2001 Parliament Attack: When Terror Struck India’s Citadel of Democracy

Security personnel pay homage to the martyrs of the 2001 Parliament attack, at Parliament building.

(Photo: IANS)

(This video was first published on 13 December 2016. It has reposted from The Quint’s archives in light of security breach in the Parliament on 13 December 2023.)

It has been 22 years since five militants stormed the bastion of the world's largest democracy – India's Parliament complex, on 13 December 2001.

The Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) sponsored terrorists were armed with grenades, guns, and explosives, but security forces killed them before they could enter the main chamber. Nine precious lives, most of them security officers, were lost while defending the complex and its members.

While the martyrs’ families suffered irreparable losses, India remembers the bravehearts with gratitude. Here's how the day unfolded.