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Fighting terrorism

Over the past fortnight, India’s intelligence and police services have demonstrated that they possess the commitment needed to combat transnational terror networks. By dismantling a joint Harkat ul-Jihad-e-Islami-Students Islamic Movement of India cell planning attacks on tourists in Goa, and locating a Lashkar-e-Taiba unit responsible for deadly strikes at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and a Central Reserve Police Force camp in Rampur, they have shown a sometimes despairing public that terrorism can be stopped in its tracks. Good policing, however, can only be a part of a successful response. Two other challenges must be addressed — one external, the other internal. Much Indian doctrine has been predicated on the assumption that General Pervez Musharraf’s regime would, under pressure from the United States, deliver on its repeated promises to end terrorism directed at India. Yet the Lashkar and HuJI-SIMI modules relied on personnel trained in Pakistan, and were funded by organisations based there. Since this fits into the well-established pattern of terrorist modules operating against India, it is reasonable to infer that President Musharraf lacks either the resources or the resolve to deliver on his word. New Delhi needs to deal with the problem carefully — without detriment to the process of détente.

Even more important are the internal political challenges India’s counter-terrorism efforts need to overcome. The Lashkar cell responsible for the attacks in Bangalore and Rampur, and the HuJI-SIMI module targeting Goa, were made up largely of young Indian nationals from urban areas, with some degree of education. Indian Muslims overwhelmingly find the perverted Islam propagated by organisations like the Lashkar — the jihadist call for a war-without-end against Hindus and the Indian state — repugnant to their traditions, values, spiritual beliefs, and common sense. In turn, some Islamist groups make no secret of their belief that followers of popular Islam are apostates. Yet an ideological infrastructure has grown to capitalise on the resentments engendered by decades of communal violence, hate politics, economic backwardness, and denial of opportunities. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s vision of empowering underprivileged Muslims by providing them education and economic opportunities is entirely sound. He also knows that such developmental action is a necessary but insufficient condition for forging a just society. If terrorism and the ideas that feed it are to be effectively combated, political parties and leaders, and civil society organisations need to do much better than they have done so far to isolate and thwart communalism as a political mobilisation strategy.

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