From 26/11 in Mumbai to 9/11 in New York: Why large nations lose small wars

A decade after 26/11, we can choose to lament the lack of progress - which is the usual fare for such 'anniversaries' - or we can appreciate the sense of urgency of the collapsing circuitry

Nine years ago today, India got its own 9/11. The 26/11 attack was neither the first nor the most damaging. The 1993 bombings killed nearly 100 more people. Nor the most provocative. The 2001 parliament attack mobilised two nuclear armies. But the 26/11 attacks were etched into our collective psyche because it met all the requirements of a textbook terror attack. Nearly a decade later, we have achieved some tactical capacity but ironically may have become more vulnerable strategically.

At its essence, terror is an instrument of war, designed to exert compellence far disproportionate to the size or conventional ability