Events & Issues

New Delhi, 1 December 2008

Lessons From Mumbai

UNITE AND WAKE-UP
By Syed Ali Mujtaba

Thank God, the crime against humanity that was on display on our television sets from Mumbai since 26-29 November last has at last got over. The entire nation pays heartfelt condolences to those bereaved families that have lost their near and dear ones in this diabolic act of terror.

The Mumbai attack was unprecedented and could have happened in any city of the world and the response too might have been the same. So there is no point in belittling the sacrifices made by our security forces to bring peace to the panic-stricken city. The entire nation salutes these brave soldiers who brought normalcy to India’s commercial Capital.

The way the attack on Mumbai was executed suggests that the entire operations must have been meticulous planed for months. The terrorists were highly novitiate youth; they were “Fidayeens” who had come with a mission to die. Thus, the Mumbai attack was not the handiwork of any ordinary terror group and the needle of suspicion falls on few groups that are in the business of terror. 

Given the terrorists profile, fingers obviously points towards the al Qaeeda. Importantly, India has been on the al Qaeeda’s hit list for long. It chose Mumbai because it knew New Delhi would not be able to muster a global response and it could easily get away by inflicting the maximum damage. The mission was to demonstrate al Qaeeda’s capability as a terrorist outfit in the world.   

The second suspicion falls on the Lasker- e –Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohmmad, the two terror outfits based in Pakistan. They are engaged in anti-India activity and their focus is to liberate Kashmir through armed militancy. Both have been involved in terror activities before. A while back they broke the security cordon around the Ayodhya temple, entered the Akshardham temple and attacked Parliament. This group is highly motivated with well-trained youth ready to commit any act of terror at any moment of time.

Besides, both are spoilers of the India-Pakistan peace party. Every time the two neighbours try to come close to each other, these groups takes upon themselves the task of playing spoilsports. They have a vested interest in keeping the neighbours at  loggerheads because their entire terror network thrives on the anti-India bogey. As they run the risk of getting dismantled if the Indo-Pak peace process were to get back on the rails. This group too has unleashed terror attack in the country before and in all probability could also be behind the deadly Mumbai attacks.

There are some people who are pointing fingers at ‘Saffron terror’ that has of late come to the fore in the country. They argue that the Mumbai carnage was hatched to divert attention from the Malegoan blast case that was in the final stages and could have unmasked a different face of Indian terrorism. Wherein the Mumbai mayhem was planned to silence those investigating the Malegoan blast case. Adding, that they had succeeded in eliminating many top ATS official probing the case.

Notwithstanding the sentiments behind such argument, the fact remains that this does not stand the test of logic. It’s well known that ‘Saffron terror’ operates at the mob level; they unleash mayhem only in groups, as they did in Gujarat and have no precedent to take guns and run amok.

Second, the Mumbai attacks were an assault on India and given the blinkered patriotism such Saffron outfits display, it’s hard to link them with terror operations of such magnitudes. At the end of the day, it would be off the mark to blame the Saffron outfits for Mumbai’s carnage.

If the Muslim groups are blaming ‘Saffron terror’, Hindu groups are pointing fingers at the new Muslim terror group, Indian Mujahadin. Again, this argument looks weak because given the kind of weapons the terrorist used and the kind of professionalism they showed, it does not suggest that it could have been the local youth who pick up brawls on the streets. No matter how much of anger may be seething in the veins of the Muslim youth in India, it’s unlikely they could plan such a high-level terror operation.  

A report in the Times of India recently had linked the Mumbai attacks to shore up the cause of the liberation of Hyderabad, integrated into India in the 1948 police action. It points towards an e-mail purportedly sent by the Deccan Mujahideen, a new terror outfit that has owned up to Mumbai attacks. But security experts have debunked the e-mail from the Deccan Mujahideen as a divisionary tactics to create confusion about the main culprits.  

The most intriguing aspect about the Mumbai attacks is its motive. None of the terrorists demanded any ransom, there were no calls to free any of their accomplices locked up in Indian jails and none shouted any slogans for Kashmir’s freedom. Perhaps, the terrorists  desired to celebrate their terror and succeeded in gaining global media attention for 62 hours.

Whatever may be the motive behind the Mumbai attacks, one thing is clear: they succeeded in bringing Muslim militancy to centre-stage. The Malegoan blast was changing the perception of terrorism but the Mumbai carnage whitewashed that image. It succeeded in reinforcing the stereotype that ‘all terrorists are Muslims but all Muslims are not terrorists.’

The history of India is littered with security gaps and innumerable invasions have taken place because of inadequate security arrangements to defend its borders. The Mumbai attacks have once again exposed the chinks in the country’s security arrangement. Recall, a few days ago all were celebrating the heroics of the Indian navy sinking a Thai trawler in the Gulf of Aden reportedly having pirates.

Followed by reports that the navy had gained ‘blue water’ capabilities. Then came the disclosure that the terrorists took the sea route to disembark at the Gateway of India. Questions were raised on what happened to the fabled Indian Navy and the Coastguard intelligence?

Shockingly, if the security at the sea is pathetic then the safety drill on the mainland is worse. A police officer asserted that in his 37 years of service he did not have the training to fire even 10 times! Not only that. According to him, the entire police force was ornamental and lamented that policemen carried vintage rifles which by the time were loaded and ready to fire the terrorist had fled. Plainly, the police force was totally inadequate to meet the security challenges of modern India.  

What are the lessons of the Mumbai attacks? One, the entire security apparatus needs complete re-hailing. This is both at the Mainland and the coastline. Two, there is need for community policing, required in each locality of the country. Three, it is wake-up call to the country: How long do we want to bleed. If every Indian remains vigilant and united no terror outfit can take the liberty to commit such a heinous crimes in the country. ---- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)