Awaited, action on terror

by Rajiv Dogra

(December 23, Nerw Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) We must honestly concede that we have consistently lost the battle of minds to Pakistan. In the media of the global world, speed is of essence. Unfortunately, in our anxiety to present the absolute and verifiable truth, we lose out to the quick and straight-faced lies of the other side

The terror in Mumbai will haunt the world for a long time. There can be no doubt about it. How could a group of 10 brazen men hold an entire nation to ransom for almost three days, making Mumbai their killing fields? Obviously, they weren’t mere terrorists; they were a cadre of highly-trained professionals who were controlled and guided by a virtual war machine.

Many questions come to mind. Is this an isolated incident? If that is not so, where will they strike next? Will their attacks in future be limited to India or is the world going to be their stomping ground? The recent attack on the Nato storage area near Peshawar is an indication, perhaps, of their intentions.

There is also the counter thought that troubles people over and over again. Can a group of 10 young Indians do something similar in Karachi or Lahore? The answer clearly is an absolute no. No one doubts the valour of our youth, but it is crystal clear that such an enterprise would be against the Indian ethos and that India would be the first to castigate them. It would be quick to condemn it as a crime against humanity. Perhaps, it might even sabotage their plan before it has any chance of success. Still, if such a plan were to succeed, and if by some miracle they were to return home, they would be arrested immediately and incarcerated in jail under the anti-terror law. This is how a civilised society should react.

Unfortunately, that is not how our neighbour to the west acts. For close to three decades now it has been bleeding India.

The terror strike in Mumbai was meant to clang shut the Gateway of democratic India. It was not a stray suicide attack; the strike was meant to maim the financial system with the special aim of killing foreigners. The objective was to hit at the decision-makers of the financial world.

The terrorists have succeeded beyond their wildest expectations. But their masters had wanted even more gore. Their objective was to exceed the horror of 9/11 and kill 5,000 innocents. Fortunately, the Indian forces could contain the damage but the cost in terms of lives is unacceptably high.

Evidence suggests that the terror masters are a determined lot. They remain focussed as they prepare for the next, even more horrendous strike. Their game plan clearly is to raise the bar of audacity with every strike, and to maximise terror. Moreover, their tactics have become extremely sophisticated. The terror this time was not by faceless suicide bombers. In Mumbai, their intention was to draw maximum media attention as they engaged in killing. Their targets were chosen from among the nationals of the US, Israel and India. Clearly, they have put the world on notice.

We live in a tough neighbourhood. That physical reality is getting grimmer by the day. Pakistan is staring into the abyss; its economy is as parlous as its security situation. The intentions of those who govern Pakistan — the ISI and its Islamic puppets — are clear. They want to drag India down into the same morass.

But what has been our response? Can we say that we have learnt from our past experience and reacted with a rehearsed plan? After all, no other country has been subjected to terror so consistently and for a period of over 30 years. Unfortunately, the answer to all these cannot be termed as reassuring. As in the past we remain episodic in our responses. As a result the cost in human and material terms has been phenomenal. Since all terror has emanated from Pakistan, should we not put it on notice?

According to international laws, countries that start a war are liable to pay reparations. Since the terror perpetrated from Pakistan is nothing short of a war, should we not make a claim for reparations? Unless, we think along such lines Pakistan will find no reason to slacken its bleeding of India.

While India may be procedurally correct to hand over the list of the fugitives to Pakistan demanding for the umpteenth time that they be handed over, it will be nothing short of a miracle if it were to actually hand over someone like Dawood. ISI is just too intricately linked with most of those on the list to risk placing them in Indian hands, where they and their misdeeds would be open to international inspection and intense media gaze.

All this does not give much hope for a nation that expects results now.

The public mood continues to be surly, but the Government has yet to convince the population that it is thinking seriously along operationally executable lines.

A basic point that we must honestly concede is that we have consistently lost the battle of minds to Pakistan. In the media of the global world, speed is of essence. Unfortunately, in our Brahminical anxiety to present the absolute and verifiable truth, we lose out to the quick and straight-faced lies by the other side.

From now onwards we will have to be much quicker off the mark. Second, we must be seen to be pro-active rather than posturing angrily. Third, we must speak with one voice at every level. We must not have the sorry spectacle of a senior service chief embarrassing and inadvertently exposing the other branches of the Government. And we must be conscious that we are essentially alone in this fight, other countries would safeguard their interests first. Moreover, we must not rush into an ill-prepared venture because that could be disastrous.

Still, we are not without options. We could for instance suspend trade, or hold in abeyance the bus or the train links. Then there are the people to people contacts which have largely meant a unidirectional flow from Pakistan to India because Pakistan continues to be parsimonious in giving visas to Indian nationals. Should we then continue to encourage this one way traffic even at the cost of our national security? There is also the option of closing the diplomatic missions, which would hurt the Pakistanis much more because of the access in the society they enjoy here.
But, whatever we decide, it is important for us to take at least one concrete step.

-- The writer, a senior diplomat, is former Ambassador to several countries. - Sri Lanka Guardian