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| It is war on us all | | | | After watching live two days of horrendous battle in Mumbai one fails to find a collection of appropriate words to condemn this act of terror –arguably most ferocious in history of independent India. We have facing terrorism since long but what has not changed over decades is the principal source of inspiration for an undeclared war on this nation, and the source of supplies and training towards that end. The territory of Pakistan can be identified as that source without any serious worry of contradiction. The difference from the past is, however, this. Until recently, Islamabad's executive authority was the prime mover in the assault against India by well-nurtured non-state actors. It contrived to gain deniability through the careful use of jihadist elements. It is no longer wholly clear if this is still the case. With jihadist forces on the rise in Pakistan, terrorists have lately turned on their masters in a bid to capture political power with the connivance of sections of the ISI, virtually a state-within-a-state in that country. These sections have not given up their anti-India jihad. We saw their hand in the recent attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul, and now we have Mumbai, more horrific than anything before. The spectacular nature of Wednesday's and Thursday’s multiple strikes on India's commercial capital led many to describe it as India’s 9/11. There is truth in this, but there is also a fundamental difference. America wasn't attacked by an immediate neighbour. Also, it possessed the ability to visit retribution on those it suspected. India might not be in a position to do this for many reasons, including geopolitical considerations. In his televised address to the nation Thursday afternoon, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh candidly noted the direction from which the attack on Mumbai had come. He also made a declaration that his government will pursue those responsible "to the ends of the earth". But there is little evidence that New Delhi possesses the will and resolve to actually put this into practice. Only recently Dr Singh had said his national security adviser would draw up a blueprint to combat terrorism in the next 100 days. Such an objective had clearly escaped his government's imagination for the past four and a half years. This is nevertheless a moment to fight the menace of terrorism unitedly as one nation, with all elements of the State and civil society acting in cohesion. High-ranking officers of the Mumbai police led from the front on Wednesday night and laid down their lives. Army and NSG commandos will doubtless deal with the terrorists in the hours ahead with the selflessness and bravery they have always shown. It is now time for our political class to step forward and be counted. For too long its members called for sacrifice from others, while feeling free to carry on with their mutual recrimination and "business as usual". The time for that is over. If this was India's Nine-Eleven, it is possibly time for this nation to respond, just as America did seven years ago. The government and Opposition must together ensure at Friday's all-party meeting that the nation speaks in one voice, and acts decisively against the international terrorist dens from which India is regularly targeted. |
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