It felt like India’s 9/11. Even in a country whose experience of terrorism dates back to its independence in 1947, the sight of Bombay’s Taj Mahal Palace hotel in flames after last night’s attacks was something that no one could ever have imagined. For this was one of the nation’s most famous landmarks, an iconic building that encapsulated both the pomp and grandeur of the British Raj and the enduring vibrancy of India’s film and financial capital. It was built in 1903 by Jamsetji N. Tata, the Indian industrialist, who believed that Bombay needed a grand hotel to take its place among the great cities of the world.

As thick black smoke billowed from its domed roof, and flames poured through its gothic arched windows, one Indian television anchor summed up the feelings of millions of watching Indians. “If America cannot forget the images of the World Trade Centre, this image of fire billowing out of this beautiful structure which represents Mumbai and its free spirit will not be forgotten here,” he said.

The symbolism was clearly no accident. The gunmen who stormed into the Taj last night appear to have set off a series of explosions with the specific intent of destroying the building. Police suspect that they arrived by boat, mooring by the Gateway of India that was built in honour of King George V and Queen Mary in 1928. They began their audacious assault at around 9.30pm by bursting into the hotel that was built in the Moorish, Oriental and Florentine styles on the waterfront overlooking the Arabian Sea... The Beatles stayed in the hotel during their obsession with India, and John Lennon famously stayed with Yoko Ono in the hotel’s Rajput Suite, eating only from a macrobiotic menu specially prepared by the Taj’s chefs. Royalty has often used the hotel, and members of the British royal family including Prince Charles, Prince Edward and Prince Phillip have stayed there, as have the King and Queen of Norway. Other pop royalty has checked in, including Mick Jagger and Elvis Presley. Bill Clinton, the former US President, was also a guest.

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