Fighting terror? Not if you are neta

Indian Government is working on an anti-terror law that, among other things, adds the new clause that we will not negotiate with hostage-takers anymore. Any self-respecting Indian will recall the numerous instances where the gutless politicians of India have completely crumbled under threats from terrorists.

Many people will probably not remember that a daughter of the former Kashmir CM, Mufti Mohd Sayeed, was kidnapped and the scared politicians released some dreaded terrorists that were caught by our forces.

Then of course, the world renowned IC-814 happened, and the entire government of India was wondering what the hell to do. The crying and fighting relatives of the people on the plane convinced the politicians that the safety of this nation is not as important to them. There was lack of decision making on all levels. The NSG commados could have stormed the plane in Amritsar, but no green signal was forthcoming from New Delhi. Finally we negotiated with the terrorists in their territory, and obviously got the raw end of the deal. But like they say, there is no use digging up dead corpses. I don't know if there is such a phrase in English, but there is one in Hindi, hence the usage. :)

Since then I have been hearing of new laws that will legally bar any government to negotiate with terrorists. I had no idea it would take more than 6 years for something of that necessity to be put into place. But then, national security was never a priority for any politician. The good people in our governments do not make the decisions, the paid off, selfish, self-serving politicians do.

Recently, the Chief of the Information Bureau, the agency responsible for dometic intelligence, pleaded to the Prime Minister to bring about a change in our terror and intelligence laws so that our RAW and IB sleuths have more teeth to do their job. But as expected, the PM ducked the call to become tougher with our nation's enemies.

I ask this question - Can one imagine the low morale of our soldiers, not only on the border but in every aspect of national security, when thei r own elected leaders do not give two hoots about the well being of their own country? They are literally being put as a first line of defense without giving them any weapons to fight with. Our weapons deals take forever to be inked, and when they are inked, they come with the inevitable payoff scandal. Our domestic defense industry is in tatters so that the politicians can pocket their cut. Our soldiers on the borders, especially the Bangladesh border, have no amenities and absolutely no support to fight the hordes of Bangladeshis ready to cut our North-east from us. But you think the impotents sitting in their well guarded mansions in New Delhi will care? They will not till the next bullet from a terrorist's gun hits somebody who is close to their heart.

The politicians of this country stopped feeling the pain of the common man a long time ago. Anyways, I digress. I really get swept in my emotions, and it becomes hard for me to stick to my theme of my posts. I wanted to post the news items related to the new terror laws and all that.

Kalam for special force to fight terror

Even as the debate on modernisation of the police force is underway, President APJ Abdul Kalam has proposed the setting up of a dedicated police force equipped with sophisticated gadgetry to fight low-intensity warfare to combat terrorism and extremism.

"In order to contain terrorism, the police force will have to create a new cadre trained in low-intensity
warfare and equipped with state-of-the-art technologies,"he said.

Noting that terrorists were using latest technologies in their disruptive activities, Kalam said "very conscious" police personnel using a combination of human intelligence and connectivity across police forces in many states is the need of the hour. Such a modern police force can effectively contribute to the eradication of terror, he said.

Kalam added that the country would have to use innovative tools like mutual legal assistance treaties with other nations "to ensure that organised criminals do not defeat the law enforcement process by taking advantage of crossing national boundaries and evading prosecution".

He said legal reforms like witness protection, concealing the identity of witnesses, compounding of offences and suitable protection to judges would go a long way in reducing the stress on the criminal justice system.
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That is what our President has to say, but of course, like I said, the people who actually have balls and care enough for this country do not get to make the decisions. Dr. Singh, under orders from Her Highness the Queen and his gutless political alliance, says that no, we are fine the way we are.

Existing laws enough to tackle terror: PM

PM Manmohan Singh on Saturday joined the debate on whether a special law was needed to fight the challenge of terrorism, virtually turning down the demand of Intelligence Bureau chief E S L Narasimhan for the enactment of a new law.

In what was seen as a riposte to Narasimhan’s spirited pitch for a special law on the ground that existing legal architecture was not adequate to deal with the new-age terrorist, Singh suggested that authorities should take recourse to "stringent measures" under existing laws to "cut off" the illegal flow of money to terrorists through money laundering and organised crime.

Speaking at a seminar on "Law, Terrorism and Development" here, the PM was in complete agreement with the IB on the threat posed by different forms of terrorism. "Having large financial and material resources at their disposal, terrorist groups are able to use modern communication systems and state-of-the art technology to pursue their agenda. They have become more sophisticated, better networked and highly motivated in carrying out their nefarious designs. A matter of extreme concern is also their linkage with organised crime, like drug trafficking, gun running, counterfeit currency and money-laundering," he said.

However, he appeared to suggest that existing laws had enough teeth. "We also need to use relevant provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to cut off the flow of funds to terrorist groups," Singh said.

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Satyamev Jayte, Sir ji, butchering our brothers and sisters daily notwithstanding. As long as my neta is safe in his/her house, I can sleep in peace. That is our karma.