Bhaskar Roy

On November 26, 2008 the Mumbaikars or Bombayites were shaken, devastated and numbed by 10 terrorists from Pakistan, who bloodied India's commercial capital and the most cosmopolitan city of this country.

But the spirited civil society came back, washed the blood, and returned to their daily routine. Life must go on. Despite the Pakistani background of the terrorists, there were no communal riots. All sections of the civil society cutting across religious and provincial divide came together to condemn the incident and mourn those who had lost their lives.

Some politicians from outside the state of Maharashtra tried to get political mileage from this tragic incident. There is no shortage of ghouls among Indian politicians. For once, they were thwarted and they withdrew hastily with at least one getting mud on his face.

In the immediate aftermath of this tragic incident,  the all too familiar chorus was up:  Intelligence failure!

While not being an advocate for the intelligence agencies of the country, those who shout the loudest about 'intelligence failure', especially the media, are totally uneducated about this grey world. There is nothing such as 100 percent intelligence success anywhere in the world. Intelligence agencies cannot crow about their success. If they do so, their sources, methodology and craft will blow up.  But at times, under immense public and media pressure, certain things have been given out with unfortunate consequences.

In the "26/11" case, intelligence agencies, especially the R&AW, had done their job. But the jurisdiction of agencies are restricted. The rest is up to the state and federal police and security agencies. In the Purulia (West Bengal) arms drop case, intelligence reports from the agency gathered dust with the West Bengal government till their operation was over. These are examples. These agencies do not have a mouthpiece to argue their case, nor should they have.

At the same time, malaise has crept into intelligence agencies, which needs to be addressed urgently. One of the positive steps taken after "26/11" is the creation of the National Investigation Agency (NIA). It is beginning to make its presence felt. But do not demand it to show its face publicly.

The issue is that Mumbai security apparatus, despite a few good men like the late Hemant Karkare and his junior colleagues, was woefully unprepared for such a terrorist assault. For too long, Mumbai has been occupied by smugglers and extortion gangs which have infiltrated the police, and the ranks of politicians like Balasaheb Thackeray and Raj Thackeray, keep the administration engaged in futility.

Hemant Karkare's bullet proof jacket had eight bullet holes. The jacket which subsequently vanished was a substandard product. No inquiry has been conducted yet to find out how these substandard jackets were procured, who was responsible for their procurement, what tests were done before approving the procurement, at what price they were procured, and of course, who the manufacturers were. Till these answers are available, people are bound to see an angle of corruption in the procurement of these bullet proof vests. And the answers are unlikely to come anytime soon, as that could open a can of worms.

Disastrously, the central government's security perspective under Home Minister Shivraj Patil was the domain of somnambulists. The NSG commandos are an extremely competent and dedicated force, as they demonstrated in Mumbai. But the NSG was located in New Delhi, a good two hours drive or so from the nearest airport in Delhi and there was no dedicated aircraft at their service.

Thankfully, under Home Minister P. Chidambaram, the situation has greatly improved. The NSG has been dispersed to different centres including Mumbai, with the power to requisition any Indian aircraft during emergencies.

Let us look at the reception given by the Mumbai authorities, including the Mumbai police, to the stationed security forces. The NSG contingent is being kicked around from one place to the other, there are no training facilities for their daily routine which keep them at the top of their response capabilities, and they are reportedly being asked to pay rent!
 
How much reconnaissance  opportunities have they been given? None.

Do they have dedicated helicopters at their disposal, given Mumbai's traffic, in case of an emergency? No.

The NSG is called upon to act only in emergencies. How can they react effectively?

The case of the SRPF commandos to protect the Taj Hotel and the Gateway of India movement stinks of apathy and callousness. This detachment of highly dedicated security personnel lived for almost a year like destitutes at the Gateway of India, till the media discovered them recently. Why it took the media so long to discover them is another question.  Following the media exposure, the Police Commissioner stated that the problem would be addressed on a war footing. The result was that the SRPF personnel were evicted from the Gateway and left to spend a night on the pavements. Now they have been dumped in the backyard of a nearby police station.

These SRPF and NSG commandos are not chattels of the Mumbai police,  which is steeped in local politics. God forbid, if another 26/11 takes place Mumbai's security may be found wanting. This could well have happened if the FBI in US had not discovered the plot by the Pakistani duo Headely-Rana. Even then, a threat cannot be written off.

Sadly, Mumbai's administration, police and the state politicians are too preoccupied by the antics of Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray and his nephew, Raj Thackeray, Chief of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). It may not be apparent to general observers how such issues impact the security scenario. When Shiv Sena goons attacked the IBN media office on November 20, the entire administration was focussed on this.

The politics of what to do and what not to do occupies the minds of all, including the top hierarchy of the police. The police and the administration are divided on state politics. If there was a terrorist attack on November 20, the state security would have been caught flat footed. The blame would be heaped on 'intelligence failure' and ineptitude of the central forces, who are kept in the worst possible condition which debilitates their efficiency.

How does one make the Mumbai/Maharashtra politicians understand that they are killing their own golden goose? The Shiva Sena and the MNS are disgraceful political parties whose existence is based on negative politics and violence.  The Congress and the NCP are also not innocent.

Mumbai is not going the Shanghai way. It is going the way of Al Capone's Chicago. But even Al Capone would not measure up to the terrorism that Mumbai faces.

Is there no wake up call for Mumbai?   

Also read: 26/11: Questions the government must answer | Back to square one | Surprise, Surprise | After Mumbai : Points for action | Remembering 26/11
 
(Bhaskar Roy, who retired recently as a senior government official with decades of national and international experience, is an expert on international relations and Indian strategic interests. The views expressed here are his own, and do not necessarily reflect those of sify.com)

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