The Hyderabad bombings have brought to the fore the seriousness of the terrorist threat the country faces. With such incidents happening again and again, and the Government following an ostrich-like approach, people have been left to their fate

The shocking Hyderabad twin blasts, killing 43 people, have brought to the fore the seriousness of the terrorist menace the country faces. The bombing took place 100 days after the Mecca Masjid blasts in Hyderabad, but this time the devastation is much more. With these frequent attacks many fear that Hyderabad may soon lose its primacy as the IT hub. The fact that the Lok Sabha took up the issue under an adjournment motion and the Rajya Sabha almost suspended its Question Hour and discussed the issue on Wednesday shows the importance of the matter.

Hyderabad is not the only place where terrorists have created mayhem. India has been facing terrorist violence for a long time and the militants strike at their will. Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab are classic examples. Worse, in 2002, Parliament, the temple of democracy, was assaulted by jihadis. Then, there had been bomb blasts in Bangalore, Malegaon, Mumbai, etc.

No doubt, terrorism has become a global phenomenon. When 9/11 happened, the world led by the US got up and decided to launch a 'War on Terror'. Several countries, including India and Pakistan, have joined this war and are even sharing intelligence. Yet, terrorists have continued their subversive activities, going by the recent London plot and the kidnapping of Korean tourists. Osama Bin Laden and his outfit, Al Qaeda, are still not under check and the Taliban are regrouping.

While this is the global scenario, what is happening in India is of a greater concern. Maoist violence, insurgency in the North-East and Pakistan-inspired terrorism are the three major areas of threat to India. While Maoism is allegedly attributed to socio-economic disorder, insurgency is perceived to be caused by lack of development in the region. The Government is battling on all three fronts with very little success.

Interestingly, when the Rajashekhar Reddy Government took over the reins of Andhra Pradesh in 2004 with a massive mandate, Maoists were invited for talks. Mr Reddy made a sincere effort but the talks went nowhere, resulting in the Maoists running a parallel Government in the State, particularly in the Telengana region.

Today, Maoists are creating chaos in a long corridor from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Debates on Maoist menace have taken place in almost all parliamentary sessions with the same reply from the Home Ministry that it is a State subject and a social problem and that much needs to be done to tackle it.

So, what is the remedy? Just having a discussion once in a while in Parliament is not enough. Many steps are required both at the domestic as well as international level. As for international terrorism, India should tackle this at the diplomatic level. For years India has been accusing Pakistan of cross-border terrorism. Bangladesh, too, is on the firing line. It is clearly becoming evident that outside agents, particularly from Pakistan and Bangladesh, are operating in the country, causing widespread disturbances. The Nepali Maoists are also accused of assisting their Indian counterparts.

The Government should ensure that more money is spent on counter-terrorism and more people are trained to curb the terror infrastructure within the country. We can follow the example of the US since 9/11. The first thing President George W Bush did was to set up a Homeland Security with vast powers and till today the US has been able to keep the terrorists at bay. London airports have become a fortress after the bomb blasts of last year with the result they were able to prevent an attempt by jihadis recently.

On the international front, the counter-terrorism mechanism should be put in place, with Indian officials getting training on the subject from their counterparts.

There are some experts like veteran MP PC Alexander, who are of the view that law and order should be brought under concurrent list, making it easier to check the terrorists. Mr Alexander has even suggested the setting up of a separate Internal Security Council to deal with the day-to-day matters, as the National Security Council has too much on its hand. The Home Ministry should seek and get more budgetary allocation for creating special counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism departments.

Money should also be spent on creating public awareness and the people must be made to feel that security measures are for their safety and not for their harassment.

With terrorism becoming a global phenomenon, people know that they have to live with it. Instead of going into the why and how of the terrorist attack, it is time the Government and the people learned to cope with it. It is not the absence of law but its implementation that needs attention.

Courtesy: http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnist1.asp?main_variable=Columnist&file_name=shankar%2Fshankar235.txt&writer=shankar, September 05, 2007