Taking on Terror
There are divergent views in the country as to the mechanism for countering terror, which will only embolden the terrorists. The Union Home Ministry — led by a man who ought to have lost his job by now but who continues unscathed because the UPA is left with little or no choice in the matter — does not find any wisdom in what National Security Advisor MK Narayanan has suggested: that States should have their own anti-terror laws. Referring to Gujarat’s demand for the Centre’s consent to its anti-terror law — the Gujarat Control of Organized Crimes Act — Mr Narayanan had in his ‘‘internal communication’’ suggested that the Home Ministry should reconsider the State government’s request. He is also learnt to have expressed his ‘‘personal’’ views on similar demands made by other States and security agencies. Apart from Gujarat, other BJP-ruled States like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan too had requested the Home Ministry to pave the way for Presidential consent to their respective anti-terror laws, just as Maharashtra has. But the Home Ministry has rejected their requests saying the proposed laws are replicas of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) that was scrapped by the UPA government in 2004.
It is clear that the National Security Advisor has a difference of perception with the government in the matter of effecting a meaningful counter-terrorism regime in the country. He knows what the States need in this hour of crisis, when the terrorists have expanded their scope of operation right under the very nose of the government, weak and unresponsive. However, the government in its ivory tower feels that the existing laws are adequate to tackle terror, despite the intensity of terror attacks. In fact the government’s own panel, the Second Administrative Reforms Commission, has in its report on ‘‘Combating Terrorism’’ stated categorically that the existing laws are inadequate in meeting the challenge of terrorism, that a legal provision to deal with terrorism could be incorporated in a separate chapter in the National Security Act, 1980, and that no person accused of an offence that is punishable under the National Security Act should be released on bail. But the UPA government is yet to wake up to the reality — basically because the act of waking up will entail a political cost or, to put it straight, erosion of its most ‘secularly’ cherished Muslim constituency even as the country’s enlightened Muslims have rubbished the ghettoization theory as worked upon and accentuated by the government in its bid to woo the community by being extra careful, hence soft, in dealing with hardened and proven jehadis. That is what has deterred the Manmohan Singh government from launching a full-blown war on terrorism; yes, it must be a total war because the jehadis, both home-grown and those exported by Pakistan and Bangladesh, have launched a full-blooded war on India to which the response must obviously be a war with greater force and precision.
‘‘Terrorists, in the fast-changing paradigm of terror, remain invisible and exhibit a cross-national spread, spawning intricate networks with the Internet being used as force multiplier and a resource base for terror cells,’’ Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief PC Haldar said on Monday while addressing the Asia-Pacific seminar on terrorism in New Delhi. But what has the UPA government done to review the archaic counter-terrorism strategies in vogue so as to trace and eliminate the invisible terrorist? Not that one can be safe in. Not at all. |
| What the Media can Do
The Veerappa Moily-led Administrative Reforms Commission has rightly harped on the potential of the media in spreading education and awareness among the masses so that citizens have an inbuilt capacity to deal with terrorist violence. ‘‘An informed and engaged media that is not restricted, manipulated or overly regulated can better appreciate the imperatives of the administration in its fight against terrorism,’’ the Moily panel says. This newspaper has long clung on to — and will continue the pursuit — such ideals, and believes in playing a pro-active role in the dissemination of right information and making of unprejudiced analysis so that the people are introduced to the reality about them, especially when it concerns their security and the very right to life. The media is indeed a powerful tool in the state’s fight against terrorism or, for that matter, any kind of violence and anarchy. In fact the media should have a scholarship about it to generate new ideas to assist the state in its policy-making. A vibrant media — bold, analytical or critical, and of course ethical — can go a long way in enlightening the state. |
Fight Terror with Determination
Joginder Singh
Since 2000, there have been 1,120 deaths in 70 jihadi attacks in our country. In July 2008, 56 people were killed in terrorist bombings on consecutive days in Bangalore and Ahmedabad. In Delhi, 24 people were killed in five serial bomb blasts on September 13, 2008. Some unexploded bombs were defused later on. In the last few years, there have been several bomb attacks in Mumbai, Coimbatore, Srinagar, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Varanasi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Jaipur. In some of these places, there was more than one attack. The United States’ National Institute of Counterterrorism says that between January 2004 and March 2007, the death toll in India from terrorist attacks was 3,674, second only to Iraq during the same period. In most of the major terrorist bombings, the name of one particular organization, that is SIMI, has surfaced with definite consistency.
The Gujarat Police has claimed that SIMI was responsible for the 27 serial bombings that ripped through Ahmedabad in July. It has also been able to establish the trail of evidences to SIMI. Subsequently, a number of SIMI activists — including the suspected mastermind behind the bombings — have been arrested.
The Students Islamic Movement of India is a banned Muslim fundamentalist organization that was founded in 1977. Ostensibly its purpose was ‘‘to educate and enlighten Muslim youth in India’’. The SIMI, in its publications, lists the propagation of Islam and jihad for the cause of Islam as its main objective. Activists of SIMI believe in a pan-Islamic state or a Muslim ummah. SIMI says, in its literature and list of objectives, that it wants to convert India into an Islamic state.
A recent study by two scholars from
Oxford University states that this
is only part of a larger international trend. They have observed that over the years, those with engineering degrees are over-represented in Islamic terror organizations. One of the 10 suspects arrested for his role in the Ahmedabad serial bombings holds a diploma in human rights from the MS University in Vadodra. A medical student was reportedly involved in the Jaipur terror strike in May this year. The mastermind of the Bangalore bombings in 2005 was also an engineer. The trend does not stop there. In the Ahmedabad terror strike, the alleged mastermind is a teacher. Among the SIMI men arrested, Safdar Nagori is a mechanical engineer. Another person behind the Indian Mujahideen terror e-mail, Abdul Subhan Qureshi alias Taufique, is a computer whizkid. Whereas Iqbal Shaikh holds an ITI diploma in electrical engineering, Gyasuddin Ansari has an ITI diploma in radio technology.
SIMI reportedly gets extensive funds from West Asia. According to investigative agencies, it has a core membership of at least 400 full-time cadre and two lakh members. The organization has links with Islamic terror groups based in Pakistan and Bangladesh too.
Let there be no doubt in the government’s mind that jihadi movements have been violent and coercive right from the very start. Today, the concept of jihad is being preached to re-conquer India through organizations such as SIMI. The emphasis in Islam is on conversion. During my recent visit to the US, my host who is a Hindu, told me that his daughter’s Muslim classmates in high school were pressurising her to convert to Islam. Conversion of the so-called non-believers is an article of faith in Islam.
Nonetheless, what might come as a surprise is that many Muslims belonging to economically well-off families and having good educational backgrounds, choose a career in terrorism. Thus, the age-old perception that most terrorists come from poor economic and educational circumstances is not valid in all cases.
Jihadis are working under the illusion that they can make India another Pakistan. They are taking advantage of India being a secular country. The Preamble of the Constitution is very clear about the rights of every Indian, irrespective of his religion. It says:
‘‘We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic and to secure to all its citizens:
Justice, social, economic and political;
Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
Equality of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation.’’
While every Indian citizen has been guaranteed
the above freedom, they have to exercise it in
consistency with the unity and integrity of the country. Given the spate of terrorist attacks in recent years, our law enforcement agencies are naturally under a lot to tackle terrorism. Terrorist organizations are extremely close-knit. They function only on the need-to-know basis. On the other hand, we have antique laws that were framed in 1863 to deal with such organizations. For example, confessions made to the police under the law are not admissible in court. With thousands of cases still pending, our courts take an enormous amount of time to adjudicate and come out with a verdict. Today, there is no law against terrorism in the country in spite of the fact that it is perhaps the biggest threat to India.
Moreover, nobody wants to be a court witness and help the police prosecute terror suspects. The condition of witnesses in our country is best illustrated by the following extracts of a letter written by a Sessions Judge to the National Police Commission.
‘‘The biggest single hurdle which inhibits the citizen from coming forward to help the police is the deplorable conditions prevailing in the courts of law. The lot of witnesses appearing on behalf of the State against a criminal is certainly pitiable.’’
In most cases the police faces an uphill task. In the absence of witnesses, acquittals are quite common. True, 99.9 per cent Muslims in India are peace-loving and have nothing to do with terrorists and terrorism. But since nobody, irrespective of his community or religion, wants to get involved with the law, terrorists manage to get away because of the impossible standards of evidences required to prove any case.
It is essential to involve the Muslim community in the fight against terrorism. The community’s presence should be increased in the intelligence and security agencies, as its members can more easily access and infiltrate jihadi groups and help the law enforcement agencies in exposing them. Laws in this country are framed by those who have no knowledge of the ground realities. Laws should be framed in consultation with judicial and law enforcement officers, rather than in air-conditioned rooms.
(The writer is a former CBI Director) (ADNI) |
Manmohan Singh’s Report Card
Dr Bharat Jhunjhunwala
The Manmohan Singh government has completed four years. On assuming the mantle of Prime Minister, Dr Singh had put ‘‘reinventing governance’’ on top of his agenda. The major step taken by him in this direction was the enactment of the Right to Information Act. Government employees had agitated for keeping file notings outside of the purview of the Act. However, Dr Singh stood firm. I can say from personal experience that the RTI Act provides a great leverage for getting information from the government. Previously one could send letters that remained unreplied. Now one can force the government to provide information. Of course, babus have developed the art of Kabaddi. They transfer the applications to some unrelated department and escape responsibility. But this notwithstanding, the RTI Act is a boon to the people.
The negative role of Dr Singh in governance is implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission without increasing accountability. Even the beneficial recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission such as evaluation of the performance of government officers by an independent external agency have been given a go-by. Rather Dr Singh’s government has moved to increase the complexity of laws and given more leeway to government employees for extracting rents.
The economy has been doing reasonably well under Dr Singh’s leadership. Growth rate has been high at about nine per cent. The special achievement of this government in outward FDI by Indian companies such as acquisition of Corus and Jaguar by Tatas. Many small Indian companies are buying companies many times their size. This has been possible only with government support. But the domestic economic management has generally been negative. The high growth rate was more due to fortunate external circumstances of large FII and FDI coming into the country. Dr Singh has failed miserably in handling the increase in the price of oil. Dr Singh assumed that the increase in price would be short-lived and sought to insulate Indian public from it. In the process the financial burden on the government has risen leading to fleeing of foreign investors and slowing of economic growth.
Dr Singh deserves congratulations for introducing quota for backward castes in IITs and IIMs. This will break the elite character of these institutions. But this is inadequate to meet the challenge of the day. On the negative side, there is lack of progress in releasing education from the clutches of government teachers. It is well known that the services sector will be the engine of future economic growth. India enjoys an advantage because of wider reach of English language. But other countries are catching up. It was necessary to reform the grassroots educational system so that the large numbers of poor and rural youth get good quality education. The government educational establishment has miserably failed in this. Instead of privatizing the same and providing an opportunity to the people to buy good quality private education, Dr Singh is further increasing the size of this decrepit system. In the result more numbers of our students will get locked in poor quality education.
At the global level, Dr Singh’s achievement has been in stumping the Doha round of the WTO. The rich countries produce food at higher price than our farmers. Yet they are able to export it cheap because of the huge subsidies provided by their governments. The rich countries want to destroy our food security by making us dependent on cheap subsidized food imports. Dr Singh has done well to block these efforts. That said, he has also failed to reform the unequal global economic order. A large number of developing countries are slipping in the present dispensation. Nehru has provided a vision of the Non-Aligned Movement. That has become infructuous with the collapse of Russia as a global power. However, the need was to replace NAM with another grouping of the developing countries — a larger G20 perhaps. Dr Singh has failed to present the world with such a vision. Instead of trying to develop alliances with other developing countries against the tyranny of the rich countries, he has steered India towards making an alliance with the rich countries. In the result, India today stands with the rich countries against a large number of developing countries. Dr Singh has also failed in giving a boost to South Asian cooperation. Nepal has given a clear signal with Prime Minister Prachanda visiting China before India. There are increasing signals of growth of anti-Indian sentiments in Pakistan. America’s presidential hopeful Barack Obama has said that Pakistan is using American anti-terror funds to prepare for a war against India. Anti-Indian sentiments continue to rage in Bangladesh as well.
The Congress had won the last general elections on the issue of common man. The BJP had given the slogan of ‘‘India Shining’’. The Congress had countered that India was shining only for the rich. Dr Singh has taken two steps to deliver on this promise. He has implemented the Employment Guarantee Scheme across the country. Poor families are getting at least 40-50 days of employment, if not the promised 100 days. They are getting this at a wage of Rs 75. I can say from personal experience that people in villages wait for work under the Employment Guarantee Scheme to start. The second measure is of loan waiver for the farmers. Both these schemes are, however, in the nature of fire-fighting. |
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