The Agenda for Action January2009 Mumbai’S Iconic Taj Hotel in Flames As 26/11 Unfolded
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THE AGENDA FOR ACTION JANUARY2009 MUMBAI’S ICONIC TAJ HOTEL IN FLAMES AS 26/11 UNFOLDED THE AGENDA From the editor-in-chief AROON PURIE here have been many comparisons made be- nation and response to terror threats, but are these tween 9/11, the airborne terrorist attacks on measures enough? Already, we are seeing the pro- Manhattan’s iconic Twin Towers and the posed National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the new TPentagon in Washington, and 26/11, the equally anti-terror laws become victim to Centre-state friction. devastating attacks on Mumbai by seaborne terrorists. In addition, the main opposition party, the BJP, has lost For America, its leaders and its citizens, 9/11 was a piv- no opportunity to politicise the issue and criticise the otal moment in the country’s history. It shattered Government’s response to the Mumbai mayhem. Even America’s myth of invincibility and changed the without those disquieting signals, there remains a wor- country in profound, unforeseen and far-reaching rying question mark over India’s ability to improve se- ways, especially in terms of their response to make curity and intelligence, bring major reforms in the their cities and citizens more secure against the threat police forces, put laws in place that are not open to mis- of global terrorism. The United States reacted to the use and bring about durable and desirable change in attacks by launching a War on Terror, tightening what is loosely referred to as “the system”. Many internal security, enacting the Patriot Act, creating a Indians, and with good reason, view our politicians new Department of Homeland Security, strengthening with cynicism and foresee a time when the current anti-terrorism legislation and expanding law enforce- sabre rattling and promise of action ends and it’s back ment powers. Average citizens willingly accepted the to business as usual. Or, no business as usual. new impositions on their personal freedom. Seven The reason for the pessimism is obvious. After the years and three months later, the results of those shocking attack on Parliament, a terror plot that efforts have been quite dramatic and educational. targeted the most potent symbol of Indian democracy, There has not been a single terror attack on American much was expected from the government of the day. soil since September 2001. Instead, there is an unsettling sense of deja vu. Similar For many Indians, the December 2001 attack on pressure was put on Pakistan, the two nuclear-armed Parliament was seen as the most serious terrorist neighbours put their forces on alert and moved them attack so far, aimed as it was at the most obvious closer to the borders and tough new laws were symbol of Indian democracy. Yet, for India and the enacted. Only one perpetrator was arrested and Indian Government, 26/11 has easily eclipsed the still awaits punishment thanks to the flaws in the Parliament attack as the most serious security threat criminal justice system, official procedures and to the country short of a conventional war. One reason political manipulation. The “system” was shaken was the sophistication, training and entry by sea which up for a few weeks and then returned to its somnolent, was almost comparable to hijacking an aircraft, as in bureaucratic ways, a euphemism for making 9/11. Besides the terrible loss of lives, it was the au- sure nothing changed. dacity of the attack which has made us all feel very vul- Mumbai was the result of our callous approach to nerable. It seemed nothing was impossible for the security. The systemic failures were shown up in stark terrorists. Clearly, the bar has been raised to unprece- and shameful ways: the poorly equipped police clearly dented and challenging levels and the response needs untrained to tackle terror strikes of such magnitude, to be equally unprecedented. 26/11 exposed the flaws the lack of proper security, a fatal lack of coordination and failures in the system which allowed such a among security agencies, the refusal to share intelli- heinous attack to take place. Understandably, the offi- gence and, even when it was shared, to act decisively cial reaction has been largely Pakistan-oriented but on it, with just one Central force equipped and trained other measures have followed since heads rolled in to tackle heavily armed and highly motivated terror- Mumbai and Delhi, and a new minister has taken ists based at faraway Manesar in Haryana, a crucial charge of the crucial Ministry of Home. nine hours away from the scenes of terror and de- There has been some movement on the part of the struction. There were politicians who failed and fum- Government: increased security, changes in anti-ter- bled, bureaucrats who twiddled their thumbs and ror laws, ordering of new equipment, new commando awaited orders from above which never came, and hubs and new government agencies for better coordi- most alarming, a city that was the pride of India, 5 THE AGENDA rendered so utterly vulnerable and held hostage by just Journalists with the requisite expertise were tasked 10 men for almost 60 hours. It was a nationally-tele- with consulting leading experts in their respective vised display of incompetence, almost frightening in its areas of concern and then drawing up a detailed, time- scale and depth. The questions we asked then are still bound plan for implementation. relevant. Why was it allowed to happen? Who was The 12 areas we have chosen are as follows: responsible? What can be done to prevent it? Can 1 Securing the Home Front: A total revamp of the anything be done? Home Ministry and related agencies for coordinated Those are the questions everyone is asking all response to terror threats. across India and many have taken to the streets to 2 Tackling Pakistan: A major global diplomatic protest against the Government, to demand change in thrust to expose Pakistan’s complicity as well as the system and pledged to make their voices heard and that of other countries like Bangladesh that harbour their actions count in the war on terror. The citizens’ terror groups. movement in the wake of the Mumbai attacks has been 3 Overhauling the Police: The men in khaki are the unprecedented in scale and involvement. A majority footsoldiers in the battle against terror, and major were ordinary people who, perhaps for the first time, changes are urgently required to equip them with feel not only a sense of fear and helplessness but also effective equipment, training and motivation. anger. That is quite understandable and even desirable 4 Modernising the NSG: The NSG is our main weapon in the present context but most of them are sure of one against terrorists but it needs to be expanded and thing: they want change but are not quite sure how to equipped to meet all future exigencies. achieve it, individually or collectively. There is consid- 5 Upgrading Intelligence: To change the existing erable hope invested in the upsurge of patriotism, sense set-up for better intelligence gathering and dissemi- of nationalism and desire to get involved. nation among the multiplicity of agencies. That reaction is but natural. What the Mumbai 6 Safeguarding Megacities: We need to build a attacks represented was a national crisis of unprece- security fortress around our major cities. dented magnitude. 2008 has seen the largest number 7 Plugging Vulnerable Zones: The Mumbai attacks of terror attacks on the country—Ahmedabad, Jaipur, exposed new areas of vulnerability. We need to Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore, to name the most secure our coasts, airports, railways, nuclear sites, oil prominent. Six cities were targeted in nine separate ter- installations and other symbols of our democracy and ror attacks that claimed the lives of nearly 1,600 peo- economic progress. ple. Mumbai was the ultimate horror. We have, since the 8 Toughening the Law: The existing laws need to be Mumbai attacks, seen a spate of seminars and discus- modified to speed up the criminal justice system. sions on the issue of tackling terror with counter-ter- 9 Squeezing Terror Funding: What needs to be done rorism experts discussing threadbare the options to track movement of explosives and chemicals and available to the Government and people in these chal- plug the flow of illegal money to the terrorists. lenging times. But it is worthwhile to channelise that 10 Strengthening the Armed Forces: What the public anger and outrage and think of ways to con- armed forces need to do to meet the new challenges. tribute to the anti-terror movement in meaningful ways 11 Winning Kashmir: How to win hearts and minds and help to catalyse the process of change. Not just in Kashmir and counter the fundamentalist threat. change for the sake of change. As Barack Obama’s cam- 12 Citizens Charter: What we all can do individually paign slogan put it, we need “change we can believe in”. to be responsible citizens and raise awareness. As part of that effort, we at the India Today Group, The purpose of this document is not to point fingers have put together our own recommendations for an at those who failed in Mumbai but to bring to the pub- action plan in the form of a White Paper. This is a logi- lic domain an agenda for action. The war on terror has cal extension of our ongoing campaign, Declare War on no expiry date and requires the general public’s Terror, in which we invited the public to send sugges- engagement. Public opinion is the greatest force for tions to a panel of experts on the best ways to tackle the change in a democracy and media.