They were the saviours of Mumbai's darkest days.
Brave men and women who went beyond the call of duty at grave risk to their lives to save strangers when evil men unleashed murderous mayhem on the city.
There were policemen and commandos, of course; men trained to rescue us from murderers. But there was also staff at the Taj and Oberoi-Trident hotels, firemen, railway announcers, doctors, nurses, private security personnel, and, of course, the nanny who displayed remarkable, exemplary courage.
We salute them for what they did for humanity through the darkest days of last year.
Rediff.com asks readers to send in names of their hero of 26/11 with a brief description of her/his act of courage.
Write about your hero to ourheroes@rediffmail.com
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The home guard's final act of duty Mukesh Jadhav earned Rs 90 a day and died saving the lives of others. |
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Salute the courage of Raymond Diengdoh The brave officer died fighting India's enemies in the Northeast. |
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Tukaram Omble, the Lionheart An exemplary act of bravery with only a lathi. |
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The police driver who died that night A R Chitte was killed minutes after his boss, Vijay Salaskar. |
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Kavita Karkare's courage is truly remarkable Hemant Karkare's ideals will live on in his family. |
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'We'll never lower our guard' Jillu Yadav's weapons were a jammed rifle and a chair. |
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He helped the NSG at Nariman House How Vijay Surve kept his neighbourhood safe. |
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The wireless operator Vijay Khandekar died doing his job, figthing terrorists. |
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'My father wouldn't like me crying over his death' Divya remembers her father Vijay Salaskar. |
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How the nurses saved their patients A braver band of women you are unlikely to find. |
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Heroics at the Oberoi They detected a bomb before it went off, protected people. |
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'Tukaram Omble deserves a Ashok Chakra' If it was not for him, the Mumbai police could not have captured the terrorist. |
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He held off terrorists for four hours 'I am happy I could save the lives of my men,' says Inspector Deepak Dhole. |
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He put duty before safety Photographer Vasant Prabhu risked his life to get the first images. |
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'I didn't want to run away' Harishchandra Shrivardhankar dared to fight back during Mumbai's night of terror. |
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They saved hundreds How the Taj staff and policemen saved hundreds of guests. |
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'I would have run over the terrorists' Maruti Phad was fired upon and survived. |
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How we caught the terrorist alive The policemen look back at their heroic encounter. | ![](news/2009/jan/07hero.jpg) |
The heroes were the Taj staff 'They very valiantly tried to evacuate us.' |
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How they saved precious lives Bombay Hospital doctors, nurses treated 78 patients. | ![](news/2009/jan/08deepak.jpg) |
The NRI who saved 150 lives Hostages have Deepak Kuntawala's brilliant plan to thank. |
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Spare a thought for the wounded soldier Alas, Captain A K Singh will never fight again, but he remains undaunted. |
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'2 things crossed my mind: Do or die' Injured, NSG commando Sunil Yadav still saved guests. |
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The man who survived Only Arun Jadhav survived the bullets that killed Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte, Vijay Salaskar. | ![](news/2009/jan/07sudam.jpg) |
'How can our .303s fight AK-47s?' Sudam Pandarkar missed the target, but was struck down. |
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The other heroes at the Taj With no bullet-proof vests, the city's firemen saved 300 lives. | ![](news/2009/jan/07hitesh.jpg) |
Remembering those we lost The city pays tribute to those brave Mumbai policemen we lost that horrific night. |
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'He was a brave officer' The nation bids farewell to an upright police officer. |
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The NSG triumphs The commandos fought the forces of evil, and won. |