Offering a unique insight into Kasab’s possible motivation, Maria told me that Kasab was 'totally indoctrinated’ – but not by religion. 'He felt what he was doing was right. He felt like he was in a war-like situation and he was a soldier entering another country. He was intelligent. He was unemployed and had no status in his village. These people [LeT handlers] very cleverly exploited the feeling of being an unknown identity to all of a sudden being somebody important. Prior to the training he was being rebuked by his parents for having no job. He was being rebuked by the elders for being unemployed and for being a nobody in the village. His friends and others did not give him any importance. He went for training and he comes back as a LeT man, a jihadi. Now that earlier image gives way. His parents treat him with respect. There is some sort of sanctity with the social acceptability.’