Terror without a face

If our security forces are doing a stellar job, as some experts believe, then there is no reason for them to be so secretive about their successes. If it is true that for every hideous act that succeeds there are ten that fail because our men in khaki have destroyed terrorist 8216;modules8217; before they commit their evil deeds, then let us have names, faces, interviews on television and details of how the police caught who they did.

We need to learn from the West. Within days of 9/11 the whole world knew how many hijackers there were, where their money came from, which flying schools they were attending and what their nationalities were. In London every time there is a new plot uncovered we see the faces of the men and women involved. So why is it that in India, where we have fought terrorist violence since the early eighties, long before the global jihad began, we still do not even know the names of the men who died in the attack on India8217;s Parliament?

I rarely agree with Arundhati Roy on anything, but concede that where Mohammad Afzal8217;s alleged guilt is concerned, there is more than a shadow of doubt. If we know for sure that he was a small cog in the conspiracy, why is it we know so little about the five dead terrorists? Which city did they come from? Where did they go to school? What has happened to their families?

These details may seem unimportant to the police but they are vital where we are concerned because they strengthen our belief in the state8217;s ability to protect us. Having spent many of my reporting years covering the conflicts in Punjab and Kashmir, I have a deep scepticism about the investigative skills of our policemen and an even deeper scepticism about the skills of our intelligence agencies.

I find it hard to forget that for at least six months before Operation Bluestar, there was not a single intelligence officer inside the Golden Temple and in the aftermath of the attack, the situation was so bad that the army was sweeping through Punjab8217;s villages without any idea who it was looking for.

The recently exhumed bodies in Kashmir confirm that the situation there has been equally bad. Hundreds of innocent people have been killed as terrorists, thousands have disappeared and we still have no answers. We know almost nothing about the group that kidnapped and killed those foreign tourists nearly 15 years ago. We do not even know where the bodies were buried.

We still do not know the names of the assailants in the Indian army uniforms who killed the Sikhs in Chhatisinghpura.

After the train bombings in Mumbai last year, the police quickly detected the hand of Pakistan. Can we have proof? When I talk to officers in the higher echelons of our security apparatus, I am always told that the Pakistani state is still actively supporting groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba. Perhaps. But the charge remains worthless unless we can come up with evidence that is recognisable as evidence in the eyes of the world.

Nobody denies that secrecy is an important weapon in security operations. But when secrecy becomes a veil for incompetence, shoddy investigation and serious lapses in security, it becomes dangerous.

Behind the thick veils of secrecy that conceal homeland security, we now face the grim reality that jihadi terrorism has spread its horrific tentacles right down to our formerly peaceful southern Indian states. Whole swathes of central India are now in the grip of shadowy Maoists whose names we do not know.

When it comes to the Naxalites, the same questions arise. Who are these guys? Why do we not know their names and faces? Where do their funds come from? Who gives them their guns? It8217;s time for answers and time that the men in charge of our homeland security acknowledge that secrecy has become a veil for failure.

In the absence of answers we have 8216;secularists8217; blaming the bombs on Hindu fanatics and 8216;nationalists8217; blaming Pakistan. Both are ridiculous.