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Analysis
India Worst
Victim of Terror
by
Ramesh Menon
If Iraq is not considered as a war zone, India tops the world in the number
of terror attacks it is subjected to.
It is time someone declared India as the foremost country in the world
battling terrorism. More than 3,850 Indians have died in terror attacks in
over 3,000 incidents since 2004. The United States and Britain, who see
themselves as prime movers against terrorism are not even probably aware of
the severity of the problem in India where lives are lost everyday to
terrorism.
In the last decade, India lost over 53,000 lives to terrorism. In all its
wars with Pakistan and China and other army operations, it has lost around
8,050 lives since independence. The enormity of the threats that terrorism
poses is just too large to be missed.
India is Bleeding
As many as 4,000 people died in around 3,100 terror related incidents in
Jammu and Kashmir, North East India and Left extremist related violence
between January 2004 and March 2007. That makes India the second most deadly
region in the world. If you do not consider the war in Iraq, then India
would be worst country affected. The highest numbers of civilian victims of
terror are in India. Over 47,500 people died in terrorist violence, which
does not include Naxalites between 1994-07. Over 4,700 people died in Maoist
violence during 2002-07.
Memories of the recent serial blasts in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Jaipur,
Ahmedabad are haunting security agencies. The question now is where they
will strike next. There are terror warts all over India: Hyderabad, Chennai,
Kochi, Bengaluru, Malegaon, Varanasi, Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, New
Delhi, Srinagar, Jammu, Varanasi, Guwahati, Shillong and the entire north
east.
In an email written by terrorists responsible for the recent Delhi blasts, a
picture of Qutubdin Ansari was used who was a tailor in Ahmedabad. This
picture of Ansari was splashed all over the Indian media which had tears
brimming in his eyes and his palms folded begging to be saved from rioters
who killed hundreds in Gujarat. The caption in the email alongwith his
picture read: Eye for an eye. It was more than clear that there would be a
backlash of the 2002 riots in Gujarat. It brought shame to India as innocent
Muslims were killed by rampaging mobs while the government looked on. The
memories of the tragic fallout of that riot still linger within millions of
Indians who were shocked with what happened. The wounds are so deep in
Gujarat that it will take generations for it to vanish. |
Terror Hotspots
Of the 4,000 plus people who died in around 3,100 terror related
incidents in Jammu and Kashmir, North East India and Left
extremist related violence between January 2004 and March 2007,
41 per cent were from Jammu and Kashmir alone. Another 27 per
cent resulted from Left extremism across as many as 14 states.
The mainly affected states were Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh,
Jharkhand, Bihar, Maharashtra, Orissa, West Bengal, Uttar
Pr5adesh and Karnataka. The north-east was another hub of
terrorist activity with almost 20 per cent coming from there.
In the last two decades, over 40,000 have died in the Kashmir
conflict. Many thousands are missing. The families keep waiting
for them but know that they may never return. This is one state
where statistics of the proxy war that Pakistan is fighting do
not make any sense. The people of Kashmir desperately want peace
though they have forgotten what it means.
Though the Indian army has tried to stem the number of
fatalities keeping a vigil on terror, cross border terrorism
continues as infiltration continues in the darkness of the night
from across the border.
It is a problem that has no easy solution. |
Poor Intelligence: There is Reason to Worry
Indian intelligence has faltered time and again. There were indications
given that New Delhi was the next target after Ahmedabad and Surat, but the
terrorists were successful. Though India has a terror-tracking network in
place, it is strapped with an untrained force that has little clue of what
they are up against. Intelligence is still seen as a punishment posting and
so the motivation is very low. The Delhi blasts would have been very severe,
but three unexploded bombs were found by garbage collectors just in time.
The pattern has numerous similarities and one word that eloquently explains
it all is: Helpless.
Lack of intelligence gathering is the major crack in India�s fight against
terror. Intelligence gathering is a specialized skill, which requires
intensive training. With the exception of Andhra Pradesh, there is no branch
that is designed to train ground level constables. This is very crucial as
they work at the grassroots level and must know how to glean intelligence.
That is not all. Even the Intelligence Bureau director cannot decide who his
State Intelligence Bureau chiefs are going to be as they are largely
political appointees. So, there is little coordination between the
information gathered between the top and the bottom. A lot of time, money
and effort are wasted on gathering political intelligence for which ever
party is in power.
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Anti-Terror Game Plan
India will have to draw out a detailed strategy to fight terror
as it is on the upswing and there are absolutely no indications
that it is going to taper off.
India immediately needs to:
- Allow
wiretaps if they suspect terror in the making, but do not
use it to intrude into lives of normal citizens.
- Increase
border surveillance.
- Have
professional custom investigators trained in terror
tracking.
- Better
coordination between banks and other financial institutions
and regulators.
- Encourage
banks to share data
- Increase
video surveillance,
- Fast trials
and tough sentences for the convicted.
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When the terror attack took place in Hyderabad on August 25, 2007, leaving
42 dead and 54 injured, it was more than clear that terrorists had an easy
target as most of the state�s security police in Andhra Pradesh are used to
protect VVIP�s from Naxals. What was the result of the investigation that
followed? One arrest was made. The police say they suspect the
Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed but have yet to get the mastermind.
Another problem is how the various intelligence agencies are more focused on
outsmarting the other and so they do not share vital intelligence that
otherwise would have led to coordinated action.
Despite the fact that India is bleeding due to terrorism in practically
every state, as many as half of the Intelligence Bureau�s top posts are
lying vacant. There is a manpower crunch, there is a financial crunch and
there is lack of political will to deal to use an iron hand.
Poor Preparedness:
India has become a Soft Target for Terrorists
For a country that has seen terror strikes for almost 20 years now, this
state of preparedness is pathetic. India�s response to terror attacks at
best has been knee jerk. In fact, it has been in a state of denial as
accepting it would mean that the government failed. It has failed to bring
up its fight in international forums effectively. The world has yet to
respond to the severity of terrorist attacks in India.
There has to be a counter terrorism initiative not only in strengthening the
security forces that would combat it, but in strengthening the criminal
justice system and law enforcement machinery. Only then will the police have
the determination it needs to take on the terror network. Right now, there
is a sense of inexplicable cynicism because corruption, inefficiency and
political interference have weakened the country�s criminal justice system.
Stringent Laws Needed
There have to
be special laws to fight terror.
Many countries after 9/11 and other terror attacks have put together tougher
laws. In the Bali bomb blasts, 202 died. Of them three were New Zealanders.
Soon after, the New Zealand parliament passed the Terrorism Suppression Act.
It gave agencies the space to nip extremist organizations and powered them
to track money trails. This is crucial in any terror investigation. The
agencies were empowered to deal with terror activities like even infecting
livestock and food contamination. To cut at the root of all terror activity,
wiretaps were allowed and evidence gathered under one law was allowed to be
used against an offence under another law.
Japan has now got a bill passed that allows forces to go for a pre-emptive
strike if the life of citizens were in danger.
India has been dilly-dallying on a strong law, as there is great opposition
to it from human right groups who suspect it will be used against innocent
people. Political parties were also against the Prevention of Terror Act,
commonly known as POTA and so it was scrapped. BJP leader L K Advani said
that the tough anti-terror law POTA will be restored if the NDA came to
power. There has also to be a strict law against rioters. The fact that
rioters in Gujarat were shielded by the government and even encouraged by
official machinery is not a secret anymore. But the law has not caught up
with the offenders.
Terrorism Breeds in An Atmosphere of Injustice
Naxalite activity continues to threaten numerous states in India. In poorly
developed states where the sense of justice has long disappeared, Naxals
have pitched tent and are calling the shots.
The Indian terror story is different from any other. It has neighbors like
Pakistan and Bangladesh, who knowingly harbor terrorists operating in India.
In Pakistan it is terror groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashker-e-Toiba.
In Bangladesh, it is northeast insurgent groups that are operating in
Manipur, Nagaland and Assam. The Indian government is well aware that there
are terror camps in both these countries that have terrorists who operate in
India and go back for refuge and refueling of arms and money.
India has ideal conditions for terror groups to operate. There is poor
policing, poor intelligence, weak criminal justice and overpopulated areas
making it extremely difficult for any security agency to operate. There are
sleeper cells in numerous Indian cities that are helping terrorists carry
out their operations with ease.
India has to Deal with Terror
It has to stop living in the denial mode. It will have to learn to come up
with creative solutions for complex problems like Naxalism. Here it is not
the bullet which will work, but solutions to get rid of injustice, poverty
and lack of development. Only that can take the wind out of the Naxalites
who are fighting for a life they deserve to live.
September 15, 2008
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