By Aparna Pande
This article appeared in Indolink on December 11, 2008
For the last two weeks we have heard a lot about the Mumbai attacks, the links to Pakistan, the supposed ‘inaction’ by the Pakistani government, a purported ‘hoax’ call between the Pakistani President and the Indian Foreign Minister, what is being referred to as the naiveté of the Pakistani President, Pakistan’s ‘snubbing’ of India, the frustration of the Indian population and the jingoistic calls for war.
It is important to pause and consider the reality, not what we perceive as the reality.
The media is called the ‘watch dog’ and it is part of its duty to highlight any governmental inefficiencies. However, it is important the media realize that though part of the fault lies with government un-preparedness, it is a global problem which India is dealing with.
Also being the ‘fourth estate’ (after the three estates or organs of government) it is also the duty of the media to act responsibly, to reduce fears and insecurities among the populace (not increase them) and to reduce jingoistic tendencies (not feed them).
Yes, there is an urgent need to upgrade and modernize the Indian police and counter-terrorism forces. The Indian criminal code is a Victorian legacy and most laws are antediluvian and need to be abolished.
We need new laws, more stringent anti-terror regulations and better intelligence. We also need a federal agency to fight terror, not just a federal investigative agency but a commando-type force which is present in all major cities of the country and can be relied on to respond when a disaster happens, rather than having to wait for hours for government approval.
The judicial system is also outdated, corrupt, bureaucratic and needs to be reformed in tandem with the new laws.
The intelligence system is appalling for a country of India’s size more so because terrorism is not new to India; India has faced terrorism and insurgencies in some form from the 1970s-80s. There is a plethora of intelligence agencies at the state and federal level but they do not trust each other or share information.
The National Security Advisor and his set up was supposed to resolve this problem by putting all these agencies under him. However, that has not happened.
There has also been a tendency to use every intelligence failure or lapse to increase the intelligence bureaucracy rather than the Humint (Human Intelligence) and Techint (Technical Intelligence) capabilities.
Also instead of integrating the various intelligence agencies there has been a tendency to give more autonomy to them, mainly for political reasons, and this has prevented responsibility being assigned to anyone organization. This will also prevent the various intelligence agencies from just blaming each other (which happens all over the world) rather than accepting some of the blame.
India also needs to work through diplomatic channels to secure its borders. It is the only country in South Asia which borders all its neighbors. It is also the only country which has border disputes.
Border disputes prevent borders from being clearly defined and monitored and therefore allow more movement of insurgents and terrorists across these borders.
Also no country can claim regional or global status if it remains tied to its region because of border disputes or problems.
Due to its tensions with its neighbors India has traditionally focused on its land borders and not the long sea coast. However, as this attack and even the earlier 1993 Mumbai blasts, showed the sea coast is extremely vulnerable.
Not just the western coastline but also the southern and eastern coastlines are vulnerable. The Sri Lankan civil war has led to not just refugees but also militants crossing over into India. In the past the Indian intelligence actually trained some of these militants and with the current losses the LTTE (the main Tamil militant group in Sri Lanka) is facing there are potential problems.
Even India’s eastern coastline remains vulnerable from insurgents operating in parts of Bangladesh and Myanmar.
A large part of the problem the world, including South Asia, faces today is from the global jihadi networks like Al Qaeda and local groups like Lashkar e Taiba and Harakat ul Jihad al Islami. Most of these jihadi groups, have over a period of many decades, ensconced themselves in Pakistan – whether in Pakistani Kashmir or in the tribal regions of the North West.
There is a need to strike at these elements and eliminate them but the only country that can really do that is Pakistan.
Fortunately we have a civilian government in Pakistan which believes that better relations with India are in its national interests and not covert warfare. This government is still weak economically and politically and needs support.
Before the Mumbai attacks, and even after them, the Pakistani government has extended its hand of friendship and peace towards India. The Pakistani president has also made statements which have been construed as being ‘too pro-India’ by the right-wing organizations and parties in Pakistan.
Indian hawks and strategic thinkers will state that India should not accept this hand of friendship because Pakistan cannot be trusted and will cite the bus diplomacy failure and Kargil as their example par excellence.
This is not the time to talk about the past or about past failures.
India is the larger and stronger neighbor and should act maturely, not irresponsibly. It is India’s interests to have a strong and stable Pakistan and a strong civilian government which is friendly to India is much better than a weak civilian government which cannot control its own country.
India can help the civilian government in Pakistan, and also its own security interests, by helping the civilian government get stable so that they can bring the military and intelligence services under civilian control and clamp down on the jihadi groups and networks.
Diplomacy is the best way to solve problems and India needs to use its close ties with the United States, Russia and China to put diplomatic (not military) pressure on Pakistan.
This diplomatic pressure, as long as it is not threatening, will actually help the civilian government as it will help them bring the army and intelligence services on board with any unpleasant decisions as well as increase their control over these institutions. The crackdown on the Lashkar and other militants in the last few days by the Pakistani government is an example of this.
There is a lot the Indian government needs to do in the next few months and years to improve India’s security apparatus and crisis response system and the media should encourage debates on these topics, not create divisions within society.
Also India must give diplomacy a chance in its dealings with its neighbors, especially Pakistan and try to create an environment where both countries benefit in the long-term.