Retributions  

Beyond politics

It is a template which is repeated with minor modification after every terrorist attack. BJP blames lack of tough anti-terror laws for the latest terrorist outrage. Congress responds by pointing out that terror attacks happened even when POTA was present in the statue books–therefore, dismissing the need for special anti-terror laws. And then the Congress leaders rub it in: Remember Kandhar?

Idiotic as BJP’s argument on POTA are (a permanent gag order on Rajnath Singh would do the party a world of good), laws are not a foolproof mechanism to prevent transgressions. Otherwise, the government could simply pass a law proscribing bomb blasts and peace would be restored to this blighted land. Taken to its logical conclusion, Congress’ arguments tantamount to suggesting that there is no need for Indian Penal Code( IPC) too since murder and dacoties are still common one hundred and fifty years after IPC was added to the statue books. Effective laws serve two purposes: a) They strengthen the hands of police by facilitating investigations b) They serve as deterrent by ensuring exemplary punishment for perpetrators.  Are ordinary laws enough for the police to prevent terror attacks mounted by sophisticated groups driven by a suicidal ideology? Are existing laws enough for effective prosecution of terrorists? That is what India needs to debate. The fact that Congress ruled states like Mahrashtra and Andhra Pradesh have felt the need for special laws is educative.

Second, Kandhar was a collective failure. At two levels. First, the government’s crisis management team failed the nation: Why was hijacked aircraft allowed to take off from Amritsar? Once the aircraft crossed Indian airspace, its fate was sealed. And then occurred the second, larger failure: When pushed to the wall, India’s resolve crumbled. India, as a nation, was not prepared to risk the death of the passengers irrespective of the cost. Remember the newspaper headlines and breathless television anchors? Remember the saturated coverage of family members of the hijacked passengers marching to the PMO? Unless India had the means and desire to mount a commando operation on unfriendly territory, the government had no option but to surrender to the terrorists. Jaswant Singh was merely the pallbearer–not the murderer. Is there any government which could have a taken a different decision?

The important question, therefore, is to ask whether India has learned the lessons from Kandhar: Are crisis management teams in place? Are her airports better secured? Can government agencies display better coordination if faced with crisis of similar nature?

And yes, has India’s resolve strengthened in the preceding years–not in self-serving ways of invoking the ”spirit of people” to mask collective and deliberate amnesia but in being prepared to pay a price to preserve national sovereignty and pride?