Menu
blogid : 65 postid : 26

Return of Terror

जागरण संपादकीय ब्लॉग
जागरण संपादकीय ब्लॉग
  • 17 Posts
  • 333 Comments

On the 13th of February 2010, with the blast in Pune, terror struck India yet again.

While the state of India is struggling to tackle the enemies within and outside, the media is coping with its own trifle challenge; in what words, to describe such cataclysmic events? Every expression of shock, horror and condemnation has been used extensively in the past. Our words have dried up but the attacks continue.

How do we refer to the latest attack? ‘Return of Terror sequel 7, or is it sequel 8 or 9! I am addled about the exact sequel number; it may not tally with the official government data. Well for the sake of convenience, we can refer to it as the ‘Return of Terror’ sequel nth. This should be a safe nomenclature, bereft of any specific number dispute. In the event of God forbid the forthcoming terror strikes, we can term those sequels nth+1, nth+2…. Till the time we reach nth+nth.

There was a 15 month hiatus since 26/11; please disregard all the interim cease fire violations, cross border infiltrations. Those can be deemed minor scuffles; routine ritual at the border. But it seemed too good to continue; our run of fortune had to end. The Home minister remarked ‘it’s a lot to do with luck.’ ‘The state has to be lucky every single day, in order to prevent any attack while the terrorists need to be lucky just once!’ Did you think that the preceding 15 month respite from terror was due to our governance? No we were more fortunate than capable. Its official now, the safety of the land of Ram is indeed Ram bharose! So what do we mortals do for the safety of ourselves and our families? The answer is simple, pray more.

On a more pragmatic note, while we try to comprehend how germane and incisive the Home minister’s remark may be, the timing of his statement boggles the mind. In the immediate aftermath of a catastrophe we expect those responsible for our security to exude and inspire confidence rather than confess vulnerability. We may acknowledge the fact that today we have a Home minister who is concerned more about national security than personal appearance; more focussed on the job at hand than changing clothes. But the true test of his performance will only be if the violence is checked and the perpetrators of the heinous crimes are caught. The master minds may be sitting across the border but the executioners are on our soil and should not get away, not any more; else the effectiveness of the present Home minister will seem more percept ional than corroborated by empirical data.

The end of this over a year long sabbatical of the terrorists brought a horrifying sense of dejavu. What has changed from 26/11 till now?
The acts of terror, wanton and genocide continue unabashed; the bomb blast in Pune on the 13th February, continuing Maoist violence, the latest being the massacre of two dozen police personnel by the naxalites in Bengal on the 16th February 2010. The state has failed in its role of a protector.
The ensuing pandemonium and blame game between the central and the state governments is as preposterous. The state governments after every attack accuse the centre of lack of adequate intelligence information while the centre lambastes the state governments for not acting effectively on what it calls actionable intelligence report. It becomes more abstruse when on several occasions both the central and the state governments happen to be from the same political coalition.
Our borders continue to be porous. The police and judicial reforms remain pending. The absence of an effective and efficient system of investigation, arrest, trial and prosecution is lurid; the unending trial of Kasav, the inordinate delay on the clemency petition of Afzal can only be termed as perversion of justice.
Politicians who were removed because they were found wanting in the hour of crisis are back to holding important portfolios. Mr Shivraj Patil the Home minister at the time of 26/11 is today the governor of Punjab; Mr Vilasrao Deshmukh, the then Maharashtra chief minister is now a union cabinet minister and Mr RR Patil, the deputy CM and the home minister of Maharashtra when 26/11 occurred is back in his earlier profile; tendency to condone the inefficiency, insensitivity of politicians no matter how grotesque or damaging.
Our belligerent neighbour continues to live in denial much to our chagrin and the international community mouths the often repeated platitudes which amount to nothing more than lip service and appear increasingly clichéd.
The Indian diplomacy is perplexed. We are not even sure whether to talk to Pakistan or no. There is mention of the forbidden Baluchistan in a joint statement followed by a prompt renege under media pressure.
The grounds well support to Pakistan has continued; we have failed to internationally isolate them, deny them financial aid, and motivate sanctions and action against them.
Our extradition efforts have never fructified; forget extraditing, we have been denied thus far, even access to the arrested terror agent David Headley and by friends such as USA to boot. The continuing diplomatic wooliness and ineffectiveness is adding to our woes.

We cannot undermine the relevance of diplomacy in a geopolitical world. Of course we must pursue diplomatic gains with vigour. However, I decline to conclude that no matter how enormous the provocation, this dovish approach is the only option for us in our war against terror. I think this glut of restrain more than serving the cause portrays us as a pusillanimous state. Can we not adopt a more proactive, adventurous approach? There are two possibilities I would like our government to ponder upon:
Dismantle the terror structure across the border with a region/target specific military operation as localised as say a Kargil was; yes there remains the risk of such an exercise escalating into a full thronged war and hence we need to tread the path with caution.
Plan covert operations to eliminate the terrorists in their land; do not waste effort seeking an extradition, send troops under guise to execute the perpetrators in their own land across the line of control. Please derive inspiration from Israel; deploy the requisite military might, intelligence and political dare, will.
Yes, war between two nuclear armed nations may not be the preferred option but there can be more ways of engaging an errant neighbour. It may sound quixotic but some amount of buccaneering in dealing with a hostile enemy should only put us in good stead. Besides, exceptional circumstances warrant unprecedented actions.

I do not wish to delve too much into one of our movie superstar’s averment of Pakistan being a great neighbour or comment on his love thy neighbour philosophy. I disagree with his political ideology and more importantly abhor the timing of his assertion. Let us not even debate whether or not to start the dialogue process with Pakistan; the subject is profound. Nevertheless, even if our government desires to achieve some gains from these talks, it will do well do realise the benefits of negotiating from a position of advantage. Look at our friend USA who prompted by vested interest and with disdain to our concerns, has proposed to make a specious distinction between the good and the bad Taliban. It intends using its military might to coerce the so called moderate Taliban to fall in line. The lesson learnt is that it is useful to remind even friends, the strength of the arm at the other end of the handshake as it is essential to tell enemies the weight of the iron beneath the glove. It is high time, our government stopped to wring its hands in despair and resolutely take matters in them.

It was staggering for me to watch on television a Pakistani government spokesperson attempting to draw a parallel between their JUD, LET and other barbaric elements and the Shivsena here. Comparisons could not have been more odious. While I lampoon the Shivsena and its ilk, I still cannot treat them at par with the fundamentalists across the border. The intolerants here are armed with sticks, stones, muscle power and at worst have a nuisance value that is restricted only to India; the religious warriors beyond the border are in possession and training of sophisticated weaponry and wreck massacre on either side; perhaps for Pakistani officials that may be a niggling distinction but for others it is seminal. Fanaticism and lunacy are your exclusive prerogatives. Please do not equate us. We are just not in the same genre.

The only change for me since 26/11 has been the paradigm shift in the post tragedy public response. While after 26/11, there was an inchoate anger threatening to engulf everything around, this time around people have been more stoic. The maximum they will do is light a candle. While, I commend our equanimity and fortitude in facing the crisis, I am equally befuddled what to attribute this restrain to, resilience or insouciance.

In a democracy, we envisage an effective role of the state as a facilitator, regulator and protector of life and property. If the government fails in its role of a protector, its other accomplishments, as remarkable as they may be, are rendered meaningless. How do we want the world to view us? As an unflinching nation, full of patriotic people, or a country of hedonists who are immersed in a life of ladolcevita and ignominiously susceptible to cravenness! It is a question our leaders and people will have to deliberate. Has the flame turned into a flicker?

Read Comments

    Post a comment

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    CAPTCHA
    Refresh