NEEDLEPOINT:
Terrorists at war with India
India at peace with terrorists
By A. C. Vasishth
September 13 2008 serial bomb blasts in New Delhi have once again proved that we may be bold in our words but we are as much week in our actions in fighting terror. This has been proved not once, numerous times.
One of the main reasons for our failure to win the war against terror is that we always play politics with terrorism. This fact has paralysed the government as well as the political system. This reality has emboldened the terrorists so much that they feel free to strike any time and any place in the country where they want. When terrorists strike in non-Congress and non-UPA States – the way they did in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka two months back -- our government at the Centre and the Intelligence Bureau were quick to say that the State governments had been alerted in advance. It, obviously, meant that the State governments had failed to take the necessary precautions, in advance, to thwart the designs of the terrorists. But this time – and last time on the Diwali eve in 2005 – the terrorists struck right under the nose of the Union government. Does it then mean that here both the Union government and the intelligence agencies failed to both to gather information about the activities of the terror outfits and take precautionary measures?
Not only that. With Congress-led UPA at the Centre, in Andhra Pradesh, in Assam, in Maharashtra etc. there are Congress or Congress-led governments. But the State and the Central government failed to prevent the serial blasts in those States even and as a result hundreds of innocent men, women and children were killed and property worth hundreds of crores destroyed.
Each time the terrorists strike, our Prime Minister, Home Minister and others echo a stock reaction: The terrorists will not be able to defeat our resolve to fight terror. Each time the terrorists have given a befitting reply to the Union Government to prove that it does not means business while they do.
In the heat of the nation’s agony at the loss of life and property in Rajasthan and Gujarat when there were demands, even from the intelligence agencies, for enacting a strong anti-terror law, the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh was again bold to declare that there is no need for revival of POTA and the existing laws were sufficient to deal with them. By striking in the heart of the national capital the terrorists have once again sent out a message that the Prime Minister is not right.
If the existing laws, as the Prime Minister claims, are sufficient, why is it that during the last over four years the present government has failed to take a single criminal case against terrorists to a logical conclusion and got him/them punished? Why is it that during the last three years the UPA government has failed to bring to book those involved in the 2005 Diwali-eve serial bomb blasts in Delhi, Samjhauta Express, Malegaon, Mumbai train serial blasts, blasts in Mecca masjid in Andhra Pradesh? The only inference one can draw is that while the existing laws are sufficient, it is the Government that has been found to be wanting.
USA is the oldest democracy in the world as is India the largest one. UK too is a democracy. But the moment 9/11 happened in USA, the moment 11/7 occurred in UK in the form of serial train blasts, they rose to the occasion to enact stringent laws to fight terror. This has paid dividends. The terrorists failed to strike again in both the countries.
But here in India, obviously, for political, nay electoral, reasons we are fighting shy of enacting any stringent law against terror. We do not gather the courage even to use the existing laws to catch hold of the culprits, lest our constituency of electoral supporters gets annoyed.
Our prime minister loses his sleeping over the wailing of the mother of a person taken into custody for suspected terror links in a foreign country. But, regrettably, he has never lost sleep over the death of hundreds of innocent men, women and children in terrorist strikes since he took over.
At the same time Dr. Manmohan Singh says "no community" should be singled out. Further, according to the Central intelligence agencies too, while the hand of SIMI has been unsuspectingly been proven, two Cabinet Ministers in his Government – Lalu Prasad Yadav and Ramvilas Paswan – have publicly opposed the ban on SIMI. The other important leader SP leader Mulayam Singh on whose support hinges the life of UPA has gone to the extent of saying that it is a social organisation.
In the face of September 13 blasts while the intelligence agencies, according to reports, are now focussing their attention on the three days spent by top SIMI activist Abu Bashir in Delhi in July this year to unravel the mystery of the Delhi serial blasts, Congress and Samajwadi Party leaders went to the extent of visiting Azamgarh home of the Ahmedabad blast mastermind "for expressing their solidarity with the jailed SIMI terror merchant" after he was arrested by Gujarat police.
The most failed Home Minister Shivraj Patil appealing for peace said: "We will continue to deal firmly with such (terrorist) elements. We will find those responsible behind the blasts and harshest punishment would be given..." How laughable from a person during whose performance has throughout been dismal!
In their e-mail the terrorist outfit has threatened Mumbai to be the next target. If past performance is any indication, its threat may prove to be real while the government may be found fumbling for words of explanations for having miserably failed to act.
If the present government closes its eyes to see the reality that the terrorists are at war against India, it alone is to be blamed for this. But it must understand that this war against terrorism cannot be fought with the doves of peace. We need the honestly, zeal and the spirit to turn our words into actions. ***
Terrorists at war with India
India at peace with terrorists
By A. C. Vasishth
September 13 2008 serial bomb blasts in New Delhi have once again proved that we may be bold in our words but we are as much week in our actions in fighting terror. This has been proved not once, numerous times.
One of the main reasons for our failure to win the war against terror is that we always play politics with terrorism. This fact has paralysed the government as well as the political system. This reality has emboldened the terrorists so much that they feel free to strike any time and any place in the country where they want. When terrorists strike in non-Congress and non-UPA States – the way they did in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka two months back -- our government at the Centre and the Intelligence Bureau were quick to say that the State governments had been alerted in advance. It, obviously, meant that the State governments had failed to take the necessary precautions, in advance, to thwart the designs of the terrorists. But this time – and last time on the Diwali eve in 2005 – the terrorists struck right under the nose of the Union government. Does it then mean that here both the Union government and the intelligence agencies failed to both to gather information about the activities of the terror outfits and take precautionary measures?
Not only that. With Congress-led UPA at the Centre, in Andhra Pradesh, in Assam, in Maharashtra etc. there are Congress or Congress-led governments. But the State and the Central government failed to prevent the serial blasts in those States even and as a result hundreds of innocent men, women and children were killed and property worth hundreds of crores destroyed.
Each time the terrorists strike, our Prime Minister, Home Minister and others echo a stock reaction: The terrorists will not be able to defeat our resolve to fight terror. Each time the terrorists have given a befitting reply to the Union Government to prove that it does not means business while they do.
In the heat of the nation’s agony at the loss of life and property in Rajasthan and Gujarat when there were demands, even from the intelligence agencies, for enacting a strong anti-terror law, the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh was again bold to declare that there is no need for revival of POTA and the existing laws were sufficient to deal with them. By striking in the heart of the national capital the terrorists have once again sent out a message that the Prime Minister is not right.
If the existing laws, as the Prime Minister claims, are sufficient, why is it that during the last over four years the present government has failed to take a single criminal case against terrorists to a logical conclusion and got him/them punished? Why is it that during the last three years the UPA government has failed to bring to book those involved in the 2005 Diwali-eve serial bomb blasts in Delhi, Samjhauta Express, Malegaon, Mumbai train serial blasts, blasts in Mecca masjid in Andhra Pradesh? The only inference one can draw is that while the existing laws are sufficient, it is the Government that has been found to be wanting.
USA is the oldest democracy in the world as is India the largest one. UK too is a democracy. But the moment 9/11 happened in USA, the moment 11/7 occurred in UK in the form of serial train blasts, they rose to the occasion to enact stringent laws to fight terror. This has paid dividends. The terrorists failed to strike again in both the countries.
But here in India, obviously, for political, nay electoral, reasons we are fighting shy of enacting any stringent law against terror. We do not gather the courage even to use the existing laws to catch hold of the culprits, lest our constituency of electoral supporters gets annoyed.
Our prime minister loses his sleeping over the wailing of the mother of a person taken into custody for suspected terror links in a foreign country. But, regrettably, he has never lost sleep over the death of hundreds of innocent men, women and children in terrorist strikes since he took over.
At the same time Dr. Manmohan Singh says "no community" should be singled out. Further, according to the Central intelligence agencies too, while the hand of SIMI has been unsuspectingly been proven, two Cabinet Ministers in his Government – Lalu Prasad Yadav and Ramvilas Paswan – have publicly opposed the ban on SIMI. The other important leader SP leader Mulayam Singh on whose support hinges the life of UPA has gone to the extent of saying that it is a social organisation.
In the face of September 13 blasts while the intelligence agencies, according to reports, are now focussing their attention on the three days spent by top SIMI activist Abu Bashir in Delhi in July this year to unravel the mystery of the Delhi serial blasts, Congress and Samajwadi Party leaders went to the extent of visiting Azamgarh home of the Ahmedabad blast mastermind "for expressing their solidarity with the jailed SIMI terror merchant" after he was arrested by Gujarat police.
The most failed Home Minister Shivraj Patil appealing for peace said: "We will continue to deal firmly with such (terrorist) elements. We will find those responsible behind the blasts and harshest punishment would be given..." How laughable from a person during whose performance has throughout been dismal!
In their e-mail the terrorist outfit has threatened Mumbai to be the next target. If past performance is any indication, its threat may prove to be real while the government may be found fumbling for words of explanations for having miserably failed to act.
If the present government closes its eyes to see the reality that the terrorists are at war against India, it alone is to be blamed for this. But it must understand that this war against terrorism cannot be fought with the doves of peace. We need the honestly, zeal and the spirit to turn our words into actions. ***
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