NEW DELHI: Former intelligence officials and security experts on Saturday said a federal police force was the need of the hour to tackle terrorism, which had not remained ``Kashmir-centric'' and had spread to other parts.

Participating in a symposium on ``Terrorism — its causes and ramifications'' here, they said the State police remained fragmented, largely inefficient and slow in reaction, and were badly trained. Also intelligence wings were neglected.

``Another crucial problem is the complete lack of coordination among intelligence agencies, the State police and Central forces. So the first line of response remains bogged down in problems of coordination and even the recently created Homeland Security department in the U.S. has been beset with inadequate coordination,'' V. Balachandran, a former Special Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat, said at the symposium, organised by the Press Institute of India and the Indian Liberal Group.

Opposition by States

Noting that the proposal for creating a federal crime-fighting agency had been opposed by several State Governments, he said they should be assured that their rights and control over the law and order machinery would not be impinged upon. First mooted during the National Democratic Alliance Government, the proposal was shot down by States.

Mr. Balachandran said the police forces in all metropolitan cities and States must exchange information on busting terror modules, interrogation of suspects and their activities. Quoting official figures, he said 72,000 Bangladeshis, 21,000 Pakistanis and 34,000 Afghanistan nationals came to India and ``simply disappeared'' but the police were not able to trace them.

``They surely pose a serious threat to our internal security.''

Mr. Balachandran referred to the anti-Thugee force of William Henry Sleeman during British rule, which, authorised to undertake hot pursuit anywhere even in princely states, had ended the Thugee menace by 1840.

``So the seeds of the federal police force were sown at that time.'' In the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was created to tackle federal crimes.

Terror network

Dwelling on the Islamic Jihad and Al Qaeda network, Ashok Karnik, a former Deputy Director of Intelligence Bureau, said terror outfits had taken to innovative methods of financing their activities and even used charitable organisations.

Al Qaeda had ``tied up'' with a number of local terror outfits to carry out its plans. ``In Asia alone there are 160 terrorist organisations supported by Al Qaeda.''

Strengthening of intelligence, people's cooperation, tougher laws, and squeezing of the finances of terror groups could prove effective in tackling terrorism, Mr. Karnik suggested.

Naxal menace

Focussing on Left-wing extremism, Nikhil Kumar, a former Special Secretary (Home Ministry) and now Congress MP from naxal violence- affected Aurangabad in Bihar, said it posed a more serious threat to internal security than cross-border terrorism. Naxal violence had spread to newer areas in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.

Naxal cadres were hell-bent on capturing power through violence, Mr. Kumar said adding the Maoist writ was final in the Bihar rural belt.

``Maoist cadres are holding their own popular Jan Adalats, where people settle their disputes. This is a very dangerous situation; our own fast track courts have failed to make a dent. The success of the naxal philosophy will sound the death knell for our democracy. This home-grown movement is also rooted in socio-economic conditions.''

Already, he said, the Nepal experience boosted the morale of naxal cadres in India. "How do we counter it?"

He suggested ``area domination'' and liberation of the naxal-dominated territories in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Jharkhand and Bihar.

Strengthening of the public distribution system, speeding up development projects and revamping the grievance redress machinery could blunt the naxal influence.

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