India, Pak and terror outfits
December 29th 2007 03:25
Every year has a message for the next. Even as 2007 comes to an end it leaves in its wake a wake up call for the citizens of Lucknow and the Uttar Pradesh government in particular. Let us see what this wake up call is. It is time for the nawabs of the this state to look beyond their perks, privileges and petty little disputes and woes to what is going on around them.
The New Year has ended on a bloody note in Pakistan and in this era of globalisation what happens anywhere in the world is bound to affect both India and Lucknow too. Terrorism raised its ugly head in the state and struck at the heart of its judiciary only a few weeks before Benazir Bhutto was killed in Pakistan. Therefore today whether we like it or not international terrorism has come home to roost in UP too.
But how does the death of Benazir affect Lucknow one may ask? Very simply stated her death will have an immense impact on life in India. She was the sole hope the tormented state of Pakistan had left. She stood for secular ideals and for friendship with India. Had she survived and gone on to become Prime Minister in her country we may have seen a joint effort to do away with terrorism in both countries.
Now it seems that is a far cry.
Pakistan was united on one front religion but it was divided on all other fronts. India because of its secularism has seen its democracy survive even though it weathers the storm of caste and communal politics today. But today we face a new threat from Pakistan. As the Pakistani leadership tries to deal with terrorism to save itself, the terrorists will seek new bases and new hideouts from Bangladesh to India to Afghanistan. These countries will be there new homes as a war of attrition begins between the ultras and the government in Pakistan.
As these terrorists seek new homes they will export their skills to these new centres becoming the henchmen of the local mafia or joining the entourage of local politicians or simply disappearing into the crowd. To deal with them will require skilful policing and more skilful and hi-tech surveillance. Every office, every public place and every sensitive spot will have to be placed under the watchful eyes of the CCTV camera. The police will need both the budget and the equipment for this exercise to keep abreast of the terrorist and be forewarned, the methods of the past and the system of mukhbirs and informers may fail to yield any dividend when it comes to dealing with religious extremism.
Poorly policed states where the police lack both proper training and proper infrastructure to deal with terrorism will be particularly vulnerable to terrorism. Therefore the state government needs to invest in its police force. It needs to provide them with proper equipment and proper infrastructure and support.
Take the case of the police today. Senior officials admit that junior staff members have to at times even arrange fuel for their vehicles at their own cost while patrolling for the amount sanctioned to them is never enough.
The police carry weapons that could fail them in any eventuality as they are too old, in fact of vintage quality. The guns date back to the early 20th century. Today the UP Police are both outmanned and out gunned by the terrorist and it is only a matter of time before the terrorist could also strike here. There are indications that they have already tried to establish base here. We have an option we can commit our boys into a war against terrorism with ill equipped infrastructure and count the body bags at leisure or we can give them the right support and see them score against the terrorists. I think the latter is a better option. Therefore to be fore armed is better for incidents are warning us to be careful.
The New Year has ended on a bloody note in Pakistan and in this era of globalisation what happens anywhere in the world is bound to affect both India and Lucknow too. Terrorism raised its ugly head in the state and struck at the heart of its judiciary only a few weeks before Benazir Bhutto was killed in Pakistan. Therefore today whether we like it or not international terrorism has come home to roost in UP too.
Now it seems that is a far cry.
Pakistan was united on one front religion but it was divided on all other fronts. India because of its secularism has seen its democracy survive even though it weathers the storm of caste and communal politics today. But today we face a new threat from Pakistan. As the Pakistani leadership tries to deal with terrorism to save itself, the terrorists will seek new bases and new hideouts from Bangladesh to India to Afghanistan. These countries will be there new homes as a war of attrition begins between the ultras and the government in Pakistan.
Poorly policed states where the police lack both proper training and proper infrastructure to deal with terrorism will be particularly vulnerable to terrorism. Therefore the state government needs to invest in its police force. It needs to provide them with proper equipment and proper infrastructure and support.
Take the case of the police today. Senior officials admit that junior staff members have to at times even arrange fuel for their vehicles at their own cost while patrolling for the amount sanctioned to them is never enough.
The police carry weapons that could fail them in any eventuality as they are too old, in fact of vintage quality. The guns date back to the early 20th century. Today the UP Police are both outmanned and out gunned by the terrorist and it is only a matter of time before the terrorist could also strike here. There are indications that they have already tried to establish base here. We have an option we can commit our boys into a war against terrorism with ill equipped infrastructure and count the body bags at leisure or we can give them the right support and see them score against the terrorists. I think the latter is a better option. Therefore to be fore armed is better for incidents are warning us to be careful.
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