Sabina Sehgal Saikia Explained

Sabina Sehgal Saikia
Birth Date:ca. 1963
Death Date:29 November 2008
Death Place:The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai, India
Death Cause:Terrorist attack
Nationality:Indian
Occupation:Food journalist, restaurant reviewer, and editor
Employer:Delhi Times
Known For:"Main Course"
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Sabina Sehgal Saikia (c. 1963 – 29 November 2008), an Indian food journalist, restaurant reviewer, and editor for the Delhi Times in Delhi, India, was known for her column "Main Course." She was a victim of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai.[1]

Personal

Sabina Sehgal Saikia is survived by her family, including her husband, Shantanu Saikia, and the couple's fourteen-year-old daughter and eleven-year-old son.[2]

Career

Saikia was the consulting editor of the Times of India where she started in the eighties, and a well-known food-critic. Sehgal later changed direction and covered the Enforcement Directorate and CBI.[3] She had a column in the Delhi Times called, Main Course, that was very popular on the eating out life in India. The column would review one restaurant a week very critically and was said to have the power to make or break a restaurant.[3] Saikia was considered India's leading food critic and restaurant reviewer.

Death

In November 2008, 10 terrorists belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba attacked a train station, a Jewish cultural center, and the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, where Sehgal was attending a wedding.[4] Approximately 170 people were massacred and the hotel was left burning for days while Indian authorities attempted to track down the terrorists whereabouts.[4] Among the 170 killed there were 18 foreigners of US, German, Canadian, Israeli, Britain, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Thailand, Australian, and Singapore citizenship.[5] Nine of the 10 terrorists were killed during the attacks.[5] Ajmal Kasab, a 21-year-old Pakistani, was apprehended alive.[4]

Context

This was India's worst terrorist event since 1993 Mumbai bombings where 257 were killed.[5] The policemen at the scene were armed with pistols, while the militants had AK-47s and various explosives.[4] These attacks convinced the Indian government to supply more police officers, better guns, and more training on how to handle different types of terrorist threats.[4] George W. Bush, President of the United States, pledged the full support of the U.S in the apprehension of the terrorists.[5]

Impact

Sabina Sehgal Saikia was known for her reviews of food and restaurants. She began her career in journalism through her membership with ‘Spicmacay’, a global, non-political organization that promotes culture to young students. She became involved with the Times of India while working on the 150th anniversary.[3] Sehgal later switched her direction as she became a writer who covered the CBI, also known as the Central Bureau of Investigation in India.[3] This career path finally landed Sabina a position of editor of a popular Indian paper called ‘Delhi Times’.[3] Her work with ‘Delhi Times’ is where Indian journalism began to recognize the talents she had for reviewing restaurants.[3] Sabina's knack for analyzing the ambience, service, value for money and, food of restaurants made her a famous food critic that could determine the future of any eateries in India.[3] When Sabina perished in the attacks on Mumbai her impact as a journalist was renowned from all over the capital even from people who did not know her personally.[6]

Notes and References

  1. News: Indian victims include financier, journalist, actor's sister, police. 29 November 2008 . CNN.
  2. Web site: Media mourns loss of Sabina Sehgal Saikia.
  3. Web site: Leading food writer Sabina Sehgal Saikia no more. Zee News.
  4. Web site: Mumbai Attacks Anniversary: Victims and Cops Speak Out. ABC News. ABC News.
  5. Web site: Mumbai begins to heal after rampage. hindustantimes.
  6. Web site: Sabina Sehgal Saikia - - The Economic Times. The Economic Times.