Sakaram and Pandurang to fight terror with a ‘danda’!

Once again there were serial blasts, this time in Delhi. Once again the ‘Dandy’ (Shivraj Patil) gave a statement, this time in Grey Safari suit. Once again the politicians were caught with ‘dog poop’ on their faces, this time in the national capital. But the problem remains and keeps growing. Now, the Indian Mujahideen has given an advance notice to Mumbai and I take them for their word. Who plans to protect Bombay (or Mumbai), Sakaram (a term used for an incompetent Bombay cop), or Pandurang (the omni-present peon)? India is not prepared for this new phenomenon of the ‘Islamic Terror’. If the Indian Police and other ‘National Security Agencies’ consider this as a law and order problem, they would never be able to fight this growing menace. No one understands this kind of terror better than the London security agencies or the State of Israel. Both have faced prolonged periods of organized terror and both have fought back successfully.

There are two parts to the organized terror. One is the cause and obviously the other is the solution. In my opinion, the cause could be ideological, religious or civilizational. The solution is not that easy. The first part has to be fought by a sustained effort for reconciliation and inclusion, like the one you see between Blacks and Whites in America. The second part must be an initiative and certainly not reactive. What you see in India is the latter kind. The security agencies and the police force is looking at crime prevention rather than establishing an infrastructure to combat any form of organized terrorism. The crucial part of creating the infrastructure is the infiltration into the enemy territory. In India, the terror comes predominantly from the Islamic World. The security forces need to have a cadre of well trained linguistics who could easily penetrate into the terror networks and provide critical information to the government. It means that these field agents would not only have an intimate knowledge of Urdu, Arabic, Persian and other Islamic languages but also be familiar with the Islamic Culture. India is blessed with millions of Muslim Patriots who would willingly serve their country, provided India takes care of them and their families in return.

The second part of the security infrastructure is the ‘technological advantage’. If the terror networks are using contemporary technologies to commit crime, the security agencies should be several steps ahead of them. The US government had the ‘internet technology’ since the Second World War, but never commercialized it. India needs to develop sensitive technologies for national security purposes only. This means a full participation of the private sector with personnel having a ‘National Clearance’ as well as having the best and the brightest brains working for the government. Not only the ‘Central Government’ but even the ‘State Governments’ must recruit personnel directly from the IITs and the IIMs. India has no dearth of talent. It has always been the out-dated methods of government hiring and lack of firing that has resulted into this huge second-rate pool of government employees. Another important component is the compensation to the best and the brightest. If the governments are not ready to compensate the talent commensurately, it would be their loss in the long run. Each and every act of terror has incalculable commercial and economic cost to it. We just avoid thinking about it! It is time to grow-up.