Last call for peace a.k.a war

I am glad to be writing this piece today, instead of  27^th November, when the Taj was burning, CST was bleeding and Mumbai was still gripped by awe, fear, loathe and anger.

I say so because like the millions of my countrymen (and surprisingly a lot of other nationals too) I felt cheated and let down. How could politicians with no threat perception whatsoever roam around with a posse of Black Cat commandoes (the new symbol of power, rated even higher that the red light atop the car !) while ordinary citizens fell to bullets and policemen fought terrorists with bare hands and .303 rifles? I am almost tempted to suggest that the .303 is worse that being empty handed as its weight would make running away more difficult!

I was horrified to read that a sub-inspector with bare hands held on to the captured terrorist’s gun barrel which allowed people around to nab him …. It was another matter though that the gun was pumping bullets into his stomach as he held firm….as a family lost its father, husband, breadwinner, I just found myself a new hero, a role model worthy of emulation, but almost impossible to emulate.

There is still so much pain and trauma that I wasn’t sure if even THIS was the right time to write, but some pains only go away with sharing and I just had to start writing.

 

I will follow the title of my blog later. There are things that need to be addressed as first things first. Many of these have been announced by the government, but I fear they are mere lip service.

 

1)      A unified central command for all internal security threats. This can be like the Department of Homeland security. It should be headed by a committee of 5 taken from the recently retired Chief of defence staff, RAW, Central forces (CRPF/CISF) and a special secretary. It is important that only ONE IAS officer is present here to minimize politicization of this command. This is a command structure for uniformed forces, NOT bureaucrats.

2)      Give this command a force like CISF under it, so it can mobilize troops directly. CISF is already doing security of sensitive installations and should undergo a major capability upgrade immediately.

3)      The unified command should report directly to the PM

4)      Integrate an intelligence wing where RAW (Combine RAW and IB), Military intelligence and state intelligence gives intel imputs. ANY input given is centrally logged, evaluated and action taken using the right forces (army, Navy or Police)

5)      Unified command should also have at its DIRECT disposal NSG teams across the country.

6)      The NSG teams should be posted in atleast 12 centres across the country NEAR the airport. The simple reason is that airports are needed for quick transport needs. They are also prime targets anyways ! They should have a designated aircraft, vehicles (NO MORE BEST BUSES PLEASE!), atleast 1 helicopter from the nearest airbase designated for their use. One team should be ready for a 5 minute muster at all times.

7)      PLEASE upgrade their equipment. To see NSG commandos with helmets that support no head mounted lights / nigh vision goggles or communication sets is plain pathetic. Our commandoes looked like some Somali warlord’s force and I would think that the cost of equipment would be lesser that Mayawati and Mulayam Singh’s security costs (I chose 2 of the most undeserving politicians in India’s notorious “Z+ protectee” list)

8)      State commando forces should have a strength of atleast 500 to support the NSG or in times even handle ops themselves.

9)      Have disaster management teams in all states and give them direct access to the central command to request for NSG assistance even as the state commandos are swung into action.

10)  Back to basics. Please equip and train our police forces. The Police reforms have been pending far too long now. See how the police is in utter disarray in Naxalite infested states.

 

Now why do I say this is a call for peace even though my blood boils at the mere memory of what happened in Mumbai and what is continually happening in different parts of the country ? Well the answer is simple.

My call for peace is actually a call for war, but against the right enemy. Attacking the VISIBLE enemy makes for the worst possible move today.

Pakista’s government is a myriad collection of power centres. Each dependant and at the same time, in conflict with each other. There is no doubt that the silent majority in Pakistan

(just like India) is sane in thought, though not so vocal with its opinion. The government of Zardari, though not beyond reproach represents the friendliest one to India in a long LONG time. Which other Pakistani premier can actually go on record calling Kashmiri militants as “terrorists” and infact state that he sees no threats from India, infact going as far as to proclaim nuclear no-first use? These two are guaranteed death warrants in Pakistan, and yet he said it. This begs to question whether we would want to bomb Pakistan and bring the radicals to the fore, or covertly shore up Zardari’s regime, use the Americans to put a squeeze on the Afghan side and help Pakistan get rid of the powerful ISI-Jehadi nexus.

Easier said than done, but no denying that it NEEDS to be done. So better put our efforts into it sooner rather than later.

The more fragmented and decentralized Pakistan’s polity gets, the greater are the chances of a maverick radical general taking one of  the Pakistani nukes and pointing them at us.

 

For those advocating “precision” military operations across the border and “covert ops”, well I have good news and bad news.

The GOOD news is that “Mission Impossible” might be coming up with a sequel starring Tom Cruise.

The BAD news is that India does not have the capability to do it.

It hurts to know and is hard on the ego, but true it is !

We do not have armed drones capable of attack, we do not have the risk appetite to confront a scenario where Pakistani air force decides to defend against an aerial attack by Indian Jets and we DEFINITELY do not have the special forces for covert ops behind enemy lines. That capability was disbanded as a gift to Pakistan by the paralysis affected government of India in 1997.

India does have great armed forces. Unhesitatingly I will  bet my last rupee on India completely routing Pakistan in a conventional war, but the presence of nuclear weapons with Pakistan and their oft stated “unacceptable loss of territory” clause for use of Nuclear weapons makes war impossible. We CAN of course start a quick offensive, neutralize enemy assets and declare ceasefire before any escalation of conflicts, but …. You guessed it, our armed forces are not oriented for such wars of the 21^st century either.

 So forget about operating “behind enemy lines”, our best bets lie with  the international community. Squeeze Pakistan and squeeze it hard. Shore up Zardari and help him get his wife’s killers. Somewhere in that pursuit we will get the killers of our women and children too.

We also need to introspect. How is Dawood's empire so openly spread out in India? We ask for his extradition while our politicians are hand in glove profiting from links with the underworld. It begs the question how Mr Narayan Rane confidently states that he knows of politicians who colluded with the terrorists. Surely he know something we don't. Whether it is true or not, politics in this country surely has reached its lowest point .... EVER.