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| Need for a firm response | | | Sunita Vakil | 12/12/2010 12:37:53 AM |
| Even as we continue to issue hollow threats to stamp out terrorism, are we even prepared for the next strike?
Tuesday’s bomb blast in the holy city of varanasi which left a one year old girl dead and 35 injured, has served to highlight a fact that has been known for long : The UPA government is showing itself to be unable or unwilling or both to face up to the security threat and counter it firmly. The recent attack has once again brought to the fore the unprecedended reach of the terrorists and their ability to strike at will. It is also a grim reminder of the gross failure in our capacity to anticipate and then deal with such incidents. India has been under the threat of terrorism for many years. But even now, there is an absence of comfort at how we might deal with another terrorist blitzkrieg. This provides cause for concern and more important, creates a frightening scenario we face as a nation. After every terrorist strike, the country is put on red alert and people on tenterhooks, wondering when and where the next attack will take place.
Although we have paid a heavy price, we do not seem to have learnt much. Unfortunately we seem to gloat in the old adage that ignorance in bless. Naturally, our response after every fresh strike remains casual and our intelligence agencies look bewildered wondering how could it happen again. For the upteenth time, authorities have been caught napping and the govt’s claims of evolving a concrete plan to tackle terrorism have turned out to be a sham.
No one can deny the fact that India is a nation under Jehadi seige with an indolent government that is habitual to lapsing into complacency after a crisis is over our leadership is dispirited and relies solely on words rather than action. It needs no reiteration that terrorism seems to have the entire country in its grip. There is hardly any state that is totally free from the menace. While there is ethnic terror in the northeast, vast swathes of central India are ravaged by the Naxalities. But the most devastating is the Islamic terror that started from J&K but has now spread to many parts of the country. Since the serial blasts of 1998, we have faced a series of major and minor terror strkes.
Even the holy city of Varanasi has been the target of terror attacks in the past. In March 2006, bombs planted at famous Sankatmochan temple killed 22 people. In November 2007, the court premises of Varanasi became the target of terror attack, in retaliation against the refusal of lawyers to take up the cases of terrorists. Earlier also, 8 lives were lost when bomb blasts took place at the Dashashwamedh Ghat in February 2005. It is therefore anybody’s guess as to how well prepared the govt and its agencies are to pre-empt a terror attack with devastating consequences.
It is not as if this country is facing terrorism of late. As mentioned above, various terrorist outrages have brutalised the country over many years. Ideally, this should have galvnised our intelligence agencies and indeed the police in a predictive and preventive mode.
But the sheer incompetence of our security mechanism has only served as an incentive to continuing attacks. It leaves one wondering (TURN TO PAGE-7) why our agencies fail to check the onslaught of terror everytime.
After every outrage, there is a sense of deja vu as the Prime Minister and Home Minister mouth supposedly brave words which sadly do not deter terrorists. These is much fist shaking, pledges of firm action against terror and a resolve to never let it happen again. But in essence, the govt does little more than twiddle its thumbs. In the meantime, perpetrators of terror are busy preparing for the next horrendous strike.If the recent bombings are any indication, the threat of terrorism hasn’t gone away and the government’s responses have been far from reassuring, notwithstanding the Home Minister Mr. Chidambaram’s cautions remark that we can’t afford to let security slacken even for a day. It is a pity that as terror is spreading its tentacles like an actopus, the UPA government’s ostrich like attitude is eating away at the country’s sovereign integrity. As tens of thousands of innocent indians are getting killed the ruling regime continues to remain soft on terror. But do the politicians have any concern for the common man? while the terrorists continue to kill with impunity,people get only tall promises from leaders who routinely parrot “ those responsible will not be spared.” May we please know even as our leaders mouth hollow threats, are we even prepared for the next strike ?
Regrettably, the response of our governments - state and central,is hardly reassuring. Even as our political leaders are incapable of containing faceless terror, some of them do not hesitate to exploit the situation for parochial gains. It is no secret that some political parties, who are quick to see and opportunity in a tragedy engage in mud slingingin after every terror strike .
It would be worth while to remember than during the Mumbai terror altack the former PM Mr. Bajpayee issued a written statement asking citizens to vote for his party in the Delhi elections.
This only goes to show that politicians seem to take terrorism casually. This time also, a blame game has started between Home Minister Mr Chidambaram who claims that the central govt . had given spacific warning about a possible attack to U.P Police, and the U.P Chief Minister Mayamati, who in turn denies any security lapse. This highlights the need to completely overhaul our security infrasturcture besides emphasising on centre. state coordination.
Theere is a need for our politicians to rise to the occassion and be proactive in dealing with matters as serious as terrorism. Mr Chidambaram, who seems obsessed with maligning Hindu groups could do with a reality check in order to wake up to the threat facing the nation. As such, Congress leaders should desist from framing innocent citizens for mere political mileage.
The Varanasi episode has once again exposed the soft underbelly of the Indian state and the total failure of our intelligence and police force to thwart the designs of those hell bent upon destabilising the country. Our attitude to fight terror needs an overhaul. Holding cabinet meetings or issuing banal statements after every outrage willnot help. The need of the hour is to draw up a strategy to take counter terror measures across the country. Terrorists have hit major cities like Delhi, Bombay, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and other important cities. The message is loud and clear. they are taking advantage of our weak political framework and and ineffective security system.
The terrorists have dared the authorities again but we have not learnt our lesson for the hundredth time. Indian Mujahideen has once again claimed responsibility and given an open challenge to the Indian establishment. According to a secret US diplomatic cable, Pak based Lashker had planned to assinate Gujarat chief Minister Narender Modi and use Kerala and Tamil Nadu as bases for carrying strikes in Southeren India.
This is yet another reminder of dangerously expanding network of Lasker in India. Keeping this in view it is no time to blame each other but for all political classes to unite and fight those who are against peace and humanity.
Even as we aspire to have a permanent seat int he UN Security Council, we are looking pathetic and clueless in the face of terror attacks which come with horrifying regularity. Our tragedy is that while India keeps burning inthe fires of terrorism, our neroes are happy fiddling. Undoubtedly a determined and firm response is called for.
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