The Hamas’ terror attack on Israel, compared to 26/11 attack on Mumbai, was on a much bigger scale, and yet there are striking similarities between both the incidents. There was failure of command and control in Tel Aviv as well as in Mumbai, response was delayed in both the instances, there was failure to connect the dots of intelligence in both the countries, and there was involvement of a neighboring country – Pakistan in the Indian sub-continent and Iran in the Middle-East.
The Hamas onslaught has significant lessons for India. Israel was caught off guard even though it boasts of a formidable Mossad. There were no inputs about Hamas fighters being mobilised on a large scale or rockets being primed for a devastating attack on Israel by sea, air and land. The Hamas attack had some altogether new features. Terrorists flew across the border on hang gliders and motorised paragliders. The fortified Gaza fence was breached to enable terrorist teams enter the Israeli territory on four-wheel vehicles. Zouari drones are said to have paved the way for infiltration. We should not rule out the possibility of such or similar other novel methods being employed by the State-sponsored terrorists from Pakistan across Jammu and Kashmir or even the Punjab border.
India needs periodic review and upgradation
The Hamas attack also took place at a time when Israel was polarised and distracted by Prime Minister Netanyahu’s efforts to strip the judiciary of some of its powers. Such a diversion would be maximum in India during the impending elections with the political parties observing no decorum and going after each other’s throats.
Inaugurating the third anti-terror conference organised by the National Investigation Agency recently on 5 October, Union Home Minister Amit Shah advised the states to adopt a “ruthless” approach towards terrorism. He exhorted the central and state police forces to go beyond just fighting terrorists and terror outfits and focus on dismantling the “terror ecosystem” that helps them thrive and operate.
India figures among the countries most affected by terrorism. The last major terror onslaught was on 26/11 when Pakistan terrorists created mayhem in Mumbai. In its wake, the Government of India adopted a number of measures like decentralising the deployment of NSG, beefing up coastal security, upgrading security measures along the borders, setting up multi-agency center to coordinate the inputs from various intelligence agencies, etc. Since then, some kind of complacency appears to have set in and there has been no comprehensive review of the security architecture.
We have a well-defended border and the intelligence agencies have generally measured up to our expectations. However, this is an area where periodic review and upgrade must be carried out. There are unfortunately grey areas even today. Government of India has yet to define its anti-terror policy; merely saying that our approach should be “ruthless” is not enough. Countries like the US and the UK have codified their response to terror. In India, on the other hand, our response is ad hoc. We should be able to say in unequivocal terms that terrorism of any hue shall not be tolerated, that there will be no compromise in dealing with the challenge, that we shall seek international cooperation with like-minded countries in dealing with the problem, that the ecosystem which causes alienation among certain sections of people leading ultimately to their adopting terrorist methods shall be addressed by appropriate socio-economic measures, et al.
Also read: Iran-backed Hamas is ticking time bomb. It threatens the very fabric of peace in Middle East
Police reforms
In the states, especially those which have had manifestations of terror, we should have elite forces on the lines of National Security Guard (NSG) to deal with the incidents of terror.
At the district level, police are the first responder to any terrorist crime. The station house officer is normally the first person to rush to the scene of crime and alert the higher formations about its gravity. It is tragic that even 75 years after Independence, we have not been able to invigorate this basic unit of police functioning. The SHOs are, quite often, appointed on considerations other than their merit. There is too much of meddling in their day-to-day functioning. Besides, the thana has severe deficiencies of infrastructure: human resource may be inadequate, communications may be obsolete, scientific equipment may be antiquated, forensic facilities may be scarce. These have been dealt with in several reports.
The Status of Policing in India Report 2019 paints a dismal picture of police resources and working conditions. What is most important – and this single factor has emasculated the police more than any other – is that the force does not have functional autonomy in enforcing the rule of law. The Supreme Court of India made a laudable effort to address the problem in 2006 via Prakash Singh (the author) Vs the Union of India judgment, but its directions have not been complied with in letter and in spirit. Police is unfortunately the weakest link in our chain to combat terror.
The ecosystem which contributes to alienation of sections of population and eventually the growth of terrorist outfits in an area would require an honest approach. According to India Today’s latest Mood of the Nation (MOTN) survey, 62 per cent Muslims, 61 per cent Christians, and 51 per cent Sikhs feel that communal harmony under the NDA rule has deteriorated. These figures should cause serious concern at the highest level and the causative factors must be addressed.
In the wake of the 26/11 attack on Mumbai, we were warned by the Rand Corporation that “India will continue to face a serious jihadi terrorist threat from Pakistan-based terrorist groups..most likely the threat will continue to grow.” The warning is valid a fortiori today.
We have miles to go in tackling narco-terror and cyber terror. Nuclear, biological and chemical terror have yet to enter our strategic calculus. The threats arising out of terror are, in fact, multi-dimensional and would require a comprehensive revamp of the security architecture.
The writer was formerly Director General of Border Security Force. Views are personal.
(Edited by Anurag Chaubey)