Preamble

We, the common, educated, law abiding citizens of India, having solemnly affirmed that it is time to move beyond drawing room discussions blaming everyone for the mess we are in, need to take some action NOW. What needs to be done will get clearer as we move along, as long as we agree that SOMETHING must be done, and make a begining however small.

The immediate step is to initiate discussion through the forum of this blog and within our immediate circle of likeminded friends. The aim of such discussions is to identify actions within our circles of influence which can be taken to stop being helpless victims of terrorism. Some of the issues that come to my mind are:-

• Vigilance and prevention.
• Awareness of immediate actions if you are in a terrorist situation – Dos and Don’ts.
• Actions to seek accountability from politicians and public servants.
• Security measures and precautions – at home, workplace and public places.

We need to brainstorm these, and any other relevant / related issues that are thrown up during the course of such a discussion. Since we are all gropin in the dark as of now, we wil definitely benefit from each other’s points of views, insights and experiences in specific fields. For example, doctors can suggest first aid measures for specific situations.

We would like to distill the outcome of such discussions to prepare some kind of advisories / Dos and Don’ts, and maybe, plan for taking this initiative further – to educate our children, spread awareness in our communities through our RWAs and so on.

With these tentative thoughts, I invite all of you to post your views, ideas, suggestions on the topics bulleted above, but not necessarily restricting yoruseves to them.

Reform or Perish

1000 policemen (including PAC, RAF, STF and SOG), battle a lone dacoit for 52 hours. Four policemen are killed and two senior officers injured before he’s finally overpowered and killed. These are statistics that no self respecting force would be able to live down in a hurry.  Coming on the heels of the Pradhan panel report on the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the Chitrakoot encounter is yet another pointer to the urgent requirement of police reforms. With India being plagued by international terrorism and Naxal violence, these warning signs pointing to repeated failure of our police and paramilitary forces in dealing with any substantial threat cannot be ignored any longer.

While police forces are increasingly being thrust into pitched encounters with armed miscreants, numerous infirmities in the entire police setup prevent effectiveness. Recruitment is beset with corruption and often used as a means of political patronage. The recently unearthed CRPF recruitment scam and the UP police recruitment drama being played out as a turf battle between Mayawati and Mulayam are prime manifestations of this – and, one fears, merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Inadequacies in training of policemen and officers to tackle the emerging challenges have been pointed out time and time again. The training needs to evolve, encompassing counter terrorism and basic ‘military’ skills. The standard of physical fitness of the average policeman, and his dexterity in handling his weapon, need drastic improvement. The days when the baton was all that he needed to wield are long gone. Interestingly, most of the weapons issued to the constabulary are actually fit as mere batons and no more. Today when terrorists and criminals are armed with sophisticated automatic weapons, bulk of the police force is armed with .303 Lee Enfield Rifles of pre WW I vintage. Hand held communication equipment is scarce, as was evident from the visuals of commands being shouted across during the Chitrakoot encounter. The images of a 19^th century force battling a 21^st century foe would have been comical had they not been so chillingly ominous in their portents. In this day and age when the required hardware is indigenous and affordable, it is difficult to comprehend the reason for not being able to arm and equip our police forces, save for the apathy of the government and its preoccupation with other mundane issues.

Morale of the force also needs to be addressed. The pay and allowances, service conditions and quality of life of the ordinary policeman leave a lot to be desired. Similarly officers are plagued with constant political interference, frequent transfers and sundry intimidation, often preventing them from discharging their duties conscientiously. While all these, and many more related issues, have been highlighted by successive committees and commissions, mere lip service instead of action has been the norm. The government needs to read the sign of times at long last, and initiate urgent measures enabling our police forces to tackle the challenging times ahead.

Chinese Hostage Negotiations – And Indian Contrast

Chinese Hostage Negotiations

I have three demands or I kill the boy.

Negotiators assess the situation from next door.

Head Negotiator dispatched

Negotiations begin

Negotiations concluded

They probably spent $2 for the Bullet and finished it all.

American Take ……..

In this country, we would shut the street down for 48 hours, take 12 hours to talk him out of it, spend $5 million giving him a fair trial, and pay his food and lodging for life.

No wonder their products are cheaper than ours.

Indian Scenario

In our case …..

· The DGP and the top brass of the state police would go rushing in

o And be shot by the terrorist

o 21 of them will be awarded Bharat Ratna the next Republic Day

· The Army would be called in

o The GOC would give an interview to the TV Channels

o The Army operation would be broadcast live on TV, giving adequate warning to the terrorist

o The hostage and 11 bystanders will be killed

· The terrorist, if killed, would be regarded as a martyr by half our population with voices about conspiracy in the whole operation being raised.

o The politicians of each party would blame the faulty policies of the other side for the past 60 years

o Blame game between the police, intelligence agencies and the army would ensue, as a proxy war through selective media leaks – about who went wrong where and how their own organisation was blameless and praiseworthy.

o The government will announce that we have had enough of being attacked on our own territory and its war now. A list of 200 people will be handed over to Pakistan with an ultimatum of 10 days to hand them over.

o Pakistan will deny any involvement of presence of any of these 200 people in that country.

o It will hand over a list of 400 people involved in terrorism in Pakistan including the leader of the opposition, the Chief Ministers of three states and the Attorney General of India.

o Both sides will continue to cry on the shoulder of every foreign dignitary who visits.

· If caught, he would garner sympathies of all and sundry throughout his trial

o Which would last 25 years

o At the end of which he would be sentenced to death

o His clemency plea would lie with the government for another 25 years

· Meanwhile he would die of ripe old age

· The next Republic day he would be awarded the Padma Bhusan by mistake.