Citizens of Mumbai are attempting to return to normal activities, two
days after a bloody terrorist assault on their city came to an end.
One of the targets, the tourist friendly Cafe Leopold, has reopened its
doors to diners. And people are getting back to their daily business in
the city.
Meanwhile, the fallout of the attacks is being felt in the political
realm. The chief minister of the Indian state of Maharashtra, Vilasrao
Deshmukh, says he is willing to step down to take responsibility for
perceived shortcomings. At a news conference today (Monday), Deshmukh said he is waiting for leaders from his ruling Congress Party to make a final decision.
His second-in-command in the state where Mumbai is located, Deputy Chief Minister R.R. Patil, has already resigned.
And, on Sunday, at the federal level, Home Minister Shivraj Patil
resigned and was replaced by Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram.
Last week's three-day assault on Mumbai killed about 175 people, including at least 18 foreigners, at 10 locations.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told a meeting of political parties in
New Delhi Sunday that the government is expanding India's main
anti-terror force (, the National Security Guard).
He also announced the formation of a new federal investigative agency, as well as stepped-up air and maritime security.
In a separate development today, a Muslim graveyard in Mumbai rejected
the bodies of the nine dead attackers. Graveyard officials said they
should not be buried on Indian soil.
Indian commandos killed the gunmen during the 60-hour siege that began Wednesday with coordinated attacks across the city.
One attacker was captured and identified as a Pakistani. At least one
senior Indian police official has said the gunmen were trained at a
camp linked to Pakistan.
Pakistan's government has denied involvement.