INDIA FAILED BHOPAL

Warren Anderson escorted out of Bhopal in a state government aircraft. The then district magistrate of Bhopal, Moti Singh, told Headlines Today that he was under express orders to ensure that Anderson was granted bail and escorted safely to the aircraft. Arjun Singh was the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh in December 1984. He owes the nation an explanation. If he chooses to keep mum because of loyalty to the party over justice for the 20,000 people killed and over five lakh affected, then this is an act of treason.

Former chief justice of India A.M. Ahmadi too owes the nation an explanation. Why was the case against Union Carbide officials watered down from 304 II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) to 304A (causing death due to negligence)? He was the chief justice of India.

The Supreme Court too let down the people of Bhopal. Former chief justice R.S. Pathak accepted the watered down compensation of 470 million dollars when the state of Madhya Pradesh demanded 3.3 billion dollars as compensation and punitive damages against Union Carbide. The judge concerned owes the nation an explanation. Is his conscience clear today?

B.R. Lal, the CBI officer supervising the case that time, claims there was pressure from the ministry of external affairs not to pursue the extradition of Anderson.

The Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary together let down Bhopal and the nation.

The learned chief judicial magistrate Mohan P. Tiwari gave the maximum punishment to the convicted as permitted by the law under 304A. He did his best. His hands had been tied by former chief justice of India A.M. Ahmadi. The former chief justice too has some questions to answer.

Yesterday, while speaking to journalists he used words to the effect in case his orders were bad in law it could have been challenged by a review petition then. He claimed as far as he knew there was no review petition. But there was a review petition. A Bhopal-based NGO, the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udhyog Sangathan, claims it filed a review petition. Today former chief justice Ahmadi changed his stance. He did a U-turn, saying there may have been a review petition. He said: "I do not recollect any review petition."

Look at the anguish of the people of Bhopal. Rajkumar Keshvani, a senior journalist and petitioner, wrote: "It's an irony that Justice Ahmedi, on retirement, got appointed as lifetime chairman by the Supreme Court for the Bhopal Memorial Hospital Trust, which runs a hospital in Bhopal created by the funding of Union Carbide. An eminent Supreme Court lawyer Indira Jaisingh opposed his appointment on the grounds that Ahmedi provided relief to Carbide officials accused in the Bhopal criminal case."
Keshwani's anguish is clear when he writes: "Earlier, incidentally, another Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Justice R.S. Pathak too got the posting as a judge in the International Court of Justice, Hague, in April 1989. This was just three months after Justice Pathak facilitated the infamous out-of-court settlement between the Union Carbide and the Government of India, which had assumed the role of the 'parent of nation' (Parens patriae) by taking away the rights of Bhopal gas victims to contest their compensation cases.

"In this dirty deal by the then Rajiv Gandhi government, Justice Pathak also quashed the criminal proceedings against Carbide in lieu of the payment of settlement money of $470 million. The case could be revived only after victims challenged the decision in the SC.

"It was this revived case in the Bhopal court which was decided on Monday to utter disillusionment of the survivors and to a great delight of the accused, since none of them had to go to jail even for a minute. They were granted bails then and there by the CJM against a surety of Rs 25, 000 each."

Our political masters came out with the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster (Processing of Claims) Act 1985. This Act conferred certain powers on the central government to secure claims arising out of, or connected with, the Bhopal gas leak disaster. The aim was that the claims are dealt with speedily, effectively, equitably and to the best advantage of the claimants. Can anyone of our leaders today stand up and say that they did so? A claim of 3.3 billion dollars watered down to 470 million dollars. Is this the best they could do?

This is India, a growing superpower so desperate for that permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council. This is a country let down by its political leadership. This is a country that looked up to its so well-respected judiciary. But justice was not only delayed but also denied.

The executive, the legislature and the judiciary clearly appear to have favoured the rich, the high and the mighty over the poor suffering people of Bhopal.

It is a pity that even today, none of the powers that be are interested in the truth coming out and the guilty brought to book. Before we attack the US, let us look within. Unless we take ourselves seriously, the world will not. Unless we are more serious about bringing the guilty to book, how can we complain if the US does not take us seriously on extraditing Anderson?

We can only complain that Barack Obama cares more about American dolphins (looking for ass to kick in the BP oil spill) than Indian lives in Bhopal. But what are we doing to ensure Arjun Singh speaks the truth? What are we doing to ensure former chief justices Pathak and Ahmadi explain their actions.

Twenty thousand people were killed in Bhopal, many in their sleep. Over five lakh suffered and continue to suffer. Do we care? We should. For nuclear power, we are to set up plants and the world will soon be at our doorstep trying to sell its wares. An accident there will be a Bhopal multiplied a million times. We should care because we could be next. The next Bhopal could be in our city.

If foreigners like Anderson and powerful companies like Union Carbide could get away so easily that time, their money could buy our establishment again and again. We have to be aware to demand accountability. And that starts today.

Fight a guerrilla like a guerrilla

There is a basic flaw in the anti-Naxal operations being undertaken by the security forces. There is a clear lack of aim and no clarity on standard operating procedures (SOPs) resulting in Dantewada-like disasters. Headlines Today accessed the E.N. Rammohan report on the Dantewada massacre, and even to a layman it is unbelievable how the 81-member CRPF company moved around like headless chicken for three days before finally being slaughtered.

There is a crisis in command. The Director General of CRPF needs to do some serious soul-searching. If this is how his men are going to fight the Naxals they'd better pack their bags and leave. Not just the officers on the ground, what was the CRPF brass doing? What was their plan B, their contingency plans for an ambush-like situation? If they had not factored in an ambush, they were not doing their basic job right.

Headlines Today's Ashish Khetan travelled to the forests in Dantewada where the encounter took place. He spoke to his sources on the ground and also in the Ministry of Home Affairs. It was shocking that the CRPF patrol did not even follow the SOPs.
While they left the camp at 7 pm on April 4, they did not enter the forest as tasked. Instead they camped a few hundred metres outside their base. This indicates their fear of entering the jungle they were tasked to dominate.

Camped inside village

The CRPF personnel violated the patrol plan and entered village Mukram, 4 kilometres from their Chintalnar camp. They asked villagers for cots, utensils to cook and a goat for meat. As per their SOPs they were supposed to maintain secrecy and not mingle with local villagers or stay at any location for long.

This was a big mistake. By camping just outside their camp, they displayed a total lack of seriousness of approach. By asking the villagers to bring cots to sleep in, utensils to cook food and a goat for meat, the CRPF team behaved like an 'occupation army'. Not a lean mean war machine out to neutralise Maoist guerrillas. They were just marking time - in the bargain - the better trained, armed and motivated Maoists found time to plan their operation annihilation.

Lost wireless set during patrolling

The CRPF personnel botched the patrolling operation at every stage. Such was the level of fear and demoralisation that they did not even follow the set plan for area domination.

The CRPF personnel did not follow the laid out plan for patrolling. They entered another housing cluster at Tadmetla. A CRPF officer lost his wireless set here. The personnel looked for the set but gave it up midway.

Returned to same village at night

Ignoring the grid references for the patrol, the CRPF patrol party returned to Mukram village and camped at the Chintalnar Ashram for school children 4 kilometres away. Again a violation of norms.

Did not dominate high ground

The CRPF patrol party patrolled the same area for more than 24 hours, giving ample time to the Maoists to follow their movement and plan an ambush. This is exactly what the Maoists did on April 6. They ambushed the 82-member CRPF patrol at Tadmetla and killed 76 personnel.

Maoist training, strategy and operations

Maoist literature seized by the security forces indicates their high level of military training and tactics. Consider this:

1. How to launch an offensive on a security forces patrol party. How company of Maoist guerrillas (100-120 men) will split into three platoons (25-30 men each) and attack from flanks…how a reserve platoon of Maoists will launch a deception attack…and then the main party will hit from the rear…how another platoon will be in place to beat back any rescue operation mounted by the security forces.

2. How the Maoists will disengage from operations if outnumbered, re-group and then launch another offensive.

3. How to plant IEDs and trigger them at an appropriate time to inflict maximum damage and disappear into the jungles and then regroup at a pre-appointed place.

4. There are several such training maps and sketches that talk of how sections (10 men) will loot weapons and reach the reserve platoon and secure the flanks to beat back counter attacks.

And this is exactly what the Maoists did during the four-hour long offensive in Dantewada. They took the high ground, launched an ambush with military precision, attacking the security forces from three sides. The jawans ran in one direction for cover. That is where the Maoists had apparently placed guns on tree tops and opened fire, cutting down the jawans.

Two Maoist platoons were in place to beat back the CRPF rescue operation. They triggered a landmine to ensure mine protected vehicles could also not reach the troops.

Maoist air defence and attack plans

Even as the Centre and the states debate the use of airpower, the Maoists already have a air defence and counterattack plan in place.
From aiming at rotor blades to bring down a chopper, the Maoist air defence training manual says engage helicopters with small arms when they are hovering or moving slowly. Also aim at the hub of the rotor so that the bullet or the debris falls into the engine that will bring the chopper down.

Using natural camouflage and total radio silence is also a part of the passive air defence taught to the guerrillas.

Naxals are also being trained to fix light machine guns on treetops to be used as anti-aircraft guns for low-flying helicopters.

Naxals are also being trained to lob grenades at helipads and fire at helicopters when they come in to land and take-off. Four such attacks have already been carried out in the past two years.
Neutralise top leaders

The counter Maoist forces need to improve their intelligence gathering abilities. Some of the top IB officers are now heading forces in the region and they need to pinpoint the location of Ganpathy, Kishenji, Kosa, Nambala Kesav and Kisan Da among others. A entire sector of CRPF and state police will not be able to locate them. It is shocking that the media reaches Kishenji each time but the state police and other forces are still unable to locate him. This despite the best technology available with the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Pinpoint the location of these commanders and neutralise them. The movement will be directionless. But don't rest on your laurels. Before the second-rung leadership can completely take over, neutralise them. Then the guerrillas will move around like headless chicken and will be easier to pick.
But this would require a national resolve. It is hard to believe that the Maoists who seriously started arming themselves only in 2001 are today too powerful for the state to handle. It appears that the state - or elements within the state - is happy to let the situation continue the way it is.

Poverty helps politicians and both bureaucrats and the police benefit from additional funds - being pumped into states in the name of development and counter-insurgency operations.

Learn from the army

I don't buy the logic that you don't use the army against your own people. This is the most flawed argument. Are Kashmiris not our own people? Just to name a few: Are Nagas, Manipuris, Assamese, Punjabis not our own people? Yet we have used the army extensively in all these states. The army runs the counter-insurgency and jungle warfare school in Vairangte. Use their training and tactics. Fight a guerrilla like a guerrilla. And you shall win. Behave like an occupation army and you will be like the Romans taking on the Gauls. Bound to lose. Wake up before it is too late. It is now or never.

SYED SALAHUDDIN CAUGHT ON CAMERA BREEDING TERROR

The footage was shocking. Syed Salahuddin, commander-in-chief of the Hizbul Mujahideen, flanked by two terrorists holding Kalashnikov rifles and ordering a group of terrorists to cross the Line of Control (LoC) and attack India.
This most certainly appeared to be a launch pad somewhere in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). The words were full of hate and the orders were to kill and be killed. Salahuddin, a wanted terrorist in India, is an 'honoured guest' in Pakistan. He travels freely between Muzaffarabad and Islamabad.
"Go to India, wage Jihad. You will be fighting in the most inhospitable weather conditions. You will be killed there but your martyrdom will be supreme," screams Salahuddinin the visuals accessed exclusively by Headlines Today.
In the video, Salahuddin is seen indoctrinating his suicide attackers. They are armed to the teeth with rocket launchers and Kalashnikov rifles.
"The battlefield of Kashmir is no doubt the most difficult of all battlefields. That is why compared to others, the holy war (Jihad) in Kashmir will bear you the sweetest fruit," Salahuddin is seen in the video motivating his cadres before they cross the LoC.
He warns them of the might of the Indian army. He tells his terrorists they will be killed in Kashmir and that they would be fighting in the most inhospitable weather conditions and altitudes.
Highly placed sources told Headlines Today this is a very recent video - as recent as late January or early February 2010. Salahuddin is seen on video talking about the 21-year-old fight in J&K. "Recently on the 5th of February 2010, Kashmir Solidarity Day was observed across Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, where Salahuddin was quoted talking about the 21-year-long struggle in Kashmir," highly placed sources told Headlines Today.
This is not literature, Mr Salman Bashir"For the past 21-22 years, in the beautiful valleys and snow clad peaks of J&K, along the Dal Lake and Jhelum River, we have been fighting a war with the 7.5 lakh-strong Indian army," Salahuddin tells his band of suicide bombers.
Sources also tell Headlines Today that this video is in line with intelligence intercepts and warnings about expecting "one of the hottest summers ever" in J&K. Intelligence agencies have warned that terrorists across the LoC have been ordered to carry out a series of intensified spectacular terror strikes in J&K.
Bullets rang out at Lal Chowk, the heart of Srinagar, early on Tuesday morning. Within minutes, a CRPF jawan lay martyred. In a daring attack, a terrorist walked up to the jawan and shot him at close range before disappearing in the early morning crowd at Lal Chowk, popular among locals as 'Bomb Chowk'.
"Terrorists are now attacking security forces at least once a week. According to reports, Pakistan has reactivated training camps in PoK and infiltration figures are on a sharp upward curve," sources said. Union Defence Minister A.K. Antony, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Op Vayu Shakti in Pokhran last week, said: "Our real concern is the existence of terror camps intact across the border after the 26/11 attacks. There are 42 terror camps. And there has been no serious effort to dismantle these camps."
According to sources in the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the number of trained terrorists who crossed into Kashmir has risen dramatically by a hundred percent. "Sixty sneaked in during 2008 and that number doubled to 120 in 2009. The army and intelligence agencies are now estimating this to double once again in 2010," a top-ranking police officer told Headlines Today.
Sources also tell Headlines Today this is evidence of terrorists openly using Pakistani territory to launch terror attacks across the LoC into India. "Terrorists like Syed Salahuddin, Hafiz Mohammad Saeed and Illyas Kashmiri represent the terror troika openly operating out of Pakistan. Salahuddin has been leading the oldest group of terrorists. He is not confined to PoK and has a house even in Pakistan's capital Islamabad,'' the sources said.
Even as India prepares for one of the hottest summers ever in the counter-terror operations, attacks like the one at Lal Chowk and the recent ones at Tral and Sopore - where the army lost a special forces officer and an infantry officer - are proof of Pakistan's stepped up operations to spread terror across the LoC.
Pakistan's terror troikaThe civil establishment in Pakistan does not really matter. They parrot the lines given to them by the all powerful military establishment. And for the military establishment, Salahuddin, Hafiz Saeed and Illyas Kashmiri are strategic assets.
Pakistan has fought and lost four conventional wars to India. This proxy war is a win-win situation for the Pakistan army and the terror troika — Saeed, Salahuddin and Kashmiri — are generals of the Pakistan army fighting this proxy war.
From Saeed to Salahuddin, the terror masterminds misuse Islam to indoctrinate the terrorists. The Pakistan army is understood to be giving them better training, teaching them more advanced tactics and giving them better weapons to take on the security forces. This is apparent from the diverse tactics terrorists have used in J&K recently — a 72-hour stand-off in Sopore where Captain Devender Singh Jas and two other Para commandoes were martyred, the 30-hour stand-off in Tral where Captain Yadav was martyred and the hit-and-run attack in Lal Chowk, Srinagar.
Options for IndiaOne thing is clear. Whether you talk to Pakistan or not, terrorists armed, trained, funded and nurtured by the Pakistan army and ISI will continue to strike. The intensity may vary - from an occasional Mumbai 26/11-style attack to the more frequent Pune, Jaipur and Delhi serial blast-style attacks. This has been the history of Indo-Pak talks. The attack on Parliament and Mumbai may have forced our old, weak kneed and equally if not more weak-minded political leadership out of their slumber and threaten Pakistan with war. But both Pakistan and India know that our politicians lack the will and army the preparedness for war.
The world knows we lack a foreign policy, especially a Pakistan policy. They have a consistent policy to bleed us. Our prime ministers keep reading Urdu couplets, taking buses to Pakistan or selling out the country's interests at Sharm-el-Sheikh.
India clearly needs to set benchmarks and put it in public domain. If talks have to resume in the right earnest, Pakistan has to crack down on the forces hostile to India on Pakistani territory. If Pakistan is not even willing to do that, why even go through the charade of talks? Unless Hafiz Saeed, Syed Salahuddin and Illyas Kashmiri are put behind bars, it cannot be business as usual.
Chidambaram's litmus test for PakistanThe only hope in India's otherwise rather dismal political leadership is Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram. One feels safer with Chidambaram at the wheel. At least he is honestly trying to ensure that the security apparatus delivers.
Post-26/11, there has been a sea change in the style of functioning of security forces on ground, and at least the first steps have been taken to ensure there is accountability in the intelligence agencies.
Speaking at the India Today conclave 2010, Chidambaram asked Pakistan to walk the talk on terror. If Pakistan is actually serious about cracking down on terror, especially terror aimed at India, it should provide the voice samples of terrorist handlers who were guiding the terrorists during the Mumbai attacks. At least then there is hope that Pakistan is serious about fighting the cancer of terror.
If Pakistan does not do any of this and yet calls for resumption of composite dialogue and India agrees, we would once again be let down by our political and diplomatic leadership. Then only God help India. We cannot keep raising the bar and then do a low jump.

PAKISTAN'S DOUBLE STANDARDS ON TERROR EXPOSED

Hours after 30-year-old Faizal Shahzad, son of a retired air vice marshal of the Pakistan Air Force, was arrested in the US, Pakistani authorities swung into action. Faizal's father-in-law and a friend were among the seven 'suspects' detained for questioning. Faizal's uncle retired as a major general in the frontier corps of the all powerful Pakistan army.

Contrast Pakistan's response to the failed terror attack at New York's Times Square with the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

India caught Ajmal Amir Kasab with a smoking gun. He confessed he was a Pakistani, named his parents, village, Lashkar-e-Tayeba trainers and Hafiz Mohammad Saeed. Pakistan went into a denial mode. And to a large extent remains in denial even today.

But from Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik to foot-in-the-mouth Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Pakistan's ambassador to the US Hussein Haqqani, everybody is bending over backwards to assure the US that strictest possible action will be taken against the plotters of the Times Square attack.

LESSONS FOR INDIA

There is a lesson here for India's Pakistan policy planners. In the US, national security and national interest are supreme. From President Barack Obama downwards, the focus is on ensuring safety of US citizens. They are answerable for every failure.

In India despite the loss of 166 precious lives, despite knowing that state actors were involved in plotting mayhem in India, despite knowing that the jihad factories are still churning out more Kasabs, the prime minister extends his hand of friendship.

Ujjwal Nikam, the special public prosecutor in the court of special judge M.L. Tahaliyani described Kasab as a snake, a demon and a killing machine. Kasab is just a product of the jihad factory where other snakes, demons and killing machines are being prepared. What is the prime minister doing to ensure that factory is shut down?

What is Shiv Shankar Menon, the national security advisor spearheading the 'talk to Pakistan initiative' doing to ensure that the CEO of the terror factory - Hafiz Saeed - is arrested and prosecuted?

Meeting of hands does not mean anything...hearts should meet. That is not possible when one heart is so full of poison. Unless India sticks to its stand of no further movement on any issue till the terror factories are shut down and its CEO, staff and products are locked up, Pakistan will continue to bite that extended hand of friendship with impunity.

Why should Pakistan crack down on the jihad factory aimed at India? It has India back on the negotiating table without even paying lip service to cracking down on terror. The US has the power to ostracize Pakistan. The US has the power to inflict costs on Pakistan. India lacks that power.

Questions are being asked in the US if the country was getting its money's worth from Pakistan. A country living on US dole, plotting to launch more terror attacks across the US. In the US, its intelligence agencies too are in the line of fire - why was Faizal not on the terror radar and more importantly how did he manage to board the aircraft to the UAE despite being on the no-fly list? Taxpayers in the US are demanding answers.

HOW MANY DEATHS ACCEPTABLE?

In India losing the life of a dozen people every month to terrorists in J&K or even across the country is considered "acceptable". So the loss of a young army captain and a jawan in Bandipora on May 5 is a part of 'acceptable' damage. That is really sad commentary on the state of the nation.

In India questioning the motives of the prime minister or his NSA are considered anti-national. With the Opposition in a perpetual state of disarray, the government is able to get away with murder.

Let India learn a few lessons from the US. They interact directly with the Pakistan army - the real wielders of power in the country. We in India keep harping on talking to civilians who have to get back to the army to take their orders.

The main focus of the prime minister and his NSA should be to take the Opposition into confidence and carve out a clear Pakistan policy. Let India have a national policy on Pakistan. Come rain, some shine India will not deviate from that policy. That let be a rational policy keeping India's national interest in mind.

If the government of the day in its wisdom has decided to talk to Pakistan, let the ground rules be settled. Terror and talks do not go together. Let our intelligence agencies be held accountable. Get credible evidence of the terror factories, hand them over to Pakistan. See if the jihad factories are shut down and those spreading terror in India put behind bars.

If that does not happen, talking for the sake of talking will never make Indians safe. Let us learn from the US - national security above all. The world will listen.

SHOW SPINE HANG KASAB

Special Judge M.L. Tahaliyani delivered a landmark verdict on Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab in a packed courtroom at Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail. This is one story I have followed very closely. On November 26, 2008 I had just finished anchoring at 9.30 pm when the first flash came - shooting at Leopold. Was this gang war? We broke the regular show and dived into breaking news. The next flash - automatic weapons used, AK-47s and grenades hurled. This was most certainly a terror attack. Moments later, shooting at VT (Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus), a blast in a taxi at Ville Parle. It was unending...shooting at the Oberoi Trident and the Taj and then at Nariman House.
A.N. Roy, then director general of police, Maharashtra, told me on a 'live phono' that this was most certainly a very well organised terror attack and asked our channel to request people watching TV to stay where they were and not venture out on the streets. Leave the roads open for emergency services.
The young reporters and camerapersons of Headlines Today and Aaj Tak braved bullets to get us live shots of the terror attack. The entire team fanned out across the affected areas, capturing events on the ground, speaking to sources and piecing together the nightmare that was unfolding live. The killing of Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar came as another extremely rude shock. Just hours earlier, our western India bureau chief Sahil Joshi had interviewed him.
Sahil was returning from the police commissioner's office at VT and was on his way to Andheri when he got a call about firing in Colaba. Principal correspondent Ariz Chandra was at TV Today's Nariman Point office with senior camerman Raju Inamdar. He also heard about the firing at Oberoi Hotel - barely 2 minutes of walking distance from our office. They rushed there. They heard the gunfire and saw the injured being taken by the police in a van. Raju Inamdar rushed to Cafe Leopold in Colaba.
Our guest coordinator Muqtar Sheikh called Sahil and said his relatives had heard blasts at the CST. Reports came in of firing at the station too. Most reporters were on their way home. They rushed back. Principal Correspondent Vidya rushed to Metro Cinema. Rajesh Kumar went to the CST. Aditya Aman rushed to Taj. Vivek Bhat rushed to cover the Vile Parle taxi blast. Cameraman Kiran and Virendra Singh Ghunawat went to the Nariman House. Our outdoor broadcasting vans were placed at the Oberoi, Taj and CST.
Rahul Kanwal, our executive Editor, and I anchored till after 3 that night. The studio was live through the night. At 5 am on 27th November, I rushed to the airport. Sabina Sehgal Saikia's brother Nikhil and husband Shantanu were on the same flight. Sabina was at the Taj. We were all tense. At 8 when we landed, our entire team from Delhi fanned out to different attack spots.
I rushed to the Oberoi Hotel - a childhood friend of mine in the security forces was engaged in the anti-terror operations. The picture he painted was scary. He said they were facing trained commandos. The 'enemy' knew the training, tactics and standard operating procedures of the security forces.
Late that night I moved to cover the Nariman House operations where the NSG commandos launched a heli-borne operation at dawn. Over the next 60 hours, we reported from the historic Gateway of India (Taj Hotel), CST, Oberoi, Nariman House and from the homes and hospitals across the city. India had been attacked.
I was back in Mumbai on the first anniversary of the terror attacks. Was Maximum City safer? Had we learnt our lessons? What were Mumbaikars saying? And then again back in the city for the verdict. Reporting from dawn till past midnight on the verdict and then the death sentence.
Sense of closure?In the past decade or so, I have covered almost every major terror strike in the country...The stench of burnt flesh, limbs strewn around, crying faces, mangled shops, cars and scared people are etched in my mind. The terror attack at the Ahmedabad civil hospital was horrifying but nothing was as horrible as the Mumbai terror attacks.
The death sentence for Kasab is a significant step but in no way gives a sense of closure - to the victims of 26/11, their families and next of kin or even to people like us who covered the attacks and the trial.
Our weak-kneed leaders and the equally weak resolve of our entire political leadership leave much to be desired for. In 2005, Afzal Guru was convicted by the Supreme Court of India for his role in the attack on the temple of Indian democracy - the Parliament. Yet the terrorist remains on death row for over five years. Neither the BJP nor the Congress has shown urgency to display a brave and united face to combat terror. This is not only sad but downright disgusting. Politics over terror.
There is a genuine fear that politics will take over even Kasab's case. Some 'jhola-wallahs' will stand up for their five minutes of fame and put a spoke in the wheels of justice. Even the learned judge M.L. Tahaliyani feared that Kasab should not be allowed to live because there is a history in this country of a Kandhar-like hijack. The same could be repeated...this time for the release of Kasab. A prominent politician could be kidnapped or their kin could be abducted, and like in the case of Rubiya Saeed the government will release terrorists.
After all, the life and safety of the common man means nothing in India.
Show resolve, hang KasabThe real sense of closure will come when India hangs Kasab. The judiciary in this country is held in very high esteem and looked up to for guidance. Let the High Court and Supreme Court decide Kasab's case in record time. Hear it on a daily basis and deliver their verdict. And then let the government of the day at the Centre and in Maharashtra show the same speed in advising the President of India on the issue. Let Kasab jump the queue and meet his fate. Every day that Kasab, the lives of innocent Indians are endangered. If the government shows signs of delay, the government will also have blood on its hands.
Nail the CEOs of jihad factoriesHafiz Mohammad Saeed, Maulana Masood Azhar, Illyas Kashmiri, Dawood Ibrahim and the CEOs of the jihad factories in Pakistan are still active and plotting more terror attacks on innocent Indians.
Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Chennai, Hyderabad...the entire nation is on the terror crosshairs. Indian interests in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the world are also threatened.
The government should focus on taking out the CEOs of the jihad factories by overt and covert means. Talk to Pakistan but ensure India is never attacked again. Show a firm resolve and tackle terror as a national aim. The government owes it to the nation.

YUDHAYE KRIT NISCHAYA: TAKE A FIRM RESOLVE AND FIGHT

The mood in the army camp was tense. The morale low. The commanding officer did not even have the luxury of shedding tears - some of the younger officers and jawans stood in attention - tears freely streaming down their eyes. In front of us lay several bodies - of soldiers killed while launching an impossible attack on the icy peaks of Drass during the Kargil war. I had spent the last couple of days at this camp, had even shared a drink with the young officer who lay dead in front. I followed the commanding officer to his tent. Some officers followed. In the fog of war, no one knew how many peaks were held by the `enemy.' The orders from the top were to launch another attack the following night. But every where that the army went they drew fire. This peak, that bump, that tit and that hump. It seemed as if the Pakistani army had prepared its defences well. In the initial days of the war the reverses the severe.

A mug of hot coffee was brought in. But our throat was so heavy that not a drop went in. A soldier walked in, saluted the CO and sought permission to speak freely. It was granted. He was the religious preacher. He held the Bhagwat Gita in one hand and his INSAS 5.56 rifle was slung over his shoulder. That was the rule, even for religious preachers and cooks - the non combatants. The preacher in combat fatigues began :

HATO VA PRAPYASI SWARGAM, JITVA VA BHOGSHASE MAHEEM
TASMAD UTHISHT KAUNTEYA, YUDHAYE KRIT NISCHAYA..

In the Kurukshetra battlefield Arjun lost his will to fight. Even before the war Arjun's resolve failed him. He did not have the will to kill his cousins, uncles, guru and loved ones. Yogeshwar Shri Krishna told Arjun - If you are killed in combat, you will go to heaven, if you win you will rule over earth that seems like heaven...therefore o son of Kunti, take a firm resolve and fight.

The CO, the officers and the jawans assembled once again. There was a prayer ceremony. The commanding officer of the adjacent artillery regiment joined in. In the next couple of days more howitzers, additional troops, aerial reconnaissance pictures and fighter jets came in. The unit launched another attack. This time they won - and continued to press ahead till the enemy was pushed on the other side of the line of control. The CO is today a senior army general. Some of the young officers are now commanding batallions at the LoC and other parts of the border.

But there is a lesson here for Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram and his brave men combating what prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh has rightly called the biggest threat to India's internal security - the Maoists. There will be set backs. There will be serious reverses. But that should only firm the nation's resolve to fight to the finish. It is time to call in the experts. I am not advocating that we remove the brave men of the central reserve police force and other central police organisations. They need able commanders. Senior army officers - both serving and retired who have decades of experince in counter insurgency and jungle warfare. Jawans who have the experience to fight in the jungles of Nagaland and Kupwara.

In one of my previous blogs I have argued a piecemeal effort will never succeed. Chidambaram will have to rope in chief ministers - more importantly the director generals of police of all the affected states. They will have to launch simultaneous offensives in the states. Neutralise the leaders and the movement will fizzle out. Deny them the oxygen of publicity. Do not discuss tactics and operations in the media. Be transparent - let operations be open to coverage so that rumours do not fuel further trouble but let this be a war for the victory of the nation - above narrow petty political interests.

PLAN OPERATIONS WELL

The initial mistake in Kargil was rushing in without appreciating the might of the enemy. We seem to be repeating the same mistake even in Operation Greenhunt. The operations dont have to begin today. Plan well. Intelligence about the Maoist strength, weapons, escape routes, supporters, tactical and senior commanders is essential. The police in Delhi, Chattisgarh and West Bengal seem have to gathered sufficient intelligence about the training, tactics, weapons and operating procedures of naxalites from the arrest and interrogation of several maoist leaders and sympathisers. Let that information not be restricted to police files only. Let it percolate down to the platoon commanders - after all they are the ones in the line of fire.

74 CRPF personnel being killed by Maoists not only points to poor planning of operations but also extremely tardy tactics, training and SOPs in place. For every soldier it should be his second nature to break out of an ambush. After all you do not have to be Clausewitz or Sun Tzu to know how Maoists attack and how to beat it back. Gather intelligence and then launch an offensive at a place and time of your choosing. To use the army or air force or not is the decision of the commander on ground - the media may discuss it threadbare - but let the war planners deliberate - take a decision and stick to it.

To win a war - aim is important. But equally important is maintaining that aim. Shifting the goal post will only lead to more Dantewada type set backs.

FIGHT TO THE FINISH

In India we have had this discussion for a long time - decades. we have romanticised the naxal movement and we have criticised it. We have debated long enough. Now is the time to act. and act decisively. the Maoists have been given long enough to join the national mainstream. If they claim to represent the masses let them represent them in the state assemblies and the national parliament. The election commission and the media - let there be international media if they so desire - to see the transprency of elections. But the Maoists and their jhola-wala sympathisers have to realise in India - the majority believe in democracy. Power does not come from the barrel of the gun and you cannot overthrow the democratically elected government (even if you and I hate it for a million reasons) by a so called revolution. It is ballot over bullet. Believe in it or please go where ever they believe in your kind of jungle-Raj.

The commanding officer of that Kargil unit is today a senior general in the army. He told me even he felt like putting in his papers that icy morning in Kargil. But like the Bhagwat Gita preaches - he took a firm resolve and the nation won. He did not even have the luxury of putting in his papers. That in the army during war is cowardice. India is at war Mr Chidambaram. The nation needs you to lead from the front. Your resignation is victory for the Maoists. Your resolve is the nations' victory. Fight on....you owe it to the 74 martyrs of Dantewada and the nation.

INDIA RAISES THE BAR, DOES A LOW JUMP

Pakistan not taking any action against the Mumbai attacks accused. I reiterate Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s stance that dialogue is possible only after Pakistan takes action against the Mumbai accused and dismantle the terrorists’ dens inside the country.

Shashi Tharoor,

Minister of State, External Affairs

December 22, 2009

No question of dilution of our demand for extradition of the suspects wanted for the Mumbai attack and other terrorist activities. Perpetrators must face Indian justice.

Pranab Mukherjee

Former External Affairs Minister

January 1, 2009

Let me say there is no pressure on us to resume a dialogue. If there is any attempt, we will not succumb to that pressure. I have said several times that dialogue with Pakistan is a necessity. But this dialogue cannot resume unless Pakistan gives sincere evidence of its willingness to prosecute all those involved in the Mumbai attacks.

Dr Manmohan Singh

Prime Minister, India

April 11, 2009

I did brief them (USA) on the state of the trial of Ajmal Kasab (the lone surviving Mumbai attack terrorist) in India and I also did mention about no progress in Pakistan in respect of the five or six people they have arrested. And Hafeez Saeed (LeT founder) remains a free man. I think thats enough. They know to draw the lessons from that statement.

P. Chidambaram

Union Home Minister

September 11, 2009

We have taken up the matter with all the force at our command with the government of Pakistan. We expect the masterminds of the attack and their supporters to be tried and punished. The infrastructure of terrorism and all safe havens have to be dismantled. The government will not rest till we have brought the perpetrators of this crime to justice. This is our solemn duty.

Dr Manmohan Singh

Prime Minister, India

November 26, 2009

WHY HAS PAKISTAN BEEN LET OFF THE HOOK?

Since 26/11, we have had the Indian prime minister, external affairs minister, home minister and defence minister tell us they will not let Pakistan off the hook till the perpetrators of 26/11 are brought to justice. India repeatedly insisted it will not be business as usual till action is taken against those who planned the worst ever terror attack on India.

What happened?

Why are we behaving like the eunuchs in the harems of the court of later Mughals – waving our swords in the zenana Mahal and thinking we are brave.

Today as an Indian citizen, I feel cheated, let down and very unsafe. Hafiz Saeed is not only roaming around freely in Pakistan, he is addressing conferences and meetings of terrorists and openly threatening India. And yet we invite Pakistan for talks.

Pakistan has taken no action against any of the main accused of 26/11, nor has it shown any desire or intention to either. And yet we invite Pakistan for talks.

Terror factories and fake currency mints are still operating in Pakistan. Yet we invite Pakistan for talks.

Both the army and the Jammu and Kashmir police are on record to say Pakistan army is openly pushing terrorists across the line of control and the international border – giving them covering fire. Yet we invite Pakistan for talks.

Instead of Pakistan being desperate to talk on our terms, Pakistan is actually setting the agenda – saying no talks unless composite dialogue resumes. Pakistan is actually pontificating. Yet we invite Pakistan for talks.

INDIA LACKS STRATEGIC THINKING

What are our long term aims when it comes to Pakistan and how do we intend to achieve them? India clearly lacks a roadmap. There is no consistency in our policy and approach. And Pakistan takes advantage of that.

Pakistan for the past 63 years has followed a consistent policy. War by all means – overt (1947, 65, 71 and Kargil in 1999) and covert (sponsoring terror in Punjab, J&K, the north east and now trying to make inroads in the naxal areas).

We know it. Pakistan remains unrepentant. And yet despite no tangible action on ground each time India changes its stance. We buckle under pressure – whether from the US or from Pakistan. Let us then just accept we are a soft state, led by weak kneed leaders with a weaker resolve. We leave ourselves open to attack – again and again.

Pakistan has done nothing since 26/11. The terror camps have still not been dismantled. The terrorists are not on the run. On the contrary they are holding open meetings – issuing threats to India under the full glare of the international media. And yet we meekly move forward for talks.

TERROR COMMANDERS MEET IN PAKISTAN

Even as India extended an invitation for talks, terrorist groups held open meetings across Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir. The so called Kashmir Solidarity Conference is nothing but the Lashkar-e-Taiba/Jamat-ud-Dawa and the Hizbul Mujahideen coming together and opening ``base camps’’ in PoK to launch terror attacks in India.

So no longer are the JuD and its terror commander Hafeez Saeed lying low. For the first time after the 26/11 terror attacks, the terrorists are out in the open talking about launching fresh strikes against India.

Along with them is Lt Gen Hamid Gul, former director general of the ISI, considered by many as one of the main architects of terrorist movements in J&K and now even beyond. He is seen as one of the links between the state and the non actors. But with several Pakistan army officers – both serving and retired – working in tandem with the terrorists it is virtually impossible to differentiate between the two.

GENERAL KAYANI’S FRESH SALVO

Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani who considers the Taliban a `strategic asset’ clearly stated in Rawalpindi that the Pakistan army remains India centric. Issuing what is being seen as a veiled threat, he said unless Kashmir is resolved, the Pakistan army shall remain India centric.

Kayani again gave the speel of state and non-state actors claiming if India and Pakistan do not resume talks, non state actors would feel emboldened.

India has clearly failed yet again to tell Pakistan in particular and the world community at large, it is very difficult if not possible to differentiate between the state and non state actors in Pakistan – especially when Kayani and Hafiz Saeed break bread together during Iftaar in Rawalpindi.

RUDDERLESS FOREIGN POLICY

After the sell out at Sharm-el-Sheikh, national interest has been sold out in our own backyard. This, despite the prime minister insisting India will not buckle under international pressure. But today let us just accept US interests are more important to our leadership and diplomats than our own national interests.

Our political and diplomatic leadership would rather see American soldiers and citizens safe in Afghanistan than our own soldiers and citizens in Jammu and Kashmir and across the country.

Our national interest and safety has been bartered at the US altar. Pakistan, Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Al Qaeda have once again got proof that India is a soft state. There is a pattern. Attack India at will - bigger the strike – louder will India scream – there will be a stand off situation, a freeze, a deep freeze and then within a couple of years it will be business as usual.

This is what happened after Kargil, Kandahar, attack on Parliament and Mumbai. Our diplomats lack the long term strategic goal and insight. Our politicians and diplomats fail to stand up to international pressure.

They fail to look Pakistan in the eye and call a spade a spade. It has been the same story after 1965 when our diplomats and political leadership lost the Haji pir pass and the same story after 1971 when we lost everything on the negotiating table at Simla.

SECURITY FORCES NOT IN THE LOOP

Be it the armed forces or the intelligence agencies - our security agencies insist Pakistan (both state and non state actors) are working overtime to target India – not just in J&K and the rest of the country but targeting Indian interests across the world. The Pakistan army (pushing infiltrators across) the ISI (pushing in terrorists from J&K, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the sea route), government (printing fake Indian currency) are all working in tandem.

And yet we invite Pakistan for talks. Sources in the army and the intelligence bureau insist they are not in facour of talks. As soon as talks resume, there is a semblance of normalcy and India lowers its guard. Terrorists use the opportunity to strike and each time the strike is bigger than the last one.

India pays the price – this low intensity conflict operation (LICO) is a no cost option for Pakistan to bleed India. We know it all and yet we continue to bleed and invite them for talks.

WHAT AFTER THE NEXT TERROR ATTACK

So what will India do after the next terror attack? Continue to talk or stop talking again. Perhaps, the ministers will once again wave their swords – protected by an army of soldiers and policemen. The prime minister downwards each will scream louder than the other, threaten Pakistan, visit homes of killed innocent Indians in the protection of an army of SPG and NSG commandoes and six months later it will be business as usual.

There is a pattern and Pakistan knows it. It will continue to inflict a thousand wounds. We will continue to bleed. Because we are a soft, weak kneed state with a weaker resolve.