Press Association
Tuesday 6th January 2009
Hundreds of businessmen and women have stood in silent solidarity at a candlelit vigil in London to honour those who died in the Mumbai terrorist attacks one week ago.
The one-hour ceremony took place at Canary Wharf as commuters left work, and was intended to show support for India's financial centre in the wake of the massacre.
Among the many people paying tribute to the dead was London-based business man Hiro Harjani whose nephew was in Mumbai visiting relatives at the time of the attacks.
Tragically, Mohit Harjani, 32, who ran a business in Dubai, and his wife Lavina, 28, were having dinner at the ground floor restaurant at the Oberoi Hotel when gunmen burst in and both were killed.
"We need solidarity," said Mr Harjani, 47, who learnt of his family's loss on Friday morning in a phone call from his father.
"We need to get together like this. I'm going to support every event. We need answers. We need the global community to be aware and to take more action. This is not just an India and Pakistan problem, it's a world problem.
"It could spark a third world war." He added: "We have to keep making noises until everyone wakes up."
Also at the vigil, organised by Indian charity SewaVolunteers, was Anwar Hasan, the group representative for Tata Group, which runs the Taj Hotel targeted during the violence.
"In the 60 hours that the terrorist attacks lasted in India, I watched each and every minute of it on television.
"Not being in India, I felt I had to be part of something happening collectively. I thought 'I couldn't sleep if I wasn't part of this candlelit vigil'."
