History Today: When Mumbai was rocked by serial train bombings

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11-07-2025

Terror hit Mumbai on July 11, 2006, after a series of coordinated blasts were carried out on the city's local trains during rush hour. The 11 horrific minutes of chaos and carnage left nearly 200 dead and over 800 injured. Also, on this day in 1804, the famed Burr-Hamilton duel took place read more
Mumbai was thrown completely in uproar after the local trains, known as the lifeline of the city on which millions rely on every day, came under attack on July 11, 2006.
One of the most shocking and horrific incidents in India's history occurred on this day in 2006.
Terror hit Mumbai yet again after a series of coordinated blasts were carried out on the city's local trains during rush hour.
The 11 horrific minutes of chaos and carnage left nearly 200 dead and over 800 injured.
If you are a history geek who loves to learn about important events from the past, Firstpost Explainers' ongoing series, History Today, will be your one-stop destination to explore key events.
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Also, on this day in 1804, the famed Burr-Hamilton duel took place.
Here are some of the historical events that occurred on this day.
Chaos, carnage and bloodshed in Mumbai
Eleven minutes of sheer terror. Seven explosions.
Mumbai was thrown completely in uproar after the local trains, known as the lifeline of the city on which millions rely on every day, came under attack.
The bombs were placed in the first-class compartments of trains leaving Churchgate.
The first blasts occurred at Bandra and Mahim stations around 6.20 pm.
Everyone held their breath as memories of past attacks in 1993 and 2003 came flooding back.
Then, five more explosions on different trains.
The authorities revealed that bombs were made of RDX and ammonium nitrate.
Mumbai's local trains are known as the city's lifeline.
The IEDs were placed in pressure cookers to maximise the blast impact and were detonated using quartz timers.
They pointed the finger at the Students' Islamic Movement of India – backed by Pakistan and its powerful Inter-Services Intelligence.
The trial took eight years. Over 200 witnesses were called.
In the end, a dozen men were found guilty of waging war against the nation, conspiracy and murder, while one was acquitted.
Aaron Burr slays Alexander Hamilton in famed duel
Before Alexander Hamilton gained renewed fame as a result of the award-winning musical show by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the political figure was perhaps most famous for his notorious duel with Aaron Burr.
Which is a shame given that Hamilton was one of the greatest thinkers of his time and one of the original Founding Fathers of America.
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While the two men were old-time political rivals, no one had thought it would come to this.
After all, Burr was the sitting Vice-President of the United States.
Hamilton, who was a major author of the Federalist papers, was himself was a famous and towering figure at the time.
The duel was over some allegedly disparaging remarks that Hamilton had made about Burr during a dinner.
It was Burr who challenged Hamilton in the 'affair of honour' – the parlance for duelling at the time.
Portrait of US Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Image courtesy: Whitehouse.gov
While most such challenges ended with negotiations and compromise, this time the bitterness had gone too far.
The fact that duelling had been outlawed didn't stay the hand of either man.
Nor did it stop a sitting New York judge William P Van Ness from acting as Burr's second.
What happened next has been mired in confusion and lost to history.
Hamilton either shot his pistol into the sky on purpose or took aim at Burr and missed.
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Burr fired back – hitting Hamilton in the abdomen.
Hamilton was taken back to New York – where he spent 31 agonising hours with his family before he died.
Burr initially fled, but was later indicted.
Ultimately, all charges against him were later dropped.
Hamilton died, but his policies remain influential on the United States till this day.
Burr, on the other hand, became a political pariah.
To Kill a Mockingbird is published
The literary classic To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee was published on this day in 1960.
Lee's story, set during the Great Depression in the small fictional town of Maycomb Alabama, told the tale of Jean Louise Finch and her father Atticus, a prominent lawyer.
While Atticus was based on Lee's father, another character in the novel was based on Lee's friend and writer Truman Capote.
Capote, incidentally, would himself be hailed for pioneering the true-crime literary genre with his novel In Cold Blood.
Mockingbird deals with the story of a black man being falsely accused of raping a white woman and Atticus' defence of the man.
The literary classic To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee was published on this day in 1960.
The book was a sensation – selling over 30 million copies across the world and be translated into over 40 languages.
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Lee would be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her work.
The novel was famously adapted into a 1962 movie of the same name starring Gregory Peck as Atticus.
Peck would win the Academy Award for his performance and become hailed as an indelible part of film history.
This Day, That year
1914: Babe Ruth plays his first Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox. It would spark off a glittering career in which Ruth would rewrite all baseball records at the time.
1989: Sir Laurence Olivier, perhaps the greatest English thespian in the 20th Century and the only one who could challenge Marlon Brando's claim to be the world's best actor, passed away near London.