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| Isn’t it a watershed event? | | | | Salute to our valiant soldiers, the siege in Mumbai is finally over. For many observers, the terrorist attack on Mumbai is a watershed event. Two of the reasons cited for this are the method and main targets of the core attack. That the Calcutta police have declared their readiness to learn from it may be heartening, although experience has shown numerous good resolutions slipping between the cup and the lip. There is, however, a sense of determination being communicated by the senior officials of the police that gives reason for hope. There is also evidence of action: layouts of hotels are being called up, security being increased in them, thorough checking of incoming goods is being planned, searches of vulnerable public spaces being promised. There are plans to police the water-routes into the city as well. A great deal would be achieved if all these plans are carried out, not once or twice or five times, but unceasingly. But to put into place effective security measures and strategies to counter terror much more is needed than mere determination. The level of West Bengal’s preparedness is pitiful. Security personnel are noticeably unfit, untrained and unprotected. A serious investment is needed to put this right. Personnel must also have access to the required infrastructure: vehicles to move fast over land and water, and state-of-the-art communication equipment. Neither should the project be entirely city-centred; the river allows many points of entry, let alone the state’s land borders. But trained personnel would remain ineffectual without the proper flow of intelligence, and the acuity and willingness to act upon it. West Bengal may have reason to be proud of the higher echelons of the police, there may be no doubt about their acuity or willingness. But their wisdom is wasted in a state where all the shots, big and small, are called by politicians, who cannot even be called sensible. So perhaps the first condition for the building up of a force equipped to prevent and to counter terror, to work without discrimination, to be as efficient in defence as in rescue, is a firm end to political intervention in police work. Good things would immediately ensue, including a far more efficient gathering and communication of intelligence. This may seem like wishful thinking, but it is eminently possible. A change of attitude is required of everyone, from the politicians and police to the ordinary citizen. The citizen too has to accept some of the responsibility for his own safety, including certain security measures in public spaces. Prejudices and suspicions are useful only to disruptive forces, and over-confidence lessens alertness. A change of mindset, focussed planning, investment in the required forms of expertise, equipment and infrastructure, and the elimination of local politics in the prevention of a form of global crime is perhaps a lot to ask for. But even working towards such a goal would help. |
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