Dear readers, the following is my impression of the current terror attacks in Mumbai followed by a section where we can bring about change at a citizen level.
Nationality: UPA? NDA? or perhaps at least today INDIAN....
As the horrors of the despicable act of insane violence in Mumbai unfold, our politicians are still fighting an identity crisis...country first or party first?...sadly the answer was not too difficult to figure out. The all party meeting convened by the Prime Minister was given a miss by the top brass of the BJP, namely L K Advani and Rajnath Singh. The general elections are just round the corner and it is important for us to know that these are the people who will be contesting them and perhaps one of these is a Priministerial candidate.Was it important at all for them to be present there?...I feel yes and for two reasons:
1. To show unity and solidarity and that, at a time like this all parties are united.
2. As leader of the opposition, there could have been a healthy political debate and exchange of ideas and also keep a check on the activities and measures taken by the government in power.
Even as I write, political campaigners have lost no time in making the macabre mumbai massacre a political issue.To verify this check out Vasundhara raje Scindhiya's capaign in Rajasthan or L K Advani's speech a couple of days ago... but I would advice that you read it with caution. There are some things he said which meant sense but there was one statement he made which totally did not serve the purpose. He was alluding to the attacks on Akshardham temple in gujrat and how, during the NDA govt, the terrorists were neutralized etc and the government acted as it should have. Well what he forgot to mention was that the government and associated agencies were unable to preclude the attacks, that the terrorists did establish what they had come to do and that more than 50 people were killed in indiscriminate firing and many more wounded. It was with the effort of the police, army, NSG and other security forces that the perpetrators were killed. Not very different from what happened in mumbai...only the scale and numbers differed.(check newspaper archives for the reports).
Include to this list the spate of bomb blasts that we have had under various governments starting from the '93 blasts in mumbai. I can go on here but the long and short of it is that we as a nation lack the political will and consensus in dealing with terrorism which is a reality that we and generations to come have to live with. Secondly, it is not that we don't have good political thinkers and workers but we lack LEADERSHIP and perhaps Visionaries.
So, what did we learn from all this?
1. Our borders are porous and the agencies monitoring them lack personnel and equipment.
2. Our Intelligence agencies are not in sync with each other and information / intelligence is difficult to share and that it isn't done fast enough.
3. We need better procedures and more trained personnel to sift through the wealth of intelligence that we get and act upon it.
4. Better co-ordination between interstate police, police and other security instruments, vis-a-vis the armed forces etc.The fact that the police comes under the law and order of the individual states doesn't help. It doesnt even help the cause of internal security as we have seen in the case of naxal attacks.
5. Some major policy and structural reforms are needed.
6. Of course it doesn't take a genius to notice that the police need better equipment..you don't fight modern automatic weapons and state of the art arsenal with WW2 vintage bullet-proof jackets and a revolver. In any case, these jackets were proven ineffective both in long distance as well as short distance AK class weapon fire in the RAF shooting range. The point was brought up repeatedly by top police officials, including Salaskar who lost his life in the carnage.For any attacks of this nature that take place, it will always be the state police that will be the first to rush and counter it before other forces can be mobilized.So their preparedness is imperative. We lost 14 police personnel in the first few hours of the attack as oppsed to two NSG in the next 2 days.That tells us something. It is not that the policeman were found wanting in valour or will to fight , but they certainly lacked the weapons and body armour and perhaps strategy as well.
7.There is quite a debate about glorifying versus vilifying our police at different times. The police did do a great job but as part of the democratic process we as citizens should hold them accountable if they make a slip and at the same time applaud the good deeds that they do to keep us safe which go unnoticed. We urgently need a process in place to keep the police motivated and focused.
8. For a country that faces disasters in the form of floods, cyclones, earthquakes like clockwork, to which we can safely include other man made disasters, naxal attacks and now terrorism as well, WE DO NOT HAVE A PROPER CRISIS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. Every time, the armed forces are called to rescue...what do we do if the country is fighting with flood on one end and a major terrorist threat at another?
9. How do we answer Vimala Acharya, mother of one of the countless martyrs of the Kargil War when she asks why the very terrorist, who her son laid down his life fighting against, was captured and then let off by the government?
10.Lastly, let us not undermine the ability, training, and will of the perpetrators. They did their homework well and executed it with precision.It took hundreds of elite trained commandos along with other security personnel to put down 10 militants.Ten young men brought the country to its knees and perhaps there are some more roaming out there unaccounted for.This is no ordinary threat and it is not just another news item to be discussed over a coffee.
11. There are a lot of foreign nationals residing in our country illegally. I am not talking about only the infiltrators across the borders or people from bangladesh and neighbouring countries coming to india looking for job and survival. There are westerners residing in places like Himachal for over 25 years now without proper papers. There was a television program on this a few years back . Everyone is welcome to India to visit and even work if they are authorised. But making it their homeland with impunity...Indians are not allowed to do that anywhere else in the world...
12. All other professions have a minimum qualification, while the qualification needed to be in the business of politics is that the person should not be less than 25 years of age and that he/she should be a citizen of India??? This is ridiculous and calls for change.These are the people who are going to rule us.
Political bashing doesn't bring any results but we should voice our opinions as responsible citizens and hold people accountable.
Action at a citizen level:
While we are looking for answers , and perhaps a lot of them have to come from very high levels, there are certainly few things that we can do to enhance our safety and security.
Some ideas:
1. Campaign for a universal identity card, perhaps a biometric id, on the lines of the SSN in US or CPR in the gulf countries.Right now we have ration cards, drivers licenses, passports, voter id cards, PAN numbers and so many others which individually are not adequate to represent all classes of society. It is a difficult process to generate identity numbers given the population of our nation, but it will have to be done.
2.The only power as a citizen we have, to take part in the democratic process, is to vote. In the current geo-economic situation, where people travel a lot either for business or other reasons, and are not necessarily in their home towns during elections, we need a process where we can vote electronically and exercise our power. Even the Non Resident Indians, who have a large vested interest in the development of our country should be able to exercise this right.
3. We need a portal constructed where the politicians can clearly lay out in points their agenda so we have a clear idea of the reasons for chosing one candidate over other. We also need a transparent portal where we can check on the amount of work which has been done and if the promises are being delivered., and if not then we have a concrete proof to hold them accountable.
4.As has been done successfully in many countries, train volunteers for self defense and conflict resolution techniques. They can then go to their neighborhoods and talk to the youth , enlighten them about the current threats and help in confidence building measures. Teach them self defense tactics and how to help people in a crisis like fire, flood etc.Let us not ignore the fact that it is these youth , who are at a very impressionable age, are being targeted by the anti social elements and groups, not only without, but within the country as well.
5. Make regular fire drills and such mandatory in all schools, colleges, institutions, housing complexes. Teach them what to do when there is a natural disaster and how to take cover when there are incidences of violence.
6.Do a proper check of the help that we hire, be it maids, drivers, etc.try to keep their photographs and home address.
7.Secure our emails, credit/debit cards etc with strong and difficult passwords and keep changing them periodically.They are not impossible to hack but they can certainly be made difficult.
8.Report the loss of mobile phones, credit/debit cards, sim cards and ask authorities to freeze your accounts till the time they are recovered.
9. Do a background check on the people to whom we rent our appartments. It has been almost made mandatory in places like delhi. Even police verifications of house help is mandatory these days though its not being followed strictly.
10. We can observe a lot of these simple measures without affecting our freedom or comfort.Let us observe the queues, and patiently accept the delay caused by security checks.Lets us at all times try to obey law and order and try not to bribe a constable and get away with breaking traffic rules or board a train without tickets.
Small measures can go a long way. We live in a volatile society and are faced with an enemy which has no name , no face and perhaps the only agenda: undermine the idea of India, destroy its democracy, stall its economic development and cause unrest.
As I get ready to conclude, there are reports of another terrorist attack in Assam where a 5 year old child was one amongst the victims.
We are the only nation in the subcontinent which has had a successful , functioning democracy since the independence.Millions lost their lives to give us this precious gift. Let us be proactive and vigilant to guard it and propel
our nation forward in the right direction.
....
Sangeetha balasubramanian
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
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