The modern thinking Indian

How often is that the Government, and the party that runs the Government, speak in different voices ? And yet, that is what is happening recently. India has a long history of taking steps that seem like buckling down under pressure, or which don't seem to be fundamentally sound. One can name the letting go of Occupied Kashmir by Nehru, of letting the victories of 1965 and 1971 preventing the dictating of terms to Pakistan, and so on. One now needs to put Prime Minister Manmohan Sing on the same pedestral, as having concluded an agreement with not many apparent benefits.
So, what did the PM do which the party refuses to comment on, and noticeably, does not support even when asked a direct question ? Even since the Mumbai attacks of 26/11, the Indian position has been that it wants to see steps taken to ensure the trial of people involved in Pakistan, as well as significant steps taken to eliminate the support structure for terrorism. Pakistan takes steps forward and backward at the same time. It for examples refuses to take decisive steps against the Lashkar-e-Toiba.
In this environment, the Prime Minister signs a statement with the Pakistani PM Gilani that stated that the discussions could not be held bound to a single issue such as terrorism, and also, controversially, acknowledged Pakistan's concerns about Balochistan, an insurgency that it claims is supported by the Indian Government, primarily through RAW. The PM claimed that there was no mention of Kashmir, that Pakistan has been significantly cooperating including acknowledging the role of the LeT and its nationals in the Mumbai attack. However, much to the discomfiture of the party, the Pakistani Government started raking up the issue of Indian support to Balochistan right after this statement.
Quite clearly, the PM has given a significant handle to the opposition parties, and they are using this opportunity to the maximum, attacking the Congress with glee and gusto; the Congress is not defending the statement, but this cannot go on. The party will obviously not let the PM be defenseless for too long, and this issue would have raised Sonia Gandhi's hackles also a bit.

Labels: 26/11, Congress, Declaration, ISI, LeT, Manmohan Singh, Opposition, Pakistan, Political, Politics, Sonia Gandhi, Statement, Terrorism

In the fight with terrorism, there is a thin line between what is justified for national security and what is a violation of human rights. Sometimes, this gets muddled up. An example is when sometime back, the UP police were shown to be shooting down a dacoit when he was coming out with hands in the air. There was a lot of protests and condemnation over the way the police shot him in cold blood. It was only when a second video was released (which showed that the dacoit had earlier offered to give himself up, but had shot the policeman who went to accept the surrender) that the reputation of the police was restored. In many cases, the police and security agencies have been accused of detaining suspects without proper records, and subjecting them to torture to get information. A law and order approach is that the police should document their arrest, and file for detention in front of the court.
One case that caused a huge amount of controversy was the Batla House case. In this case, the national capital got the news, that in a locality in South East Delhi, the police had raided a house and killed some suspects in a shootout, and in the encounter, a celebrated cop had also got killed. This was in the aftermath of the Indian Mujhaideen cases where serial bomb blasts were happening in various cities, and the Government was under huge pressure to show some progress in the case. Almost immediately, there was suspicion that this was a cooked up encounter, with certain aspects of the case causing questions.
Politicians of different hues jumped on the case, given that it involved police vs. minority issues, with even ruling party politicians jumping in to get the case investigated by all manner of agencies. The Delhi and Central Governments however stood firm on the stand that this was a genuine encounter, and the people killed were actually terrorists. Finally, in a court case, the High Court ordered an investigation by the National Human Rights Commission (something that the police still opposed). In what marks almost an end to the case, the NHRC has declared that the encounter was genuine (link to article):

National Human Rights Commission on Wednesday gave clean chit to Delhi police in Batla House encounter case. "We are clearly of the opinion that having regard to the material placed before us, it cannot be said that there has been any violation of human rights by action of the police", the NHRC said in its 30 page report on the encounter in September last year.
Encounter specialist Delhi Police Inspector M C Sharma was killed during the police action against suspected terrorists on September 19, 2008 in the aftermath of serial blasts in Batla House locality in the national capital. The court had directed the enquiry on a plea of the NGO, Act Now For Harmony and Democracy, that questioned the police version of the encounter. Two suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorists who were killed were identified as Atif Amin and Mohd Sajid. Two other IM suspects Mohd Saif and Zeeshan were arrested from the Batla House area.

This is certainly not the end of the controversy, since there was a report that some politicians and family members of the accused did not accept this report, claiming it to be false. However, the general public, which anyhow forgets things easily enough, will not remember the Batla House encounter for much longer.

Labels: Delhi, Encounter, India, Inquiry, Investigation, Murder, Police, Politics, Security, Terrorism, Violence

The Mumbai terror attacks of 11/26 were a major shock for the world. Every nation fears the prospect of armed terrorists attacking civilians, and here were these 10 well armed terrorists who held the armed forces of a nation at bay for 3 days. How do you protect against terrorists who emerge from the night (from a vast coast), disperse swiftly into the night to their various pre-planned destinations, and attack civilians at will with automatic weapons and grenades. No matter what the security level, there is a more than even chance that some of them will evade detection and managed to attack. Today this happened in India, but given the ease by which the attackers managed to enter, and with some local support, the scenario is replicable to many countries which are on the cross-hairs of global terrorism.
If you read this article in TIME magazine (and I recommend reading the article), you will realize how easy it was for this youth in Pakistan to become a terrorist; there are institutions present everywhere that will feed a disgruntled person and make him feel valuable, and will then guide him on the path of taking up guns and willing to become a suicide terrorist, somebody who has no qualms about killing innocent people.

It was in Rawalpindi that Mohammad Amir Ajmal Qasab, the surviving gunman from the terrorist massacre that claimed 165 lives in Mumbai last November, took his first step toward infamy. In 2007 he visited a market stall run by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), an Islamist extremist group that has been blamed for the Mumbai attacks, among others. Understand Qasab's story and you begin to understand why young men throw in their lot with Islamic extremists, why Pakistan may be the most dangerous country in the world.
In 1990, Muslims in Kashmir — the Himalayan territory that India and Pakistan have been arguing and fighting over since 1948 — rose up against Indian rule, and the mujahedin soon found a new cause. The Pakistani military used the jihadi movement, hoping that guerrilla warfare would destabilize its enemy India where conventional warfare failed. Jihadi groups in Pakistan collected donations for Kashmir. Young men signed up for training camps, where they concentrated on physical fitness and learned how to use weapons. Jihad wasn't just a diversion from ordinary life; it was a rite of passage.

When you read the article, it makes it seem so easy. Here is a person who has rebelled away from his family, fled to a city. He comes into contact with a militant group while trying to learn how to live a life of crime, and is sufficiently brain-washed and impressed that he will go in for arms training and learn how to be a terrorist. This is sufficiently scary, but when you combine this story with how it seems so easy for this to happen, how arms training happens right under the umbrella of the state and the army in Pakistan, and you start to realize the dangers. What is to stop such a similar incident happening in a country like Great Britain which has a radicalized minority among its Muslim population, and it is easy enough to plan such an attack.

Labels: 11/26, 26/11, Attack, Infrastructure, Investigation, Mumbai, Pakistan, Terrorism, Terrorist

The Jammu and Kashmir issue remains complicated. The state was signed into the Indian Union in difficult circumstances, at a time when Pakistani invaders wanted to conquer the state for eventual integration into Pakistan. At the time, the Maharajah of the state finally changed his stance from trying to be independent and signed the instrument of Accession and the state officially became a part of the Indian Union. The State however had a status that was separate from almost any other state in the Union (some states have special status that prevent outsiders from being able to buy land and so on, but no other state has the level of autonomy that this state has), and which is something that continues to irritate many Indians. The basic question remains as to why the state has been granted the special level of autonomy ? It is proclaimed that it is so because it has a special character, but the basic doubt remains as to whether this is because it is the only Muslim majority state in the Indian Union. However, this is an endless debate, and just like many other issues, it is very doubtful as to whether these provisions will ever be repealed.
The last 1 year has seen many strange things happening in the Valley. The Congress was in command, with Ghulam Nabi Azad being the Chief Minister (as part of the agreement with the PDP of the Mufti where the Chief Minister's post revolves between the PDP and the Congress 50:50). However, like similar arrangements in many other parts of the country, this one also had its strains, with the PDP not particularly satisfied once it had to hand over the Chief Ministership to the Congress (and the PDP never liked Ghulam Nabi Azad). And then the Amarnath issue blew up.
At some time in the past, the High Court had ordered the Government to improve the facilities for devotees visiting the Amarnath shrine in Kashmir, and eventually the J & K Government under him made a cabinet decision in that regard by transferring some amount of land to the Amarnath committee for preparing temporary structures; however, this decision caused a major upheaval in the valley. Separatist sentiment got invoked, and even the PDP essentially backed away and Azad also resigned. However, once the transfer of land was put on hold, residents of the Jammu area launched a major agitation. For a long time, the residents of Jammu have felt like second class citizens. With the Kashmir valley being a political concern due to its Muslim majority, Jammu has always felt that it has been treated as an unequal partner. It was the cancellation of the transfer of land that somehow made these sentiments burst out (there must have been a lot of incitement, but there was a genuine display of anger by people as well), and an agitation that showed no way out for the Congress Government forced it to bend towards the Jammu agitators and transfer the land to the Committee.
In this environment, it was felt that elections would not be a good idea, what with separatist sentiment having been very vocal in the previous months, but the elections surprised everyone. Inspite of calls by the Hurriyat Conference and the separatists, people turned out to vote in large numbers. It is speculated that this voting should not be seen as an under-cutting of the sentiment towards freedom, but more about local governance issues. I believe that we should see this as a right step, since elections are meant to show that the will of the people is paramount in electing politicians who can govern, and the election of the National Conference young leader (and a former Central External Affairs Minster of State) Omar Abdullah is a step in the right direction. Even though the NC is tainted with having helped cause the rise in azaadi sentiment by having rigged the elections in 1987, it is a party that has always seen the future of Kashmir with India. If Omar Abdullah delivers good governance, it will go a long way in destroying the separatist sentiment.

Labels: Congress, Democracy, Discrimination, Election, Governance, Kashmir, NC, Problems, Responsibility, Separatist, Terrorism

After the devastating attacks in Mumbai late November 2008, the pressure on Pakistan escalated tremendously. For the last 2 decades, Pakistan has been using the policy of sponsoring terrorists (not only Pakistan, since after the Russian invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, Pakistan along with the US and Saudi Arabia armed people to fight against the Russians, using religion as the driving force), and this is something that is confirmed by the intelligence agencies of many countries as well as by Pakistani politicians at different periods. As with many other Frankensteins that get created, this is one creation that is hurting people across the globe, including the state of Pakistan where the terrorists believe that the state is under the control of the infidel United States and that a pure religious state needs to come into existence.
All this was highlighted with dramatic effect on November 26th when a band of terrorists came to the Indian city of Mumbai, and with precision, caused major damage to the city and killed almost 200 people. Now, investigations that have been carried out (by Indian investigators and those of other countries (since nationals from other countries have also died)) have come to a conclusion that the attacks were planned by the Lashkar-e-Taiba and supported by many former intelligence officials and ex-army men. Inspite of Pakistani denials (maybe to provide the effect that the Pakistani nation does not buckle under pressure), the United States and other countries have applied a lot of pressure, and this pressure seems to be having effect:

After mounting pressure from the United States and India, Pakistani authorities raided a camp run by the militant group suspected of carrying out the Mumbai attacks, Pakistani and American officials said Monday. The operation on Sunday appeared to be Pakistan's first concrete response to the demands from India and the United States to take action against the militants suspected in the attacks, which have raised tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors to their highest point in years.
A senior Pakistani security official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said about a dozen people had been arrested in the raid, which took place in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir. The raid on Sunday appeared to be the first step by the Pakistanis that at least tacitly recognized the American and Indian claims. Counterterrorism experts familiar with the behavior of the Pakistani security services said there was a need by Pakistan to be seen to be doing something to alleviate the American and Indian pressure, as well as to avert the possibility of an Indian military strike.

However, the reality is that Pakistan is facing tremendous pressure, which is limiting the ability to do much:
- For the first time, US and other western tourists were targeted, and given the soft nature of these targets, a successful attack such as this will make these tourists seem more susceptible to such dangers
- Pakistani politicians, because of their past projection of India as the enemy, cannot afford to be seen as acting against so-called Kashmiri freedom fighters under US pressure
- The Pakistani military as well as the Government are financially strapped and need desperate financial support (especially when China and Saudi Arabia have refused to provide support)
- The military has just shown how powerful it is in the running of the country, and it would seem that the civilian leadership is buckling under the pressure, especially with the ISI being seen as a rogue party
- These militants, at the same time attack many Pakistani interests (including a much higher rate of suicide and other bombings)
- The incoming US administration comes in with the understanding that Pakistani was deceiving them in terms of previous efforts against the militants, and a lot of the aid was not used as the way that the Americans intended
- The US remains dependent on the Pakistani authority for the war against the Taleban, given that the last few days have seen the support convoys for the Americans in Afghanistan getting attacked in Peshawar

With all these factors, many of them at cross-purposes, it is hard to really guess what the Pakistanis will do. For their own survival, and under tremendous US pressure, they need to show action, while carrying the military along, and yet the public projection should be as low key as possible to avoid being seen to be acting under foreign pressure.

Labels: Anger, India, Pakistan, Penalty, Punishment, Responsibility, Security, Terrorism, US

Ever since the spate of bomb attacks in the last couple of years, leading to the extraordinary spectacle of bombs across Jaipur, Delhi, Bangalore, and Surat, there has been an element of insecurity building up. One would never be sure of where the next attack would come from, and any place or mode of transport was considered insecure. There was a lot of public anger, but the Congress Government had the policy of try to calm things down, promise that this would never happen again, and then wait for people to forget the enormity of these attacks, and continue with their normal politics. Taking a stricter action against politics was fraught with risks, since a number of terrorists doing these bomb blasts were driven by a radical Islamist agenda, where these attacks were a way of retaliation, a way of terrorising the country. And making stricter laws or digging much deeper into the roots of these conspiracies could expose the Congress to the charge of "being against the Muslim community", something that causes jitters to the top leadership of the Congress, including the Madam at the head. Or maybe, the Ministers and the Cabinet were not upto the job of taking steps to make the country secure. So, when the bomb blasts in the BJP ruled states, and then Delhi took place, there was massive pressure, but quickly died away, since "the resilient country absorbed these attacks and moved on, showing their spirit".
And now this unprecedented disaster that was the terror attacks in Mumbai take place. First there were cries of intelligence failure, and then it slowly emerged that the intelligence agencies were apparently doing their job, and were reporting signs from all over about something going to happen. It was not apparently a real failure of intelligence, but a failure of the intelligence analysis system, which is commanded by the Home Ministry, and supposed to be supervised by the National Security Advisor. Both have failed beyond the wildest nightmares that anybody could have. It now turns out, as reports have started coming out, that inspite of so many reports, the Government did not take any action. It is quite obvious that no Government in the world will ever really get to know that terrorists are coming to the beach at this time, on this day - you need to be prepared to handle such an eventuality; this is not a banana republic, this is a massive economy undergoing huge development, a potential super-power.
And what was this super-power incapable of doing ? One does not fault the police or the commandos who did a great job in actually going in and fighting the terrorists, and took casualties themselves, including the head of the ATS, Hemant Karkare. However, one cannot get around the problems that are being reported, and which will dog us the next time something like this happens:
- The NSG, because of logistical reasons, took 9 hours to reach. 9 hours in a terrorist situation allows the terrorist to setup a solid base, harass the hostages, and overall make the job much more difficult. With 9 hours, the NSG cannot be called a Rapid Reaction Force. They need to be spread out over the country, and if politicians can command their own planes, surely the NSG can also have a couple for these needs.
- It has been reported again and again that the NSG and Marine commandos did not know the layout of the buildings. This is inexcusable. Before going in, commandos need to know the layout of the building they are attacking, otherwise you end up giving the terrorists a huge advantage. Given that it took the commandos some time to reach, the plans for the buildings should already have been arranged for them when they were to reach.
- It is reported from time to time that the media reported on the times of attacks, from where the commandos were going to attack, and so on. If the attackers indeed did have satellite phones (or even simple mobile phones), it would have been simple for them to get information about the goings-on from their associates watching on television. Typically a media blackout with a perimeter cordon should have been in place (with one person being the overall spokesperson for the various Government agencies, to avoid confusion). News now available seems to indicate that they used this mechanism, and used satellite phones for this purpose and normal cell phones that they took from hostages. Why are there no jammers (I am not real technical on this, but it seems logical) employed at such times ?
- There are negative reports already on the level of communication between different intelligence agencies and the armed forces, with finger-pointing and blame-evading happening at a high speed. After the Kargil War, one of the major recommendations of the post-war report was that intelligence sharing was flawed, and needs much better coordination.
- Reports from Maharashtra state that the state of police training and equipment is abysmal. They don't have modern weapons, no training, no firing range to practise, so it is hard to believe that even when motivated, they would be able to take a stand against Ak-47 armed dedicated and well trained terrorists.
So what is the way ahead ? This act of terrorism has exposed the inability of the country to have a unified security mechanism that can effectively handle such incidents. You cannot prevent terrorism, but the problem in this case is that the lack of security (and consciousness regarding security) is such that terrorists in this case felt that they could easily commit all these tasks, and even go away. There is a lot of skepticism about whether, besides changing some people, there will be any action taken. The fight against terror, as seen by policies of the US, Britain, etc, can be messy, and needs to happen on a continuous basis.

Labels: Anger, Congress, Governance, India, Intelligence, Pakistan, Responsibility, Security, Terrorism

For the first time in the country, the term 'Hindu terrorist' has come into common usage. It all started with the Malegaon blasts of September 29, outside the office of SIMI where 6 people died in the explosion, and many others were injured. As it turns out, this was not a case where terrorists, inspired by the word of radical Islam, had committed the crime. While the blast is under probe, all information that has been revealed so far by the ATS, and by the press, is that this was in the nature of a retaliatory attack (retaliation for the bomb attacks carried out by terrorists inspired by radical thought). While investigation is being carried out, this incident and the investigation has already led to a huge amount of hue and cry.
For once, both the BJP and the Shiv Sena are on the defensive. One of the main accused, the Sadhavi, Pragya Singh Thakur, was apparently a fiery speaker who was capable of rousing the spirits of people; incidentally, she was also a former national executive president of the Durga Vahini, and has been shown in the same photo as Rajnath Singh and the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister. The BJP has disowned her and her actions, claiming that this was done after she left the organization (and this part may be true). However, many constituents of the Sangh Parivaar are not happy with this and are pitching for the BJP to support the accused. The Shiv Sena is in total support of the accused (one can always consider the Shiv Sena to have a sense of irrationality in their actions).
This is where the BJP should have been a party with a difference. Having a plank of National Security would mean that the party should stand firm against anyone who indulges in matters such as riots and bomb blasts. In this case, the refusal of the party to take a firm stand against the alleged bomb plotters means that the actions of the party are similar to the actions of the Congress, Samajwadi Party and are personally very disappointing. No matter what the reason, there cannot be any justification for supporting any brand of terrorists, whether they be terrorist inspired by radical Islamic theology or Hindu terrorists inspired by some concept of revenge. The bigger worry (based on current police reports) is that a senior army officer is involved, against their duty of protecting the nation:

Public prosecutor Ajay Misar said in the court that Purohit had attended most of the meetings organised by others accused at Kashmir, Pune, Bhopal, Nashik, and Deolali. "Since he is a senior army officer, he could have been the source for the RDX used in the bomb. We also have evidence that he distributed money to several people through his organisation through cheques and cash. The financial transactions are through hawala as well," said Misar, adding, "Purohit also trained several youths in bomb making."
Those arrested also include retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay and former Durga Vahini national executive president sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur. The ATS completed all the formalities regarding the arrest of Lt Col Purohit — the first instance of an armyman being booked for a terror act — on Tuesday evening. Purohit came in contact with Upadhyay when he was posted at Nashik as liaison unit officer. Sources said he used the Nashik stint to fraternise with the extremists in various radical Hindu outfits and to draw them into Abhinav Bharat fold.

It is incumbent to nip such attacks and planning in the bud. The country already faces enough problems from terrorists and separatists in many corners of the country without having more people join this front (and there are terrorists who are Hindu as well - the ULFA, Naxalities, and many others). The BJP and other parties should take the lead in cutting such misguided people from getting public support and that there is no sympathy for them. Else, there is no justification in the BJP blaming people for showing support for the terrorists killed in the Jamia Nagar shootout in Delhi.

Labels: Army, BJP, Congress, Hypocrisy, Investigation, Military, Police, Politics, Responsibility, Security, Terrorism, Violence

In yet another vivid depiction of the poor state of security in the country (and especially in the capital city), a bomb blast happened in the Mehrauli region of Delhi; this blast killed a young boy (he had stopped to pick up the tiffin in which the bomb was kept) and injured many more. This is shocking because of many reasons:
1. With some major bomb blasts having happened in Delhi only a fortnight back, one would have expected the security level to have been very high. However, it shows for the contempt that the bomb makers and deliverers have for the level of security in the city that a bomb was placed and exploded
2. The way in which this bomb was deployed was like the ultimate in arrogance. From reports, there were people who came in a motorcycle to a crowded street, came and dropped the bomb in broad daylight (unlike in other cases where the bombs were placed with some concealment)
3. Defensive nature of the police and Government response was apparent. There was an attempt to prevent people from feeling that all the arrests and terrorist module breaking claims of the previous weeks were not in vain - so instead the police talked about how these were not connected with the IM terrorists. It was left to the media to raise the frightening thought that if these were not the Indian Mujahideen, then how many terrorist groups were there who were planting bombs in Delhi ?
4. Within a span of a few hours, there were television crews standing on the exact spot where the bomb had exploded. I am not an expert on police methods, but I thought that securing the site of such explosions for further forensic analysis was required.
5. One wonders about the resolve of the Government to really push for anti-terrorist efforts vs. their worries about perceived loss of minority vote-banks. Here you have the Delhi Police (controlled by the center) arresting some students who belonged to Jamia Milia, and the VC of Jamia promises them legal aid (the university is also central government funded). And you have the inane comparisons being made by the Congress that Jamia has also paid for students arrested for vandalism ! Incredible, vandalism = terrorism. Next, if a Jamia student is arrested for murder, the university should also come to his aid.
6. Anti-terror laws. Enough already discussed, but every time an explosion happens, the Government says now we will go in for strict measures; then the allies remind them that Muslim votes will be affected if they go in for strict laws, and the ministers backtrack (instead of promising better safeguards)
Already, the country is not very easy to secure. We have a huge country, with a diverse set of citizens, and determined terrorists are difficult to stop. However, with lack of improper intelligence, and problems similar to what are described above, it's almost like open season for terrorism.

Labels: Congress, Governance, Intelligence, Investigation, Politics, Responsibility, Security, Terrorism

The recent attacks (bomb blasts) in Delhi that killed 10's of people seem to have finally made the Government realize how its hands are being burnt with respect to having an anti-terror law. Over the past many years, most observers have come to the realization that any policy change in India happens only for political reasons, and the same is true with respect to having a much tougher anti-terror law.
When the BJA (NDA) Government was in paper, it had brought in the tough POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) that curtailed many civil liberties and made it easier for the security agencies and the police to keep people in custody whom they believed were important for their investigations. It is also doubtless true that there would have been cases of misuse of this law, and such instances (and many other accusations) would be more true in the case of the Muslim community in India. Consequently, the law was soon proclaimed as against minority interests, helped by the fact that the 'anti-Muslim' BJP was in power. Any party wanting to court the Muslim vote would have to adopt a policy of anti-POTA, something that the Congress party adopted, and they quickly fulfilled this pledge after they came to power.
Fast-forward a few years, and the UPA (Congress) Government is on the mat in terms of internal security; bombs go off as if the terrorists just have to pick a place and they can cause numerous explosions, the security agencies make almost public appeals that they need a stronger law, and the Congress Home Minister (Shivraj Patil) is seen as a very weak and incompetent minister. The Congress seems to have even weathered the continuous bomb blasts in Bangalore and Ahemdabad and the many other bombs found in Surat (and many other bomb blasts earlier, including Jaipur); they were criticized and the Gujarat Chief Minister embarrassed the center by getting his police to quickly arrest some of the alleged conspirators.
However, the media by now had taken to savaging the Government's political driven need not to bring in a more enhanced anti-terror law, and it were the Delhi blasts (in open places and prominent locations) that seemed to have currently broken the political will of the Government. The Congress seems to have realized that they are being taken as weak on internal security, and for the first time, the Prime Minister seems to be talking about intelligence failures and other measures:

In the wake of continuing terror attacks in the country, the UPA government has mooted a "tougher-than-Pota" law. Although the recommendation has come from the Administrative Reforms Commission, the timing of its release — when the government is struggling to shake off a "soft on terror" tag its rivals have sought to pin to it and ahead of state polls — is seen to be loaded with significance.
Implementation of the law is not going to be easy because the Congress has not just opposed Pota, it has campaigned for its repeal. It will also have to contend with allies who remain opposed to a special anti-terror law. More crucially, special terror laws have been a fraught issue evoking strong negative vibes from the minority community, which has maintained that these have been used to frame innocents.

It is very much possible that the Government is seeking to dissipate some of the current pressures on it by talking about a law, and will slowly let all this talk slide when the situation seems to come under control, and there are non-bomb related other issues that occupy the attention of the country.
The BJP also uses the refusal of the Central Congress Government to sanction a Gujarat special anti-terrorism law based on similar lines as the current Maharashtra one. The BJP argues that the Congress is doing it for political reasons, and it really does not care about the security of the country, a trap that the Congress wants to avoid as we draw near to elections.

Labels: BJP, Congress, Intelligence, Investigation, Law, Police, Security, Terrorism

It seems like we are living in a B-grade movie about some invisible hands deciding to blow up things all over the country, and soon you have explosions happening on a regular basis in various cities over the country; and on the movie theme, the politicians the police are either involved, or are incompetent. Well, guess what, this is not a movie. Terrorists are cocking a snook at the country, and the incompetent Central Government can do nothing but mount platitudes about how 'This is a great tragedy', 'We need a central agency for terror prevention', 'These things will be properly investigated and the culprits brought to trial', and so on. You must have heard of all of these ?
And we move on. There have been so many bomb blasts that happen nowadays that we are temporarily shocked by the carnage that happens, by the inability of the police to catch these people (even when it seems that a large number of people would be involved due to the number of simultaneous blasts), and then we all forget about it. I can remember a time when the transistor bombs in Delhi buses had shaken everybody, and now we routinely get bomb attacks in which more 10's of people die, and ... we move on.
What do we see the Government doing ? Well, I am sure that the intelligence agencies will be doing something, but the fact is that, in a federal structure such as ours, there are a number of different central and state level intelligence agencies (as well as the very weak intelligence network of the police); as a result, unless there is effective coordination, things are not going to work together. And who is responsible for doing this coordination ? There are primarily 2 gentleman at different levels for this - one is the National Security Advisor (Mr. Narayanan, who is unable to stem the rot in RAW, and unable to get the Government to reform things so that people find working in the intelligence services rewarding career wise).
The other is the Home Minister - Mr. Shivraj Patil. If India had ever had a home minister who was more low-profile, and unable to make a mark, it is difficult to find one. It is during his time that we have had a massive escalation in the security problems in the country (with more bomb blasts than ever before); the enduring image of him from the time of the Gujarat blasts is of him trying to prevent his clothes from getting dirty during the rain. It was telling on the state of confidence in the central Government that the Gujrat police was the one that seemingly cracked the terrorist blast cases of Surat and Ahemdabad without much support from the center. When he is asked a pointed question about the terrorist cases, even Congressmen would not be surprised if he says stuff such 'we are investigating', 'we cannot blame others', 'current laws are fine to handle terrorist cases', or more mournfully 'we need a central agency, but the states are not cooperating'. Given the rampant misuse of the CBI by the Congress, it is not hard to see why the states do not want to trust a Central Congress Government with a central powerful anti-terrorist agency.
What is the solution ? Steps like the Deoband school declaring such bomb blasts as anti-Islamic help, and some more intense investigation with inter-agency cooperation would help to solve these immediate cases; but there is a total lack of long term steps as propounded by many experts:
1. Get beat constables to go around the neighborhoods more often
2. Make intelligence wings of the police more lucrative to join
3. Prevent politicisation of anti-terrorist efforts
4. Make safety more important (for example, today I had gone to the Lajpat Nagar market in Delhi - a fairly crowded place). In the central market, there is cordoning off and entry is only through a walk-in bomb detector gate, but the effect was gone. The gate was not working, and there were no policemen nearby. In India's crowded and culturally mixed population, it is hard to detect potential terrorists, but at least things should not be made easy for them)

Labels: Congress, Governance, Intelligence, Investigation, Police, Politics, Responsibility, Security, Terrorism

It was a time that India has rarely seen in the past. Except for the transistor blasts in the 80's in Delhi, and then the bomb blasts that shook Bombay in 1993, the recent 3 day carnage (2 day + potential third) shook the nation and highlighted the total ease with which terrorists can destroy normal life in a city; at the same time, this also highlighted the current inability of the police and intelligence services to penetrate these terrorist groups and cells. People are worried, given that there were bombs on 3 successive days (even though the bombs did not burst in Surat); it seems that it is so easy to place bombs inside a crowded city, without people noticing, and then blow them up to cause an incredible amount of damage.
The sheer planning of the attack was a shock. This was not 1 or 2 bombs, these were numerous bombs that were placed in different parts of the city. If it was not so serious, placing bombs on top of a tree (they found such a bomb in Surat) and in many other public places takes some amount of time and effort, and the plotters were able to do so. In addition, it would seem that they did dry runs for these attacks, and again they were not detected.
The bomb making has moved away from using the RDX used in earlier bombs; now this may seem odd given that RDX is a much better explosive, but RDX leaves forensic traces, and showcases the role of Pakistan. Using common explosive, or even chemicals found in fertilizers makes it much more difficult to determine where the explosives came from, and makes post-blast investigation more difficult.
The planning for the bombs has been much more destructive; it was seen in Iraq that bombs were placed and timed such that consequent bombs would cause more damage to the panicking crowd; in the bomb blasts now, and in Jaipur earlier, the bombs were placed such that they would cause more damage by anticipating the people movement. In Jaipur, the bombs were placed in the market such that a running mob would be attacked by another bomb; in Ahmadabad, a bomb was placed in the hospital to go off sometime after the first attacks. People behind the bombs are out for maximum human life, and not deserving of any kind of 'misguided youth or citizens' talk. They need to be hunted down with the maximum ferocity.
What is the most problematic is the issue related to an almost total failure of the intelligence network. For some decades now, almost since the time of Indira Gandhi, the Intelligence Bureau has also been serving to collect information on the opposition, away from its main mission to prevent law and order issues and break-up threats to the nation and individual states. This has reached such a level that there is no incentive for skilled people to join the intelligence network; the fight between the different intelligence networks rules out much cooperation, and the various State and Central Governments could not care less. It is only at the time of such bomb attacks that they talk about preventing such attacks, only to fail again.

Labels: Congress, Governance, Intelligence, Investigation, Politics, Terrorism

For the last several years, there has been an ongoing political discussion about whether the United States is following the correct policies with regard to getting rid of terrorism emanating from the region of Pakistan and Afghanistan, rated by many as the most likely place to generate the next big terrorist attack in the Western World. Part of that discussion is whether the United States has relied too much on Pakistan, and not pushed it hard enough to get rid of the entire support structure for terrorism in the tribal border regions. Implicit in this discussion is that Pakistan is not really doing all it can to get rid of terrorism in the region, to take on the vast support for the Taleban and terrorist elements in the wild ungoverned regions. Now, Pakistan has always claimed that this was a difficult task, that these regions have historically had a reputation for resisting any attempts to enforce a central governance; and that periodic pushes by the Army and border guards have only met fierce resistance and let to further embittering of the population in these regions, thus leading to a further support for the so-called resistance fighters.
At some point it is difficult to blame only Pakistan for this. The US has had a huge amount of analysis that claims that there is a lack of governance, civil reconstruction, and enough boots on the ground in Afghanistan. What was required that there be a push to strengthen the regional paramilitary forces, combined with an active and huge construction program in these regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is when the affected population see only a military push, and the same old bad conditions with no scope for improvement that they tend to move further towards the extremist position. And in Pakistan, the Bush Administration seems to have had a blinkered vision with taking the actions of President Musharraf at face value, not applying the pressure that might have made things much better. For example, there has never been much pressure to improve the condition and training of the regional paramilitary force that might be able to help turn the tide.
All this came to my mind when I read this news report:

The United States plans to shift about $230 million in aid to Pakistan from counterterrorism programs to upgrading the nation's aging F-16 fighter jets. The new government is facing "a terrible financial crisis with food and fuel problems," the official said, and the Pakistani government "would rather tell its public they are spending their money on food and fuel," so it asked the United States to pay for the F-16 upgrades from the U.S. aid fund. Last year, Congress mandated that $300 million in aid to Pakistan go toward fighting al Qaeda and the Taliban, partly by beefing up law enforcement and developing tribal areas of the country that are hostile to the United States.
Skeptical lawmakers worry that the F-16 upgrades will divert funding from crucial counterterrorism programs and could be more about helping Pakistan competing with its rival, India, than fighting terror. Nita Lowey, chairwoman of a House subcommittee on foreign operations, said the request from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to reprogram the funding "raises serious concerns." Lowey is asking for more information before signing off on the change. "Congress provided these funds specifically for counterterrorism and law enforcement activities," Lowey said in a written statement.

This is about as short-sighted as can be. It is of critical importance that funds be spent on improving the lot of the tribal areas and improve the force that works over there. Instead, if these funds are used for improving F-16's, machines that are hardly of much use in anti-terrorism except when a force needs the support in a head-on fight with the terrorist, not something that is typically seen in the border regions.

Labels: Aid, Military, Pakistan, Terrorism, US

India has always had a problem regarding Bangladeshi immigrants, including about deciding what to do with them. In the states neighboring Bangladesh, particularly Assam, this has caused major problems including a long agitation against their presence. The increasing influx of these immigrants has also caused changes to the demography of many districts in these states. Even if they are immigrating for the purpose of economic betterment, no country can accept an unprecedented influx of outsiders, and for a long time, the security agencies have been claiming that they are a security problem as well. Bangladesh has active terrorist bases inside it, and many of recent blasts in India have been blamed on these groups by the police and intelligence agencies.
In addition, the intelligence agencies believe that these migrants are susceptible to being picked up the terrorist groups and made active members who will connive at planning for blasts, being members of active terrorist cells as well as providing support as sleepers. Over a period of time, various courts (including the Supreme Court) and even the Central Government appointed Governors have asked for a policy to urgently identify these immigrants and deport them back to Bangladesh.
The only problem in all this mixture is the Congress which is actively playing with the security of the country; it believes that these immigrants are a natural support base and hence the Congress does all it can to prevent them from being deported, and actually local leaders will help in getting them Government papers such as rations cards, voter identity cards and so on.
In the latest such indication, the practically useless and ineffective home minister, Shivraj Patil, is getting into blatant lying, claiming something that official letters sent by his ministry say otherwise:

While Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil on Monday termed Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s revelation about the Centre’s controversial suggestion to states to set up detention centres for illegal Bangladeshi immigrants as “not true”, official records obtained by The Indian Express contradict his claims.
Minutes of the meetings of the Nodal Authority, under the chairmanship of Union Home Secretary on January 24, 2007 and April 25, 2007, to review the progress of detection and deportation of illegal Bangladeshi migrants, clearly show that the Centre wanted the states to set up detention centers for illegal immigrants.
In the April 25 meeting that year, the Union Home Secretary had even told the participants that the “primary objectives” of the deportation exercise was to effectively control illegal immigration “by instilling a sense of fear and insecurity” in their minds. Raje said today: “It is very clear from the communication sent by the Ministry of Home Affairs in February, March and May 2007 that there was a conscious decision of the Union Home Ministry that state governments are required to set up detention centers for illegally staying foreigners pending their deportation.”

Right now, the Congress wants to distance itself from any such communication that it actually asked for deportation of Bangladeshi migrants, since this could have an impact on its vote base; while the priority should be to do whatever it needs to enhance the security of the country; the Prime Minister, as the head of this Government, is literally responsible for playing with the security of the country for electoral gains.

Labels: BJP, Congress, Court, Election, Governance, India, Law, Muslim, Politics, Security, Terrorism

At a time when there is widespread condemnation of the going-ons in Nandigram over the last few days, there is a High Court direction to the West Bengal Government over the police firing on March 14th. That police firing was a widely condemned incident, and led to shockwaves through the country. The Left Front of course does not approve of anybody condemning any action of theirs, and so it was then. The Left Front claimed that this action was necessary to ensure the rule of law (sounds very familiar to the current series of incidents where the CPM sent in its goons to take control of the Nandigram area back to the hands of the CPM); and that is a normal policy of the Left. They claim to be conscience keepers of the nation, and are always ready to criticize the actions of others, but are totally unwilling to tolerate anybody else commenting on things they may have done.
In the incident of March 14th, a judicial line was breached that has not been breached before. Normally a CBI enquiry has to happen with the consent of the State Government, but in this case, the High Court ordered the CBI to start an enquiry; there was no way that the CPM would have ever agreed to such an enquiry (such enquiries only happen in other states and with other parties). Now, the High Court has given a further direction to the CBI for investigation and also ordered the State Government to pay compensation for an unjustifiable police action:

KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Friday directed the CBI to continue the inquiry into March 14 Nandigram police firing and violence and submit a report within a month.
The court also said the state government should give compensation package to those killed, injured, raped and molested at Nandigram on March 14. It said that a compensation of no less than Rs 10 lakh be given to the next of kin of those killed, not less than Rs 5 lakh for those injured, not less than Rs eight lakh for those raped and not less than Rs two lakh for those molested.

It is pretty common knowledge that the Left Front and specifically the CPM regard West Bengal as their property, their area and do not brook any kind of opposition to them. They are liable to use arms against areas more sympathetic to the Trinamool Congress and the Congress. And the Congress is so beholden to the Left that it will not take any stand against the Left, or raise their voice against any such injustice.

Labels: Congress, Court, Governance, Investigation, Law, Left, Police, Politics, Security, Terrorism

India's faces a severe problem with respect to terrorism. Some of them are on the path of terrorism due to wrong incitement, some are due to the situation and some are terrorists due to being mercenaries, and this being the most profitable route. So, for example, terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir got a massive boost by the rigging of the 1987 state elections, and this was further increased due to the massive boost given by Pakistan through training, funds and men. In many sections of the North-East, terrorism has grown because of separatism again, but for many Naxalite affected areas, people also turn to violence because the state and its institutions have failed them. Hence, the message always goes out from security experts that innocents must not be harmed, and a lot of care and attention must be taken to ensure that people do not feel prompted to turn to terrorism to escape state repression. Those who would have seen Gulzaar's movie 'Machis' would see one example of this happens. In Kashmir right now, the biggest measure that brings hundreds of people out to protest against security forces is the case of frame-ups and innocents being killed. Such one-off problems increases the total problem of handling the insurgency.
But it looks like these set of people in the security forces did not hear about all these problems:

The CBI has found that Intelligence Bureau operatives colluded with Delhi Police special cell sleuths to 'plant' RDX on two youths who were arrested as 'Al Badr terrorists’, TOI has learnt. The shocking conclusion comes a month after the agency told the Delhi High Court that the special cell’s probe into the murky affair "didn’t inspire confidence".
Top CBI sources told TOI on Wednesday that the seized RDX appeared to have been planted on the two 'terrorists' Mohd Moarif Qamar and Irshad Ali. The agency will submit its report, which indicts officers of IB and Delhi Police special cell, to the court on October 24. While similar episodes in the past have hurt the credibility of the anti-terror agencies, this one stands out because it marks a rare instance where Intelligence Bureau operatives collaborated in the plot hatched by Delhi Police’s special cell against its former informers.

Even though one can sometimes have some sympathy for these security personnel because of the intense pressure on them to show results, these actions only tend to increase disaffection and not bring any benefit either in the short-term or long-term. The Home Ministry & Defence Ministry need to again reinforce the message of not going in for these kind of frame-ups.

Labels: Law, Police, Punishment, Responsibility, Review, Security, Separatist, Terrorism

Imagine that you are located near the border, living in Punjab or Jammu & Kashmir. You have an idea of who the militants / mafia / terrorists are, although you have never assisted them in their work. One day, you think that you need some weapons to defend yourself and hence you go to the terrorists, ask them to lend you some weapons. They agree, and send you three assault rifles of the sort commonly used by terrorists and some grenades. You take your pick, and send the remaining back. Later when police call you, you realize that this could be something wrong, and you destroy the evidence. Remember, all this is illegal, with the case of actually keeping weapons banned under the Arms Act (minimum sentence of 5 years). Now, if you were a commoner, innocent in your mind, you would still have been prosecuted, with the chance of being included in the conspiracy and being racked up on terrorism charges. Sounds pretty legal so far. And now pretend that you are not a commoner, but a film star, but have done everything else the same. What should the sentence be, and should it be any different?

And this is exactly the case with Sanjay Dutt. he has been convicted under the Arms Act, and with the minimum sentence being 5 years, he has got 6 years. And once this sentencing has been done, there has been a high-profile campaign raised against this sentence, with people calling it unfair, that he has suffered enough during the time that the case was ongoing, and so on. Hogwash ! While I may sympathize with him, I cannot but feel that a country is the poorer if it treats people differently based on their social position and celebrity status. He broke the law, and got the punishment prescribed under the law. In fact, other convicts have protested at the better treatment that he is getting, after being out on bail for so long, and not even being sent back to jail after his conviction, but only after his sentencing.
Now, he has close connections with the Congress Party; after all his father was a minister and an MP for a long time, his sister is a sitting MP, and it is okay to plead for his betterment, and so on. At the same time, a party in governance is not expected to plead for differential treatment for him just because of his connections or because he is a celebrity. In such a case, the remarks by Kapil Sibal are totally unwarranted:

"We may be concerned or saddened. But any political party cannot do anything in such a case where the law has to take its own course," party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi replied to repeated questions about Sibal's support for the jailed actor.
His comments came after the Union Science and Technology Minister reiterated that the "Congress should stand by Dutt in this hour of crisis because of the long association his father had with the party and also because his sister is a sitting party MP."

Such statements are tantamount to asking for preferential treatment. However, the Congress would be careful about being too closely identified with the 'sentence is too harsh' lobby, since that would be a Public Relations disaster for the Congress; with the media and opponents criticizing it for not caring about the victims of the bomb blast, and for doing differential treatment based on his celebrity status.

Labels: Congress, Court, Discrimination, Law, Responsibility, Terrorism

Well, actually, make that into the decisive phase of sentencing. The court has already found people guilty or not-guilty, and is slowly moving into the sentencing phase. Till now, the special TADA court has been giving people sentences on the basis of their support to the actual blasts, and the sentences have seemed fairly proportionate. People accused of supporting the crime at different levels have been sentenced to various prison terms, and the gravity of the crime has been matched pretty fairly to the level of conspiracy. Even in that, there are nuances. For example, the police team that let the explosives and arms through for fines were sentenced to varying prison terms; the constables being sentenced to lesser terms than the inspector leading the squad who was sentenced to a much higher prison sentence due to greater complicity. Hence, people in the various gangs who supported the crimes in some way have been also sentenced.
And now the court is actually sentencing the people who have been directly implicated in the bomb planning and convicted of actually placing the explosive laden vehicles at the different locations where the bombs exploded and caused the numerous fatalities. So far, the court has sentenced 6 people to death for these direct crimes; although the fines are a joke. For a person sentenced to death, what is a fine and why would he actually pay the fine ? For opponents of the death penalty, undoubtedly these death penalties are something that could have been avoided; after all many argue that life in prison, with no possibility of ever coming out is far worse. For better or worse, our constitution supports the death penalty, and the court would have no option other than awarding the death penalty.
In addition, these people who carried out the crimes believed that they were avenging the Babri Masjid demolition and the Bombay riots that happened some time later. However, our society cannot accept the concept of people indulging in violence, especially when they have not been directly affected by the violence, and the bombings were carried out on innocents, thus making it clear that the death penalty was justly awarded. The bombings were meant to shake the nation, and hence they were actually an act against the state, thus leaving no grounds for mercy.
But this judgment has some disturbing signs. The fact that even for such a major case, it took 13 years to finally reach judgment was horrifying. A case is also meant to be healing for the victims (including families), and 13 years is a very long time. Our criminal justice system needs to react much faster, without compromising justice.
It was made even more a case of justice delayed due to the nature of the case. The case was filed under TADA, in a TADA special court, and should have got completed much earlier. The idea of a special law such as TADA and POTA was that the cases against terrorists would happen fast, and deliver justice speedily. That has obviously not happened in this case. In addition, this is not the end of the matter, with the convicts being able to appeal to the Supreme Court, and then a final appeal to the President. A delay of upto 10 years is not inconceivable. We need to move things much faster. I will strongly support the appeals system since every convict is entitled to an appeal where an injustice committed in a lower court can be reversed, but the system needs to act much faster.
The other major item pending so far is the judgment to be awarded to the actor Sanjay Dutt. He has been convicted under the Arms Act, and is due to be sentenced within the next few days. One can argue that he was stupid in getting an AK-56 and grenades, when he knew it was patently illegal and that he would be getting it from the mafia, but was he actually involved with the mafia or the bomb plotters? Very doubtful. At the same time, the court cannot keep the actor part or the famous part in mind when it awards the sentence, since it has to be impartial, and decide the sentence based on the actual case. I would expect that he would get around a 5 year sentence, less time actually served (around 2 years); which means some rough time for the actor.

Labels: Court, India, Investigation, Law, Police, Security, Terrorism

India, an exporter of terrorism to the world? That would be an incredible cross for the country to bear, and yet recent events have brought that question much closer to everybody's mind. There does not seem to be much doubt that the recent terrorists attempts in England were the work primarily of Indian Muslims from Bangalore, notwithstanding the Prime Minister's attempted confession of shock at this and his degree of concern over the condition of the families of those caught.
The trail of events seem to lead to the fact that a fair amount of the inculcation into jehadist and terrorist thought had been already there in the minds of the people already arrested. The fact that they were fully indoctrinated during their stay in England does not clear us of the need to ensure that this country does not come under the shadow of international terrorism. India already has too many home grown terrorists of all religions and types (ULFA, Maoists, Kashmiri, Naga, Sikh, etc).
However, and this is a very delicate issue, the type of mass death and destruction that can happen due to the terrorists taking inspiration from a hardline interpretation of Islam is much greater than any other that the country has seen. Kashmiri terrorists of the JKLF type are strong believers in the concept of liberating Kashmir from Indian control, but it is only when the more hardline Islamic inspired terrorism of the Lashkar and its like took control that we saw many more attacks all over the country, especially the ones aimed at creating discord between communities (attacks on temples and mosques).
There are many such organizations in the country that are inspired by a so-called Wahabi path of Islam which believes that non-believers eventually need to be conquered and all nations need to be under one God, Allah. An example of a terrorist organization is the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) that was banned, but even when it was being banned, Laloo Prasad Yadav was in support.
Even now, the Government will be very careful about a crackdown on the areas where such hardline thoughts are being preached, primarily the madrasas. This is rotten justice. If somebody is preaching separatism or jehad or terrorism, measures need to be taken to shut it down and bring such a person to justice, but due to politics, the Government will not take such actions. A case in comparison is the situation in Assam where there is widespread pressure on the Government to take quick and hard action against ULFA, with no concerns about it being an organization comprising primarily Hindus.
If we have to prevent the radicalization of the minority community (and we have already seen an example of how bad that can be in Punjab), then we need to take the required measures to ensure that there is no atmosphere where such breeding can happen, where people can preach jehad or terrorism or separatism and get away under the guise of being a minority.

Labels: Community, Discrimination, Governance, Image, India, Law, Minority, Muslim, Security, Separatist, Terrorism

Finally, the wait is over. 14 long years after the Mumbai blasts, punishments have started coming through. Although, there will still be quite some wait since these judgements are by a TADA court, and will need to go a higher court on appeal, but there is finally some sense of completeness. These will also be testing times for Sanjay Dutt, who has already been held guilty, and is now awaiting judgement. His case is the most media disputed one, since very few people believe that he would actually be involved in terrorism; however, the truth is that since he is well know, people are ready to believe that. If he was an unknown, then the perception (and maybe the treatment would be different). The buzz is that he will not have to serve much more time over time already spent.
Now onto the main part. We have always heard that corruption is a disease, but that it extra money, and does not kill. Well, see one case where it killed. A former police sub-inspector who allowed the truck laden with arms and ammunition to move past his check-point into Mumbai for a chai-pani (consideration) of Rs. 7 lakhs was sentenced to life imprisonment. The TADA court established that V K Patil, who was supposed to check for the very thing that he allowed to pass through, misused his official position and can be counted as an accomplice. Hence no leniency, and truly, there was no reason for any leniency.
This will pass a signal judgement, police officers are meant to protect the law, and if they get corrupt, they can be charged as supporting the criminal act that they condoned. One is not sure whether such a message will get passed through, but if it makes even a few more policemen do their duty more honestly, there will be some good that will come out of all this. Refer this story:

In remarks tinged with sarcasm for his "high courage" for "personal gains", a TADA court on Tuesday handed down the harshest punishment so far sentencing to life imprisonment a former police sub-inspector for allowing a truck laden with arms and ammunition to move on to Mumbai city that was later used in the 1993 serial blasts.
Special TADA Judge P D Kode held that V K Patil did not deserve any leniency as he had misused and abused his official position as a police officer posted at the Srivardhan police station at Raigad and ordered him to pay a fine of Rs two lakh.
The court sentenced Patil to life imprisonment each on the two charges of criminal conspiracy and aiding and abetting a terrorist act and ordered him to pay a total fine of Rs two lakh -- Rs one lakh each for the two counts he was found guilty of.
The court had on Monday awarded 10 years imprisonment to Manzoor Ahmed Sayeed for accompanying gangster Abu Salem to actor Sanjay Dutt's to pick up arms and had on Friday jailed five persons to three years prison term each for their role in helping smuggle explosives arms and ammunition prior to the blasts.

There are a number of places where such a precedent can be used. For example, excise and inspection officials who allow poisonous hooch to pass through which kills and blinds people, policemen who allow a criminal to escape, transport authorities who certify unsafe vehicles and ships, and so on. If we start using such direct attribution where corruption leads to people suffering, maybe things will get better.

Labels: Corruption, Court, Governance, India, Law, Police, Security, Terrorism

The Samjhauta Express blast was a tragedy. The loss of innocent train passengers in a blast is to be condemned by all. No matter who did this or what reason, they should be caught and prosecuted.

What has been somewhat soft-pedalled is the lax security environment that is in place in our country. It would not be out of order to call India a soft state. If we examine the overall situation, it does not feel very promising.

The Samjhauta Express is a train that carries passengers between India and Pakistan. Given the nature of relations between the two countries, one would have assumed that security on such a train would have been absolutely tight. I remember the time when Pakistani cricket fans had come to India to watch a cricket match, and the absolute mayhem that had resulted when it was disclosed that some of these fans had not gone back.

And what do we find? The tickets on the train were given out without checking passports, people could roam in the country without any constraints on the platform where the train departed from, luggage was unchecked and people could carry large amounts of luggage on the train without any restrictions.

And how could all this happen? Because the Samjhauta Express was seen as a money making train, and security personnel could make money by looking the other way. To top it all, it was found that the suspects could get into the train, and then get off by making some excuses. A disaster waiting to happen is the exact phrase to use.

Actually, blaming the people on the scene is missing the big picture. When questions were asked about the security arrangements on the train after the explosion, it was found that there was actually no comprehensive security arrangement. The Railway Protection Police claims that it was the responsibility of the various states through which the train passes, while the states deny all responsibility.

Even now, one really does not read about any specific agency being made charge of the security. This case is even more worrisome, since the killed were foreign nationals, and the attack happened due to lack of security.

What are the reasons for such a casual outlook towards security among the people in charge? There are essentially two major factors: Corruption; and lack of accountability. Corruption is so pervasive and the risk of being caught so minimal that everybody is out to make a quick buck without fear. Lack of accountability arises from this corruption, and also because the babudom derives its power from being accountable to none other than a senior.

We need to break these two jinxes on our country if we need to have a good security situation.

Labels: Governance, India, Security, Terrorism