Political Diary

New Delhi, 14 November 2015

Paris Crashes

WAR ON WORLD

By Poonam I Kaushish

Forget “War of the Worlds.” The latest explosion to rock the world is 13/11 Paris which left over 128 dead, 200 injured and counting in a series of attacks targeting concert-goers, soccer fans and Parisians enjoying a Friday night out at popular nightspots. Sending horrifying shockwaves across the globe and surpassing even ace filmmaker Steven Spielberg’s surreal ‘aliens’ hitting on the world! In one fell stroke, the globe was turned on its head once again by the icy harsh reality of terror, terror and more terror.

The deadliest violence to strike France since World War II once again exposes the extent to which terrorists have spread their tentacles world-wide. As suspected the ISIS has owned responsibility in retaliation to air strikes on its territories and promised more. 

.A shaken NDA Government taking no chances has put Delhi and Mumbai on high alert. As in the last ten years alone, 20 such attacks have taken place across the country since 2000 with the terrorists still roaming free. Parliament, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Surat, Gauwhati Hyderabad, Bangalore etc. 

Underscoring that India continues to be a soft target as we only talk big about terror whereby each attack elicits an archetype response: Pakistan’s ISI and their jehadi cahoots within India and elsewhere are accused of the dastardly attacks.

VVIP after VVIP then fall over one another in condemning the perpetrators ‘cowardly’ (sic) act.  “India will not be cowed down, the executors will be brought to book” with more promises to act tough et al. But do nothing. And we all know talk is cheap.

A ritual drama which draws the same cynical reaction ---- more and more of the same. Followed by a series of high-profile appear-and-vanish visits to the city to profess their angst and, hopefully, extract, political mileage. Yawn, so predictable.

From Kargil to Mumbai the story, comments and diagnoses have been heard before. Questionably, why has no attack taken place in the US since 2001 or the UK after 2005? Bluntly, the terrorist know they would have to pay with double measure. Remember post 9/11 Washington destroyed Afghanistan and recently “smoked out” Osama bin Laden. But India will continue to be under assault as our security infrastructure is abysmal.

Think. Whenever terror strikes a country over and over again it emphasis that the Government lacks the political will to fight terror or does not have the capability and skills to meet the threat or that its cities are secure. Terror has already cost us more than 72000 civilians and 12000 security personnel. In fact, since 2004 the country has lost more lives to terrorist incidents than North, South and Central America, Europe and Eurasia put together. So much for fighting terror!

The tragedy of it all is that over the years we have politicised terror in religious hues to such an extent that it has become the biggest hurdle to crafting a uniform approach to security and fighting terror. Only in India has terror been compartmentalized on the basis of caste and creed for the sake of votes.

Remember Afzal Guru’s hanging? Vote banks politics dictated our leaders’ reactions to his hanging? From trying to earn brownie points to human rights violation. Worse, for the Congress and its allies Muslim appeasement has become a safe sanctuary for inaction. For the BJP vociferously denying the rise of Hindu terror is to keep its Hindu image intact.

Forgetting a terrorist has no caste or creed, he is faceless. For him terrorism is the religion. Be it a Hindu, a Muslim or a Sikh. He is an indiscernible enemy who uses our resources and freedom to hit us. Moreover, it no longer needs sophisticated weapons or nuclear missiles to destroy a nation. All it takes is an innocuous modern-day convenience that can turn deadly in terrorists’ hands. Guns and bombs.

Adept in exploiting the latest technologies, he identifies and exploits our weaknesses. While we talk, he acts. Inflicting maximum loss at minimum cost, making sure he always have the upper hand in choosing the time and place of the next attack. We need to learn from him. For a starter be proactive, think like a terrorist and stop taking a high moral ground. No longer will “work in progress” suffice.

Examples abound. Post 26/11 the much-promised National Counter Terrorism Centre is nowhere in sight. The National Intelligence Grid is behind schedule. The National Security Guards hubs in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad for quicker response to terror strikes have yet to materialize.  The Maritime Security Advisory and Maritime Security Adviser have been thwarted by turf war. Our coastal security apparatus comprising registration of vessels & ID cards to fishermen are both incomplete.

Clearly, post Paris the time has come for the Government to smell the coffee. Prime Minister Modi needs to walk his talk else India will continue to be under assault as our security infrastructure is abysmal. Until we get out of this unprofessional rut, terrorists will continue to strike with impunity and innocent civilians will continue to die.

How to neutralise their capability and infrastructure is a question that should engage our continuous attention. Obtaining accurate intelligence about impending attacks and then neutralizing the terrorists’ ground capability once and for all will only work.

New Delhi needs to realize terrorists’ strike where their intentions and capabilities meet the opportunities. Hence, the success of counter-terrorism lies in degrading their capabilities, forcing them to change their intentions and denying them opportunities to strike.

Against this backdrop, the Centre and State Governments needs to think of ways and means to neutralise their fast-growing domestic base, availability of hardware and human resource, collaborative linkages with organized crime, gun runners, drug syndicates, hawala operators, subversive radical groups et al.

That is not all. Raisina Hill must realize that normal deterrence doesn’t work against a faceless and fearless enemy. For any anti-terrorist operation to succeed one needs to focus on the vitals, keep a watch on the essentials and leave the desirables till the vitals have been achieved and essentials addressed.

In sum, when the State’s existence is in peril, the only way to strike back is to carry the fight into the enemy camp effectively. It is not enough to assert “we have might and muscle.” One has to display that power. We need to give sharp teeth to our anti-terror laws.

Plainly, we need to learn that this terror dance is just the beginning ---- worse will follow. We as a people need to come together, unite and collectively and fight it. New Delhi needs to hammer out a well-thought-out strategy to cry a halt to terrorism.

Is the Government capable of defusing this powder keg? High time national security was delinked from electoral vote bank politics. NaMo needs to show a strong resolve to fight against terror. Remember, like Parisians, for Indians it is a question of life and death. ----- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)