The terror attack on Mumbai four years ago was supposed to hit India where it hurt the most and hurt it irrevocably. The goal was to shatter India’s dream of being the next economic giant, it was supposed to crush the ambitions of its millionaires, it was supposed to lay nought the hopes and aspirations of its burgeoning middle class. It was supposed to break India’s will and bring it on par with its self-destructive neighbour that was not willing to compete fairly.

It was a masterstroke as far as strategy, planning and execution went, but it failed miserably because it underestimated the will and power of the adversary. Not just a failed tactic, 26/11 as an asymmetrical war strategy rebounded on Pakistan. In the four years since those fateful three days in Mumbai, India’s neighbour has become an international pariah, on a downward spiral. It is a country where even the liberal media and politicians bemoan the fact that not an iota of hope is left. Every institution in the country has been wrecked asunder by jihadi elements that have sunk their tentacles deep. A country than can play host to Osama bin Laden, but a Malala has to flee.