Musings of an armchair security expert

Shaken and stirred. That is how I would describe the people of India. The terrorist attacks in Mumbai have shaken the people. The impunity with which the terrorists struck was unnerving. But they have also stirred them out of their complacency, and stupor. They have also been stirred to pour out in the streets as could be seen yesterday (December 3), when they assembled not only at Mumbai, but across cities - at Cubbon Park in Bangalore, Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, and of course the Gateway of India in Mumbai. The outrage, the anger and the pain of the people was clearly visible. They were as pissed off (possibly more!) at our politicians - spineless, soul-less lot that they are - as they were at the terrorists. They want action. Many of the placard carrying people wanted an attack on Pakistan. And this sentiment is echoed even at the workplace - at lunch table discussions and coffee-time chit-chat. Enough is enough, is the common refrain. We have to make a statement. That we won't take it lying down any further. Well, attacking Pakistan is easier said than done. Here, I contribute my tuppence about what I feel should be done now.

1. First, we need to put our own house in order. That is the toughest thing of them all. Revamp the security, policing, and intelligence gathering infrastructure. Of course, Rome was not, and cannot, be built in a day. But we have to make a start. It's a sad joke that while the terrorists are equipped with the latest arms and ammunition, and are imparted training on par with our commandos, the police force that deals with them is armed with .303 rifles, sub-standard and unhygenic bullet-proff vests and outdated training procedures. One report I read on the Internet said that most policemen in Mumbai haven't fired their weapons in ten years!! The reason - the absence of a firing range for the cops.
2. Intelligence gathering should be spruced up big time. Every time we have an attack like this, the intelligence agencies say that states and the police had been warned of such an attack. Well, the general public has no way of knowing how true this is - is this an attempt by the intelligence agencies to cover up for their failures? Or did the police and security agencies fail to act? Is the role of intelligence agencies only limited to providing intelligence? Is there any system to check on follow-ups and the action taken on the intelligence?
3. Make the security forces - the police, the Rapid-Action-Force, and the Armed Forces, a lucrative career option. It is sad that the widespread protests by Officers - serving and retired - on the Recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission are summarily ignored by the political establishment.
4. Training procedures for the police and commando forces need a desperate revamp. The police cadre have the most important role to play in countering terrorism. It is they who are, so to say, the first line of defence. And is they who play a very important role in preventing and thwarting terrorist attacks. Just like we professionals need training to enhance our skill-sets, the same is true of the police!
5. With a billion-plus people, policing in India is both a unique challenge and a nightmare. But we can use technology to assist us here. The London Metro train stations are as much of a surveillance nightmare as the CST train station in Mumbai and some of our busiest bus terminals. But what assists policemen in London is technology. A hundred eyes are capturing every inch of the place, and computers analysing the video feed. Of course, there is no substitute for human intelligence, but technology can, and should, be employed to make the task easier.
6. Is a politicians life more important or valuable than the life of the citizens? A report yesterday revealed the shocking fact that as much as 60 percent of the NSG commando force is used for providing security to the politicians. And these are supposedly the best of the best in the country! Shouldn't they be kept in a state of readiness - through trainings, and battle-exercises - to repond to any incident anywhere across the country? It is shocking that they took over 14 hours to reach the site of the Mumbai terror siege!
7. Everyone seems to be clamouring for a strong anti-terror law. Well, yes, that is required. But what is more important is the enforcement of such a law - a fair, and just enforcement - to act as a deterrent for terrorists. For that the security agencies have to be trained in gathering and recording intelligence, and in investigative methods. Why don't cases against even known criminals hold up in court? Because of shoddy investigation practices, primarily. The police need to be trained on how to build up a watertight case. They need to be as technically savvy as the terrorists that they are confronting. Again, it is about upgrading your skills. The latest skills in forensic science, in analysing evidence, in intercepting communication, in retrieving data from laptops recovered from terror suspects, even in psychological profiling to understand what would be next on the terrorists' minds! We need to build watertight cases that will hold up in court. Technology can be a huge added advantage, but first, we need good, sound policing. But most of all, in guaranteeing safety to a witness testifying against a criminal. We need something similar to the witness protection programme that they have in the US. How do we expect a witness who stands the risk of being eliminated by the terror-bigwigs or underworld bosses to expect to testify?!
8. Depoliticize important postings. The Home and Defence Ministries should be headed by the most able person for the Post, and not necessarily from the ruling Party. I feel we need to take a leaf out of the book of the US, on this one. It is possible for a Republican to be given a post in a Democratic presidency, and vice versa. Why not have the same system in India? The Defence Minister and Home Minister will be executive, paid posts - and only the Best of the Best shall head them.

But for all this to happen, who should take the initiative? The answer is loud and clear. It is We, The People of India. The Mumbai terror attack was a ghastly event, but the silver lining to it, to use a phrase, could be that it has roused us all. That it has the potential to unite us, as Indians. And forget our ethnic, linguistic, religious, social differences. Yesterday, everyone who came out on the streets was an Indian - and only an Indian. The anger against the politicans was clear. But then, aren't we the ones who elected them in the first place? Or aren't we the ones who did not vote, thus leading to these people being elected? One way or the other, we cannot ignore our own responsibility. The anger against the self-serving, corrupt politicians is justified. But that anger has to translate into something bigger. And larger. Than just holding rallies, and carrying placards denouncing politicians. In a democracy, the buck stops at us, I guess. I've made a decision. That I will make sure that I vote in every election. If I do not find a candidate suitable of my vote, I'll still go out and invalidate my vote. That way, at least I will ruin the game of the booth-capturers and bogus voters.

Darna Mana Hai!

After the anger, the helplessness, and myriad other emotions, comes the most debilitating of them all - fear. The terror siege in Mumbai may have ended, but its grip over the people is as strong. In fact, it is perhaps growing stronger by the moment. People are afraid to venture out in public places - a friend told me how she noticed that malls were noticeably less crowded over the last weekend. People are putting off travel plans, those who cannot are living under the constant shadow of fear. Even at the workplace, coffee-room conversations revolve around the uncertainties that plague us: about how it's no longer certain if you can walk the streets without fear that a bomb may go off nearby; about how the very place where I work is a prime terror target (it's a technology park, surrounded by DRDO installations, staff quarters, offices all around). People are glued to their television sets following the latest news. And in fact, that makes them even more paranoid. Viewing the images of death, destruction, and tragedy adds to this macabre setting.
One wonders why the media is adding to all this by mindless and insensitive reporting of every tragedy? Why is it making a tamasha of sorts about the funerals of the lives of the brave officers who laid down their lives? Why does it have to stick in a microphone and a camera in the face of the grieving mothers, sisters, and fathers, in the expectation of a sound-byte? Can it not allow them to grieve privately? Why does it make a spectacle of the tragedy? I cannot forget, how, in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist strike at CST train-station, the media was broadcasting 'live' images of the dead-bodies strewn about, blood-stained floors, and people weeping. I guess much has been written about terrorists, the politicians, the people's anger, candle-light vigils, et al. But what about the media that is adding to this melting-pot of emotions? In my view, it is creating (and using for it's own good) something like mass hysteria! Why do we need to know if more terror strikes are being planned? Why do we need to know that 'specific intelligence inputs have warned of strikes on XYZ installation'?! Can we do something about it? Well, we can all debate about it at lunch tables, coffee rooms, and over IMs, and in the blogs. But honestly, I feel that all this just adds to the 'fear psychosis' that is slowly, but surely, gripping some of us. And unless we make a deliberate, conscious effort to come out of this, we will play right into the hands of the terrorists. They will die, but the seeds of terror and fear that they've sown will live on. So let us not fall prey to their designs. Let us be alert, but not hysterical. Let us be sensitive, but not paranoid. Do the CNN IBNs, the Aaj Taks, the Star News have their microphones out now? Are they listening (or reading)?

United we stand

There's an Airtel advert airing currently on television. This ad shows the significant contributions made by Indians to various fields - it shows Aryabhatta, Sushrut, J.C. Bose, and many others who left behind an indelible mark in their respective domains. The ad concludes with the tagline, "Just image what a billion people can do together...". Well, the possibilities are boundless. But then the question arises, will the billion odd people of India rise as one? Will they keep aside petty differences of language, of dressing, of the cuisines? Will they consider another Indian as an Indian first - and as a Sindhi, a Marwari, a Bihari, a Gujrati, or a Madrasi later? Can an Indian in Tamil Nadu empathize with another in Kashmir, and vice versa? Yesterday, when news of the terror attacks broke, colleagues and friends came over to ask if everyone in the family was fine. They did that as courtesy, as well-wishers. But not everyone had the same experience. As I was talking to one of my friends, she said that not even a single person asked her if her family was fine. So much so that her colleagues who sit right across her, were too busy in their own activities to ask her. How can they be so distant, she asked. How can they be so casual about the whole incident, was her refrain. Well, that has been the trouble with us Indians through out history. That we couldn't stand as one, especially when it mattered the most. That we couldn't empathize with our countrymen in other parts of the country. These views may seem cynical. I'm not saying that there is no goodness left in our people, that the milk of human kindness has dried up. No. That is not the point. The point is that we've become way too selfish to think about anyone else. About our neighbor. About the guy who sits across our desk. About the colleague who is going through some family crisis. And these people, these are white-collared, educated people. So it makes me wonder. Does education really teach us to care for each other? Does it teach us empathy? Do it teach us unity? Well, I doubt if it does. It just gives us with an opportunity to feed ourselves and our family.
I'm not saying, not even implying, that education is useless. That it does not make a good individual. It does help in creating awareness, in spreading the knowledge and ideas to all. It does help in creating equal opporutnities. It does provide even the person in the lowest strata of society the chance to excel. But is that itself enough? Is it the solution to the narrow-minded and selfish attitudes that have taken us over today? Does education have the solution to the divided state that the nation finds itself in. A friend of mine works for the non-profit organization Akanksha. This is a non-profit organization working for under-privileged children. But it does not just focus on educating them, in the sense of formal education. Inculcating values and a sense of belief, in themselves, in their brothers and sisters is a big part of the kids' 'education' in Akanksha. When we were in school, we had a half-hour activity called value-education. This was intended at inculcating good values in us kids. But is it possible to inculcate values by having a class of value education in the curriculum? If it were so, then would we find ourselves at this juncture today? How can we forge the social fabric that binds us? How can we rise as one? We can, if we put aside selfishness. If we think about our neighbor, as much as we think about our own family. If we show a little empathy. But how do we do this? Well, there are no easy answers...