Democratisation of terrorism in India
By: Subhadeep Bhattacharjee
Being born and brought up in North East I have witnessed terrorism from a very close quarter in my everyday life. Be it the restriction on the pillion rider on a two wheeler or the ban on tinted glass in the cars people in the region have for ages lived under the fear what the entire country is facing today.
North East and Kashmir are no longer the only 'UNSAFE' places in the country as terrorism is now a pan India phenomenon or in other words democratised.
In the last six months serial blasts have become like a ritual in the country. They have hit all the regions in the country from Delhi in the North to Bangalore in the South. From Ahmedabad and Surat in the West to Agartala and Guwahati in the East. Not a single region of the country is being spared by this mindless people who do not value the cost of human life. Let us accept the truth Internal Security is biggest challenge for the Central and the State Governments today.
The need of the hour is to completely overhaul the security system with strong laws as well as modernised training of the forces. Political leaders from across party lines should unite against this challenge rather than trying to consolidate their vote banks. The need of the hour is strong laws and it should not be seen as a anti this community or that. People say terrorism has no religion so why are religious connotations becoming an obstacle in framing tough anti-terror laws.
After the 9/11 carnage the US Government made amendments to the Homeland Security Act and under it in the US Patriot (Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act) Act. This has armed the security as well as the law enforcement agencies with a teeth to tackle terrorism. But unfortunately in India inspite of repeated terrorist acts we are yet to pass a strong law. POTA was there only for a short period of time and was scrapped by the present government at the centre.
Another starling point is that most of the Indian laws allow the security only to react but not to act. This does not allow the security agencies to prevent terrorist activities when they get minute intelligence of upcoming threats. Of course such a law can be misused by the security agencies but considering the current security scenario in the country we need such tough laws. We should prepare and prevent rather than repair and repent.
The security and intelligence agencies should be brought under a central unified command and there should be better coordination between all the security agencies. A centralised Intelligence Agency should be formed to facilitate faster sharing of information. The border forces should be more vigilant especially in the border with Bangladesh and Nepal as they are fast becoming the hub of all anti-India activities.
Lastly the political fraternity of the country should act more responsible during a crisis situation. Our internal security policy should not be party specific but rather be in the interest of the nation. All the policies should be made keeping in mind two words 'India' and 'Indians' rather than focussing on individual communities and groups.
Being born and brought up in North East I have witnessed terrorism from a very close quarter in my everyday life. Be it the restriction on the pillion rider on a two wheeler or the ban on tinted glass in the cars people in the region have for ages lived under the fear what the entire country is facing today.
North East and Kashmir are no longer the only 'UNSAFE' places in the country as terrorism is now a pan India phenomenon or in other words democratised.In the last six months serial blasts have become like a ritual in the country. They have hit all the regions in the country from Delhi in the North to Bangalore in the South. From Ahmedabad and Surat in the West to Agartala and Guwahati in the East. Not a single region of the country is being spared by this mindless people who do not value the cost of human life. Let us accept the truth Internal Security is biggest challenge for the Central and the State Governments today.
The need of the hour is to completely overhaul the security system with strong laws as well as modernised training of the forces. Political leaders from across party lines should unite against this challenge rather than trying to consolidate their vote banks. The need of the hour is strong laws and it should not be seen as a anti this community or that. People say terrorism has no religion so why are religious connotations becoming an obstacle in framing tough anti-terror laws.
After the 9/11 carnage the US Government made amendments to the Homeland Security Act and under it in the US Patriot (Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act) Act. This has armed the security as well as the law enforcement agencies with a teeth to tackle terrorism. But unfortunately in India inspite of repeated terrorist acts we are yet to pass a strong law. POTA was there only for a short period of time and was scrapped by the present government at the centre.
Another starling point is that most of the Indian laws allow the security only to react but not to act. This does not allow the security agencies to prevent terrorist activities when they get minute intelligence of upcoming threats. Of course such a law can be misused by the security agencies but considering the current security scenario in the country we need such tough laws. We should prepare and prevent rather than repair and repent.
The security and intelligence agencies should be brought under a central unified command and there should be better coordination between all the security agencies. A centralised Intelligence Agency should be formed to facilitate faster sharing of information. The border forces should be more vigilant especially in the border with Bangladesh and Nepal as they are fast becoming the hub of all anti-India activities.
Lastly the political fraternity of the country should act more responsible during a crisis situation. Our internal security policy should not be party specific but rather be in the interest of the nation. All the policies should be made keeping in mind two words 'India' and 'Indians' rather than focussing on individual communities and groups.
1 comments:
It says leave a comment so I won't leave one, because I would like to compliment on this...
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