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| India Today panel of experts on 'War on Terror' answer surfers' question. |
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| Citizen Experts |
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| Mohan Menon
Retired IPS officer who also served in RAW
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| Murad Baig
Author of a book on Indian heritage
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| Dr Arup Kumar Sen Gupta
Writes that the media has a big role in bringing about the change. |
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| Captain Dinyar Karai
Writes on the counter terrorism strategy that India needs. |
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No people have seen terror like Indians have. Over 18,000 citizens died in attacks in the last decade. |
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Brig (Retd.) Gurmeet
Kanwal
Security Affairs Expert
Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (Retired) is director of
Centre for Land Warfare Studies, a Delhi-based thinktank,
and author of 'Indian Army: Vision 2020'.
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| What should India do now as Pakistan has refused to accept proof on the 26/11 attacks submitted by the Indian government? |
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- Vishant (vishantgarg@gmail.com) |
The Pakistan government appears to be wilting under the heat generated by India's politico-diplomatic offensive and the newly-installed Obama Administration's pressure. However, going by past experience, Pakistan's recent assurances to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice are merely a tactical ploy to buy time and nothing of substance will eventually emerge. If the Pakistan government fails to deliver within a reasonable time period of about three to four months, India should be prepared to upgrade its diplomatic offensive to exercise its military options. Hence, India should keep its powder dry. |
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Q: Which is good for India — to declare war against Pakistan or war against terror?
- Vinu (vinu_sasidharan@yahoo.co.in)
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India has to fight terrorism on all fronts with an inter-ministerial, inter-departmental and inter-agency approach that is cohesive, comprehensive and methodically coordinated. Declaring war on Pakistan will only add to the complexity of the problem – as Pakistan is a nuclear-armed state – without in any way helping to resolve it. Yet, overt military measures and covert intelligence operations must be considered so as to raise the cost for the Pakistan army and ISI to continue to wage a proxy war against India through terrorism if the Pakistan government fails to put a stop to terrorism emanating from its soil. Unless some punishment is inflicted on the real perpetrators, they cannot be persuaded to put an end to their "low risk, high payoff" venture to destabilise and weaken India. The measures that are adopted have to be carefully calibrated to ensure that escalation can be controlled short of all out war.
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Q: With all the expert answers that we read from many an expert, in the variety of disciplines, where is the action and preparedness?
- Pradeep (pradeep@ossim.in)
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Sadly, in the face of grave provocation we have once again found ourselves to be unprepared and, since we were unprepared, we have once again fallen back on diplomacy as our only option. Diplomacy has not succeeded in the past in persuading the Pakistan army and the ISI to stop their perfidious campaign to bleed India through a thousand cuts, and it will not work now. We are a soft state that follows an ostrich-like approach to national security: we dig our heads into the sand and hope and pray that the threat will eventually disappear. National security threats and challenges do not go away; these manifest themselves in even more diabolical terms if these are ignored. Surrounded as India is by inimical neighbours that are one-seventh to one-tenth our size, our country needs to graduate to a pro-active strategic culture, invest at least 3.5 per cent of our GDP per annum for enhancing our defence and national security preparedness, so as to create deterrent forces, and develop the political will to strike first when attacked and then ask questions – much like the United States and Israel.
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Q: Who is more responsible for the deterioration of law and order in the society and country — police, common people or politicians?
- Rajendra Singh (rajendra493@rediffmail.com)
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Most of India's law and order problems like communal riots and agitations for increased reservations and quotas have been caused by vote bank politics and the extant politician-bureaucrat-police-criminal nexus. Perhaps the time has come to re-examine the merits and demerits of our Parliamentary democracy where the Executive Branch and the Legislature is manned by the same people. Our politicians have failed to rise above self interest – that is centred on elections and secret funds to win them – and have therefore failed to provide good governance. They have failed both the Constitution and the people and it is time for change. India needs its own Obama moment if we are to stem the present rot that lies within.
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Q: After the Mumbai attacks, why should India maintain any relation with Pakistan?
- Sushil Pant (sushilcpant@gmail.com)
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We cannot change our neighbours! Ultimately, our two countries have to learn to live in peace with each other and it is important to maintain a direct channel of communication rather than talk through third parties. Also, we must make a distinction between the Pakistani government, led by civilian political leaders who are unlikely to have been aware of the Mumbai terror attacks, and the Pakistan Army-ISI combine that sponsors terrorism in India through outfits like the LeT and JeM.
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Q: Why didn't the NSG use some gas to make the terrorists at Taj hotel and Nariman House unconscious or use some itching powder to capture them alive?
-Vishwadeed (vishvam_15@sify.com)
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The NSG is equipped with adequate number of non-lethal weapons like stun grenades, and some of these were used. However, in this situation, the terrorists were moving rapidly from room to room and floor to floor and were firing wildly. It was not easy to close in on them. Also, the exact locations of the hostages and survivors were not accurately known and non-lethal weapons too can cause some damage, especially in the case of infants, old or the infirm.
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Q: Is the attack on Mumbai not a systemic failure? How can we simply blame the 'foreign hand'?
-Parmod (parmod.mehra@gmail.com)
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Yes, it is definitely a systemic failure and it is incorrect to blame it on external forces alone. We are known to be a soft state that is callous about national security and we have repeatedly paid the price. The Mumbai attacks have served as a wake-up call. Our political leaders appear to have woken up at long last to national security threats and challenges that the country faces. The UAPA amendment bill and the creation of a National Investigation Agency are good first steps. If the leaders fail to follow up adequately or tend to become slack again, the people must again pull them up with the help of the courts and the media.
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Q: How good is our Army's capability in Cold Start doctrine should India use the military option against Pakistan?
-Amit (amit.sharma@harpercollins.co.in)
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The Army has learnt the right lessons from Operation Parakram and has revised its war plans for a speedier response to calls for mobilisation and subsequent operations. However, its modernisation plans have been proceeding at an uncomfortably slow pace due to bureaucratic red tape – files move at a snail's pace – and inadequate funds. The defence budget is pegged at less than two per cent of India's GDP compared with China's 3.5 per cent and Pakistan's 4.5 per cent. It has also been declining in real terms due to inflation and the Rupee's constant slide against the US dollar and the Euro. The modernisation of the Air Force and the Navy are similarly slack. Hence, it would be unrealistic to expect decisive results to be achieved in a future conflict.
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Q: Apart from strengthening intelligence, shouldn't the government have a strategy for eliminating sleeper terror cells across the country?
-Sushanth (sushanth_dk@yahoo.com)
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Intelligence agencies are fully aware of the existence of sleeper cells. Some of these terror modules have been eliminated in encounters in recent years. However, it is only by stepping up the deployment of 'humint' (human intelligence) resources and penetrating the control HQ of the sleeper modules (a very complex intelligence operation) that sufficient information about them can be acquired. Thousands of well-qualified ex-servicemen retire at a young age (35 to 40 years) and go back to their villages every year. Many of them would be willing and eager to take up the challenge to be trained as agents of the Intelligence Bureau (IB). The people can also contribute to this national effort by maintaining vigilance and reporting all unusual activities to the authorities.
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Q: Are we Indians really safe from these terrorists? If not, what will be the solution to make the country safe?
-Sudhir (sudhir.ksd@gmail.com)
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International fundamentalist terrorism knows no boundaries. Hence, the Indian people are as unsafe as those in Britain, Spain, Indonesia or the US. The solution lies in enhancing our human intelligence capabilities by an order of magnitude, creating a suitable organisation to make intelligence assessments and fine-tuning our counter-terrorism response to react quickly and effectively. Simultaneously, we should enhance counter-terrorism cooperation with friendly powers so as to benefit from a larger pool of resources.
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Q: Fully aware
of the water sharing treaty with Pakistan,
shouldn't the Indian govt stop the flow of
the water for a limited period to send a strong
message to Pakistan? It is a fact that almost
every sovereign nation has gone against the
international treaties to maintain its sovereignty
and integrity?
-Ramesh (Ramsehgal@sympatico.ca)
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Violating an international treaty at this stage
will not be appropriate as India has always
acted as a responsible and mature state. Also,
the aim of Indian retaliation should not be
to target the people of Pakistan but to punish
the perpetrators and supporters of terrorism,
which is the Pakistan army, the ISI and the
terrorist organisations such as LeT and JeM.
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Q: The government gives Rs
3 crore to a shooter who wins a Gold medal
in the Olympics and gives Rs 5 lakh to kin
of another shooter who dies fighting with
terrorist. Please comment?
-Noel (noelsalvi@gmail.com)
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The imbalance is obviously flawed. As a nation
we need to learn to respect our security forces
for the sacrifices that they make and for the
life of hardship, risk and prolonged separation
from their loved ones that they lead. The officers,
soldiers and policemen care more for honour
and their izzat and less for monetary benefits.
Of course, it should be the nation's responsibility
to provide for the wives, children and aged
parents of its martyrs for their lifetimes-no
matter what the monetary cost.
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Q: Will the Pakistan government
believe on the evidences that the terrorists,
who were involved in the Mumbai terror attacks,
belonged to Pakistan?
-(maneesh_sahu1986@yahoo.com)
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The Pakistan Government will do what the army
leadership tells it to do. The Pakistan army
leadership has a pathological hatred for India
and is genetically programmed to dispute Indian
arguments. A stage will come when it will be
pointless to attempt to give further evidence
to Pakistan and it will be more appropriate
to retaliate with hard responses. Guns make
very convincing arguments...
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| Join the War on Terror today |
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| You can also |
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SMS ‘WAR’ to52424
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| In case you come across any suspicious activity or have any information to tell the Anti-Terror Squad, |
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| Dial All India Toll-Free
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| Terror Helpline No.1090
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| The identity of the caller will be kept a secret.
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Here's a list of emergency numbers and addresses in 6 important cities.
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We bring together stories, videos and pictures on terror attacks across the nation.
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India Reacts
The prime purpose of the terrorists is to shatter the peace and unity of the country. The only way to defeat them is by defeating their mindless purpose-- stand with determined resilience with the people of the country irrespective of communal, linguistic and regional barriersn.
Swarnima Bhattacharya
, Lucknow
Much has been spoken by the leaders, but no concrete work has been done so far. The ministry should not be headed by any politician but by some retired police or preferably some military official.
Shailendra Vikrant , Chandigarh
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Headlines Today anchors pledge to fight terror
Are we safe anywhere?
