhere across India, thousands mourned 20 policemen and soldiers who died fighting the heavily armed militants who turned India's commercial and entertainment capital into a televised war zone with coordinated assaults on city landmarks.
'This is a day of mourning for all the men who laid down their lives,' Maharashtra state police Chief A.N. Roy told reporters. The burials were conducted with full state honours.
TV footage showed the flag-draped and garlanded coffins of the dead men - widely described as India's martyrs - being carried in brightly coloured processions. Military bands in red and black uniforms played and honour guards fired 21-gun salutes.
Newspapers called the Mumbai attacks India's own '9/11", referring to the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacked airliner attacks on the United States which killed 2,973 people.
'Should security bosses ... be so secure in their jobs when security personnel and civilians risk lives for their failures?' The Times of India said in an editorial.
The Hindustan Times wrote: 'India is under attack. The very idea of India is under attack ... Playing the headless chicken is no longer an option'.
Politics did not take a break, with a national election due by May and local polls taking place in New Delhi on Saturday.
The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), India's main opposition, took out front-page advertisements accusing the ruling Congress party coalition of failing to defend the nation.
'Brutal terror strikes at will. Weak government. Unwilling and incapable. Fight terror - Vote BJP,' said one ad, showing a blood-red stain on a black background.
Congress, under fire from the BJP about national security for the last 20 days, shot back: '20 days of false campaigning cannot replace 10 years of development. Your decision'. -- REUTERS
