Congress lets jihad flourish

It is a matter of great alarm that the Union Home Ministry has not taken the draft national counter-terrorism doctrine seriously, and as a result has not even come close to implementing it. This draft doctrine was formulated in 2006 by the Intelligence Bureau in consultation with the police forces of some States and Central Police organisations. The Government’s lethargy in taking counter-terrorism seriously is inexplicable given the threat to national security that terrorism poses. The doctrine stresses the use of pre-emptive strikes and covert action to protect national security. It also puts forward compelling arguments in favour of using adequate force instead of minimum force to combat terrorist activities. More importantly, the doctrine stresses that the country should employ all means, including diplomatic, economic, administrative, legal and military, to counter terrorism. Such a policy has long been needed as in its absence the country has been seriously handicapped on the security front. This has allowed terrorists to get away with many outrages which could have been prevented. So far, especially so under the UPA regime, the country has followed a soft line against terrorism. This is in stark contrast to the hardline stand that countries like Israel maintain for which they have been better off. The United States took strong measures immediately after the 9/11 terrorist attack, as a result of which since then there hasn’t been a single terror strike on US soil. But despite several attacks over the last five years, the UPA Government has not deemed it fit to formulate a strong action plan against terror. This is totally unacceptable and goes to show the extent to which certain political parties are dictated to by vote-bank politics.

No one can deny that the provocations for a tough response to terror have been strong. From the attack on Parliament to the shocking fidayeen strike on Mumbai last year, scores of innocent men, women and children have fallen victim to terrorism. These attacks have also created a sense of insecurity among the people which also needs to be overturned and confidence restored. The soft policy of the Indian state has allowed terrorist cells to proliferate in the country and has enabled them to widen their ambit of operations by gathering funds, setting up training camps, and recruiting fresh foot-soldiers to their heinous cause. At the same time terrorist camps have flourished in India’s neighbourhood, both across the LoC and in Bangladesh. These camps should also have been dealt with an iron fist. It is therefore a must for the incoming Government to keep the national counter-terrorism doctrine high on the agenda when it comes to power.