No LeT up

It may be early days yet, but the detention of a suspected Laskhar-e-Toiba LeT operative in Hyderabad could provide some conclusive proof that terror8217;s footprint in this country is no longer confined to the region north of the Vindhyas. Evidence of this had surfaced earlier, but in a somewhat defused and disparate manner. Last week8217;s attack on the premises of the Indian Institute of Sciences signalled a concrete threat, and a new determination on the part of the perpetrators of terror, that the country could have ignored only at its peril.

There are reasons, of course, for this change of terrorist strategy, many of which have been discussed widely in the wake of the December 28 outrage. Southern cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai have emerged as potent symbols of Indian unity and growth in a globalised environment, and thus become attractive sites for the perpetration of acts of terror. Also, since terrorism has always thrived on its capacity to surprise and shock, it could make sense for the malevolent forces behind such strikes to shift the theatre of violence to new terrains; to arenas that are less security conscious and prepared to meet the challenge.

There can, in fact, be only one response to this development: terrorism8217;s pan-Indian footprint demands a pan-Indian security strategy. We no longer have the luxury of addressing terror in a disjointed, piecemeal, state-centric manner. The message must reach the perpetrators of terror that if they strike in one corner of the country, they would meet with a strong, decisive national response. This demands a new security strategy, which takes into account the emerging sites of terrorist activity and new methods of policing them. It requires measures like the efficient sharing of information and even joint-policing. It also requires greater alertness on the part of ordinary citizens, because it is they who finally pay the price for an indifferent security regime with their lives.