?This is India?s own 9/11,? said Meghnad Desai on the editorial page of the Indian Express two days after the start of the Mumbai attacks last year. Desai does not stand alone in this opinion. The Indian and international press have joined him in likening the two events.

In some ways, the comparison is justified. Both were devastating and highly coordinated terrorist strikes that stunned their respective nations and elicited worldwide declarations of support. Both bore tales of tragedy and bravery. Both seized the hearts of millions, with Indians donning ?I ? Mumbai? shirts in 2008 and Americans proudly displaying their flag in 2001.

Some similarities are less inspiring. Both countries failed to act on intelligence that could have prevented the attacks. Mumbai authorities had been warned that terrorists might attempt to reach India via a sea route, just as the US had pre-9/11 intelligence foretelling possible hijackings of American planes.

However, as easy as it may be to draw links between 26/11 and 9/11, and as useful as that may be for arousing emotion and gaining political capital, the comparison falls short. First of all, the Mumbai attacks were on a much smaller scale. 9/11 claimed nearly 3,000 lives; less than 1/15th that number were killed in the Mumbai attacks, and in fact, more Indians died in the 9/11 attacks than in the 26/11 ones. The 9/11 terrorists struck multiple cities, including the nation?s capital, targeting an economic centre and government offices, whereas the Mumbai attacks were limited to one city with targets of a different nature: 9/11 had the stunning visual of two 110-storey buildings, landmarks of the New York skyline, crumbling to the ground. Today, the Taj Mahal Hotel and other targeted sites still stand, defiantly.

And perhaps most significantly, the 9/11 attacks are singular in American history. Blessed by geography and peaceful neighbours, Americans had always felt safe on their own territory. All the wars of the 20th century took place an ocean away. Attacks on American soil were unheard of, rare exceptions being the World War II attack of Pearl Harbour (thousands of kilometres from continental US) and the Oklahoma City bombing, a domestic strike. With 9/11, Americans discovered that people in distant lands hated them and wanted to kill them.

India, on the other hand, has long been victim to terrorist attacks and was more than aware that it had foreign enemies. The great tragedy of 9/11 was the devastation of a single event. The great tragedy of 26/11 was that the attack was just one of many.

Born perhaps of this distinction, another difference emerges: the response. This was first seen in terms of political unity. After 9/11, George W Bush?s approval rating shot up to 90%, and politicians of all colours rallied behind him (given Bush?s popular support, few would have dared to oppose him). In contrast, Indian politicians, despite calls for political unity, used 26/11 to score political points. One example is a blood-stained advertisement in the Indian Express on November 27, 2008: ?Brutal terror strikes at will/ Weak government unwilling and incapable/ Fight terror/ Vote BJP?.

And finally, the Indian government?s reaction shows a marked difference with 9/11. In the November 29, 2008, edition of the Indian Express, Rajeev Shukla wrote, ?One thing is clear after Wednesday night?s terrorist attacks in Mumbai?we have no choice now but to wage a full-scale war against terrorism of our own, like the one fought by the United States of America.? Despite such calls, India?s response to the attack was mostly just talk.

However, looking at where the US is today, not following its lead isn?t so regrettable. Americans allowed emotions to carry them into an unwinnable and inextractable war in Afghanistan, and this same blind passion drove them to launching an unjustified and illegitimate war in Iraq. The wars have claimed thousands of American lives, cost nearly a trillion dollars (so far), and perhaps worst of all, destroyed America?s image in the world. While India may want its leaders to take action, they shouldn?t draw inspiration from the US.

So, call 26/11 a devastating attack and national tragedy.

Declare it a call to action. But don?t call it India?s 9/11.