The Hindu Business Line : India in a state of war!

Even those in India who thought they had had their fill of the ferocity and barbarism of which terrorists were capable would have been taken aback by the lethal ingenuity with which the self-styled Deccan Mujahideen has executed to near-perfection the latest series of catastrophic attacks in and on Mumbai.

The places (numbering between 7 and 11 as per different accounts) have been chosen with an eye on making the maximum national and international impact and causing the maximum number of casualties among hotel guests and innocent civilians who were sitting ducks at that hour of the night.

The latest report puts the number of police personnel shot dead by the terrorists at 16, among whom there were three high-ranking officers, including the chief of Maharashtra’s Anti-Terrorism Squad.

At the time of writing, the tragedy is yet to unravel fully, and what can be put together from the various bits of information is that the attack was mounted by jehadi fanatics coming to the Gateway of India by sea in boats, and they immediately fanned themselves out seizing control of the Taj Mahal Hotel, the Trident (formerly Oberoi Sheraton) Hotel, the Cama hospital, the Nariman House and other prominent locations.

They are holding a number of hostages, some of whom have also been reported as killed. The number of bestial killers involved in what is nothing short of waging a war on India is uncertain, although five terrorists are reported killed and nine captured.

Even at this stage when many details of the tragedy are unclear, a number of puzzling questions are begging for answers.

Supreme sacrifice

First, why was the vast and sprawling intelligence apparatus of the Central and State Governments so utterly clueless about a terrorist operation which must have been months in the making in terms of careful planning, thorough preparation, meticulous organisation, extensive mobilisation of financial, manpower and material resources and flawless execution?

Masterminding of attacks at so many different places, on such an extended scale and over such a long period, could not have been possible without the knowledge and collusion of accomplices among the local population.

How is it that all of those activities from conception to culmination escaped the notice of the supposedly well-oiled intelligence machinery, especially when it was known that the country, given its vulnerability, was in danger of attack at any time and from any direction?

Second, why is it that the presumably ever alert security formations — the police, the Rapid Action Force, the Black Cats, the NSG Commandos, the Military — took hours to come to grips with the situation? Judging by the visuals on the TV channels, even nine to ten hours after the start of the terrorist attack, they were still not in battle-readiness but were casually ambling about. However, 16 of them at the latest count made the supreme sacrifice for the country and the others soon geared themselves for fighting the terrorists to the finish. They gave a valiant account of themselves and all honour to them.

Third, why is it that it took full 12 hours for the Army and the Navy to be entrusted with the command and control of the operation against the terrorists?

If only they had been inducted and taken position, say, around midnight itself, it could have made a conspicuous difference to the resolution of the crisis.

The prompt response was necessary for another reason as well. For about 10-12 hours after the attack, there were half-a-dozen security agencies milling around the places seized by the terrorists, and there was a great danger of uncoordinated retaliation resulting in a large number of casualties of the security personnel, the resort to ‘friendly fire’ and even the terrorists gaining the upper hand and wreaking death and destruction on a larger scale.

In a sense, India has got what it was asking for. Whatever else its record on other counts, insofar as terrorism is concerned, the widespread perception is that the present UPA Government was slack in devising and putting into effect stern measures to leave no one in any doubt that there will be no compromise with terror. In a soft state which India is increasingly proving itself to be, perceptions sometimes count far more than arguments refuting them.

Constant sniping

The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, is now and then in the habit of talking about zero tolerance but that never perceptibly translated itself into policy and action.

On the contrary, his Government has given every handle to the accusation that it was soft-pedalling action against terror. It was also seen as being reluctant to let investigative agencies and the police perform their duties and pursue the leads and clues fearlessly and independently without regard to political or party considerations.

Some sections of the media and the intelligentsia also, under a mistaken notion of upholding secularism, had been constantly sniping at the police, security and investigative agencies which, as a consequence, began taking to the path of least trouble and controversy to save their skin.

Further, the solicitude for civil liberties and religious and sectarian susceptibilities of the political establishment in power and the libertarian-minded intelligentsia and the media had come in the way of enacting tough, terrorist-proof legislation (for a quick trial analogous to a court-martial, embodying some of the salutary provisions of the Patriot Act of the US) and its enforcement by a central organisation for coordinated investigation and maintenance of security.

Remember, even though the federal principle is strongly built into the US Constitution and the States enjoy all the powers not specifically vested in the federal government and even have their own separate citizenship, they have willingly come together in enacting the Patriot Act and establishing the federal umbrella Department of Homeland Security to fight terror.

If such a course was possible in the US, there is no reason for the Centre in India to drag its feet on the plea of objections by the States in a matter like the extirpation of terrorism by not only being determined and effective, but also manifestly appearing to be so.

Finally, the rampant practice of minorityism of whatever kind by governments and political parties has been the cause of untold havoc, whether in dealing with illegal immigrants or implementing the Constitutional provision for a Common Civil Code.

The law should be the same for all classes and sections of the population, without any leeway for discrimination for or against any of them. In short,

India should quickly morph itself into a hard state where anyone attempting to imperil its stability and security will come to instant grief.

( blfeedback@thehindu.co.in)