New Delhi, Nov 26 (IANS) On the first anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, a host of commemorative events are planned Thursday in the national capital by a cross section of people.
One year ago, on this day, India’s financial capital Mumbai was besieged by a handful of terrorists for 60 hours — leaving 166 people dead and injuring many more.

Saluting the brave defence officials who gave up their lives to save others and paying tribute to the innocent victims, a number of candle light vigils and discussions are being held in Delhi.

In one such commemorative ‘lighting a candle’ ceremony, youngsters from as many as 10 countries will gather at the Scope Complex Thursday evening to pay tribute to the victims of the 26/11 attacks and salute the courage of those who fought the terrorists.

The youngsters — who hail from Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Egypt, New Zealand and others, apart from India — are a part of the Indian Model United Nations Conference (INMUN), a simulation of the United Nations Assembly.

The United Muslim Morcha, an NGO, has also organised a commemorative function.

Ejaz Ali, president of the group, said: “On this day, we salute the brave officers, Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte and all the others who gave their lives fighting terrorism.”

Spiritual guru Swami Ramdev, who has organised a conference on the occasion, said: “26/11 reminds us of terror attacks not only on Mumbai, but also on India as a nation. The threat remains.”

“The system needs to change to deal with such terrorist attacks,” he added.

A number of NGOs, including TV news channel NDTV India, have also planned candle light vigils to pay homage to the victims of the attack.