Counter-Memory, Hope and Aspirations A Case Study of 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attack

Preface x Foreword xii Abbreviations xiv 1 The Invisible Survivors of Terror 1 2 Memory, Hope and Aspiration 11 3 In Memoriam: Remembering and Hoping in Space 29 4 Hopelessness, Counter-Memory and Counter-Aspirations 54 5 Conclusion: Learning from the Everyday Lived and Felt Experiences of Survivors 85 Index 115



Biography

Jacquleen Joseph is the Professor of Disaster Studies, Centre for Disaster Management, Jamsetji Tata School of Disaster Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India. She also serves as its current Dean. Her research, field action and teaching at the school are focused on psychosocial care and support in disaster and humanitarian contexts, and her research interests also include disaster risk, vulnerability and recovery in relation to psychosocial well-being.

Surinder K. P. Jaswal is the former Deputy Director (Pro Vice-Chancellor) and Professor of Social Work, Centre for Health and Mental Health, School of Social Work, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India. She was also the Associate Editor of the Indian Journal of Social Work (IJSW). She is a social work educator and public health researcher focusing on inequality and human development issues in health and mental health.

Allan Mathew Alex is a research officer associated with the Jamsetji Tata School of Disaster Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India. He has engaged in a variety of projects focusing on disaster and trauma recovery, disaster justice and disaster risk in urban development. ORCID 0009-0005-2050-1528

Lavanya Shanbhogue Arvind teaches at the Centre for Disasters and Development, Jamsetji Tata School of Disaster Studies, TISS, India. Her research spans gender and water rights, and disaster studies, with a focus on feminist, intersectional and socially responsive approaches. Her debut novel The Heavens We Chase was published in 2016, and her writings have appeared in HuffPost, Hindu Business Line, Madras Courier and Bloomberg Quint.

“The Authors bring with them long term experience and expertise in the subject of Disasters of all types. This publication will add to the understanding of the humanitarian aspects of one such terrible event. The serialization of how the human emotions, and the coping mechanism related to such traumatic events in meaningful ways, building resilience”.

—Nimesh G Desai, Psychiatrist and Public Health Professional

“The act of terrorism is inhuman and a devastating pathology for humanity. This book highlights the lived and felt experiences of the survivors of terror attacks from a perspective that shows the internalization of pain and the formation of memory in the personal and public spheres, which are often submerged in the space of time, the nation’s priority, and similar other events. The book essentially emphasizes the process and importance of navigating towards building hope, aspirations from the eyes of the survivors of the Mumbai terror attack of 2008”.

—Subhasis Bhadra, Professor of Psychiatric Social Work, Head of the Department of Psychosocial Support in Disaster Management, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, India.

“The manuscript will be an asset for the field of disasters as it critically looks at the nature of memorialization over a 10-year period between 2009 and 2019. Further the manuscript will be of immense value for disaster social worker practitioners and educators as it delves into the spatial and emotional significance of memorials, analysing how they function as sites of collective mourning, reflection, and resilience”

—Ankur Saxena, Dean, Department of Social Work, MS Baroda University, Vadodara, Gujarat, India.