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They say there's a book inside everybody. Let the book out with Admanya blogs. Vent your feelings about anything that pops into your head. It might be rocket science or your neighbour's cat. Start now! Its easy and fun! Blog Ramifications of terror are wide and deep
Posted by Lalit Sethion 27 May 2008 READ: 526 
The ramifications of terror are deep and wide as it became apparent from the May 14 suicide and bicycle bombings in Jaipur, which killed at least 66 people and left many injured besides causing mayhem and considerable damage to property. In spite of that the spirit of Rajasthan has not buckled and along with the people of the Pink City, the state has stood up to face the challenge manfully. Why do these attacks keep recurring in new and old locations? The answer cannot be simplistic as terrorist outfits may wish to break the spirit of India even as India tries fitfully to break the marauders'' own malicious designs. A number of suspects have been hauled up and those still at large are on the run, but are being chased.
It is a tragedy that in spite of the states'' enormous increase in financial power, they have left nearly a quarter of all police posts unfilled. The result is obvious: crime detection suffers and so does the enforcement of law and order. Intelligence at the district and state levels diminishes. The criminal elements tend to take law into their hands as they feel at times that they will not be easily caught. The Centre has drawn the attention of the States to filling up all vacant posts and one hopes that they will not lag behind in doing this to protect their own interests. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty as well as the survival of the State''s own authority. Since terrorists operate neither from one state, nor from one country and often choose safe havens in some neighbouring countries, it is imperative that they require a closer watch from a national level rather than just a regional aspect. It is in this light that the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh'' a strong suggestion in the aftermath of terrorist attacks in Jaipur, Jammu and Kashmir that terrorist attacks and drug smuggling should be designated as national crimes to be investigated by a central agency. Most countries, especially democratic ones, have national outfits like the Federal Bureau of Investigation. India cannot afford the luxury of waiting for a state Government''s formal request or invitation to the Union Government and delay prompt action to flush out terrorists and give them time to disappear. In fact, a federal investigating agency would try to keep a close watch and prevent militant actions, as sometimes the existing intelligence agencies with very limited staff and resources in all the States try to do even as intelligence agencies are often criticized for their failures; yet their successes are not usually advertised. The reason for this is that the militants and super clever criminals like drug lords are not given the opportunity to know that their activities are being watched. Terrorist bomb blasts in Jaipur and Jammu and Kashmir having seen renewed infiltration attempts should awaken the state governments to the reality of stopping criminals in their tracks. The state governments are already powerful in political, economic and administrative areas. They need have no fears of their autonomy being affected. There are sufficient checks and balances in our constitutional framework and practices that ensure the states'' freedom of action in almost all areas. Because of the lack of greater coordination between the Centre and states and between the states themselves, the terrorists as well as Maoists have been holding tribal areas to ransom and extending their attacks to railway and police stations, which are often not fully manned, as well as jails. A federal investigation agency would supplement the work of Central para military forces as the states themselves seek their support and repeatedly request the Centre to dispatch more and more battalions of such forces to assist them in their drives to curb Naxalites and other lawless elements, which their own police forces cannot manfully curb. No doubt, the Rajasthan police have already rounded up several suspects, including Bangladeshis and a Madrassa teacher in their efforts to solve the deadly crimes of last week as the hand of a Bangladeshi outfit called HuJI is emerging in the course of investigations and twenty people have been taken into custody. At the same time six militants of the Jaish e Muhammad were killed in an encounter by security forces in Pulwama district when they were spotted and engaged in a fierce gun battle, 50 kilometres from Srinagar on May 17. A militant leader of the United Jihad Council has admitted that their outfits had suffered considerable losses, but they appear to be preparing to regroup as part of new strategies. The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad, has expressed concern over militant activities and Pakistani border guards and troops engaging in firing across the international frontier to help intruders to sneak into Jammu, though these attempts have been foiled by Indian security forces even though a ceasefire has been in place for almost five years. Only on May 16, the National Security Adviser had briefed the Union Cabinet Committee on Security about the poor nature of information on foreign sources of terror, lack of precise intelligence and information and lack of a dedicated pool of officers that was crippling India''s war on terror. The Prime Minister''s appeal for the central agency to investigate terror attacks appears to be timely. It should be appreciated that such an agency being created brooks no delay in view of the warning signals already sounded in the expectation that the States will be enthusiastic about it in the overall national interest. The Prime Minister ruled out the postponement of Foreign Ministers'' meeting between India and Pakistan as India was able to raise the question of terrorist training camps functioning in Pakistan occupied areas of Kashmir and the hand of Inter Services Intelligence in encouraging terrorist outfits in spite of repeated agreements that Pakistan would dismantle the camps and crack down on militants and their organizations in its own interest. |
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