Stressing unity and awareness, students of all backgrounds gathered last night at an ASUC-sponsored vigil dedicated to the victims of terrorist attacks in Mumbai last week.

At least 170 people were killed during the three days of citywide violence, which started on Nov. 26. Targets in Mumbai, India's financial capital, included two hospitals, a railway station, a Jewish center and two hotels.

"The whole idea is to have the Cal community come together and have all our voices heard collectively," said Student Action Senator Meghana Dhar, the main organizer of the event. "We wanted to mourn the collective loss of lives due to ruthless acts of violence."

Speakers during the event ranged from ASUC senators to campus Jewish leaders to Indian students personally affected by the attacks. Candles were passed out and lighted for a moment of silence at the vigil's conclusion.

"I was impressed by the multicultural turnout," said junior Judah Mirvish, who attended the vigil. "Especially those not directly related to the victims."

Junior Sharmi Doshi, who moved to Mumbai when she was one and lived there until she was 18, spoke at the vigil. She said she personally knew 10 people who had died in the attacks, along with two others who had been held hostage before being released.

"All I can ask for is understanding for the humanity that was affected," she said.

Members of the campus Jewish community were also present and said they were shocked by the deaths of a rabbi and his wife in the attacks.

"We want to show solidarity with the Indian community," said Bracha Leeds, UC Berkeley alumna and co-director of the Chabad Jewish Center on campus.

For freshman international student Krish Raveshia, one of the speakers at the vigil, the attack was very personal, as he was at one of the bombing sites just four months ago while celebrating his acceptance to UC Berkeley.

"Mumbai is the city I grew up in, the city I've spent my entire life in," he said. "It's the one city that means the world to me."

Raveshia asked listeners not to dismiss last week's events.

"We should definitely grieve for the people who died and remember how terrible these attacks were," he said.

Indus, a Southeast Asian student group, and the Jewish Student Union will be co-sponsoring a panel tomorrow to respond to the events in Mumbai, said Indus president Jyothsna Talkad. Indus will also sell ribbons to raise money for victims of the attacks.

Doshi expressed hope that the vigil would only be the beginning of the campus response to the Mumbai attacks.

"We have 30,000 students on this campus," she said. "If this campus wants to make a statement, a candlelight vigil is not going to cut it."

Tags: MUMBAI, VIGIL