Explosive haul

The seizure of 51 kg of RDX in Delhi is sobering news for anyone who thought that Kargil was over. Pakistan has simply downshifted and moved back to its old front, where the war is always undeclared. It is not surprising news, for terror has always been our neighbour8217;s most effective weapon, before Chagai Hills and after. What really surprises is our own reticence 8212; what the French delicately refer to as mauvaise honte. We gather information on the doings of our foe, which are in contravention of all international law. Then we zealously husband it. With such detailed data on attempts at destabilisation going back at least a decade, India should be raising hell in the United Nations. In fact, in every international forum. But we put a Top Secret stamp on it and sit back, finding deep satisfaction in the fact that we knew all the time. The point, unfortunately, is that the rest of the world has to know. As it happens, it usually knows only Pakistan8217;s point of view, such as it is. It has to be given thefacts at India8217;s disposal 8212; not merely an Indian viewpoint8217; 8212; of the massive operation that the ISI has mounted, with links leading to much of the Islamic world, and which has now become its raison d8217;etre.

Sometimes, of course, we do go public, with ridiculous consequences. It happened in Assam on Independence Day, when Prafulla Kumar Mahanta proudly announced that on the basis of information provided by the three ISI men who were captured recently, Indian securitymen had illegally crossed the Bangladesh border posing as ISI cadres and liberated8217; a haul of explosives from operatives in that country. Not only does that cloud the air between Bangladesh and India, but it also put the ISI men across the border on the alert. A potential source of information was negated for ever. Mahanta has revealed himself to be a reliable custodian of our independence. In contrast, the operation that led to the capture of three militants who were planning to set off explosions in Delhi during the polls went likeclockwork. One can only wish that operations were always as efficiently executed.

The main point, however, is that while Pakistan has reopened its old front, the situation is a little different this time and India is in a position to open a brand new front. Pakistan committed a serious blunder in Kargil and made its traditional ally, the US, rather uneasy. The concert of democracies8217; is a happy myth, but the fact is that India has moved closer to the western democracies in the sense that they have a common enemy: Islamism. What India has to say is more likely to be heard now, provided it continues to project the maturity and restraint that it displayed during the crisis. This will have to be the second front. It will have to feed off Pakistan8217;s second front and render it impossible to use. In the meantime, of course, the intelligence community and the security forces will have to continue with the excellent teamwork that led to the capture of the huge arsenal that was to be used against Delhi.