El Lissitzky, Poster, 1920, Titled "Schlagt die weissen mit dem roten keil" ( Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge)
" Two things are infinite "; Albert Einstein said; "the universe and human stupidity, and I am not sure about the universe". As is the case with several of his other theories,this one of Einstein's theory, probably proposed in jest ,is hard to be proven wrong. Just as darkness is an absence of light;stupidity is simply an absence of intelligence.
Nawa-e-waqt is a well known newspaper published from Pakistan. Recently it reported a case of a 'suicide bomber' whose suicide jacket malfunctioned and failed to detonate properly. Result was that he himself got severally injured and passed out instead of getting blown apart as planned. Along with his victims he was also taken to a hospital. Some time later as he woke up in the intensive care unit his gaze fell upon the nurses milling around . Even in his weak and battered condition the bomber got electrified and started shouting, "I got them; I got them; I got the houries".... Normally the incident would bring a chuckle or two to one's lips if it was not such a serious matter.
It is not as if his is a one off case.Unfortunately he is not alone and his tribe is increasing. It is also not a case of an unlettered, uneducated ,impoverished and a brain washed individual either. Someone that got easily influenced by radical elements and lost his sense of reality. Just before he was hanged, Afzal Guru; a far more sophisticated, typically middle class , comparatively well read and decently educated individual requested his family to "respect the stature he has attained and thanked Allah a thousand times for giving him this stature". The act of terror for which he was hanged; Dec 13, 2001 attack on the parliament; was an act of honour for him. According to an earlier letter he wrote in 2008; that surfaced after his hanging, he took strong exception to hizbul mujahidin chief Salahuddin's remark of describing these attacks as a 'conspiracy'(of India). " We should never feel ashamed of December 13", Guru maintained.
Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism is Robert Pape's analysis of suicide terrorism from a strategic, social, and psychological point of view. The book first published in 2005 has some good pointers although I do not agree with his hypothesis that suicide bombers are only after a secular and strategic goal. In my opinion it is rarely the case specially in the current context where radical salafist Islam is the DNA of worldwide terrorism. In fact the word 'secular' itself is anathema to them. Author tries to prove his point by talking about now extinct LTTE and Khalistan movement. However it is well documented that even in those cases the terrorism was not " secular". Battlelines were drawn across a religious divide and blind faith provided the impetus and rationale for their terrorism as well. Pape's ideas however are not the point of debate here.
The main question remains as to what should be done with a terrorist? Where are we going wrong in managing this menace? The first big mistake we make is hiding the origin and inspiration for terrorism. For the sake of being politically correct or at the altar of political expediency we keep on telling and repeating the lie that terrorism has no religion! It actually has and unless we stop lying to ourselves , we can not even begin to find a counter. Secondly we must stop treating the terrorist as a common criminal and terrorism as a law and order problem. Terrorist is not a common criminal and hence the current laws, rules , judicial processes and punishments meant to control crime are inadequate to deal with it.
Deterrence comprises of denying the opposition their strategic goals and highlighting the futility of their methodology. Sadly we have failed in producing even a namesake deterrent so far. Most governments are still diffident and unsure about taking the terror head on but none is worse than the Indian establishment. There was no rationale for hanging Guru at this time after they kept him alive for 12 years! Except to derive a very narrow political mileage against political opponents. Even a right thing done for entirely wrong reasons loses its validity. It was not even deterrence either. Remember the terrorists are brainwashed to seek death and by providing it the government only provided fodder and impetus to the myths fueling terrorism. It also unwittingly provided help in getting the most mileage that a terrorist and their support organizations could get out of this episode. As later events are proving, they have lost no time is cashing on it. Why in the world would any terrorist be deterred by a hanging. This gives them the "religious martyr" ( Gazi) status they are seeking in the first place. Terrorism is successful for them . Hanging Guru will do nothing to stop future attacks and I am not even so sure about any political benefit accruing to the party in power. If anything, death of their choice should be denied the terrorist. This will defeat one of their main strategic goal. Sadly we do not even want to understand the kind of beast we are dealing with. Problem really begins with us lying to ourselves that terrorism has no religion. Talk about infinite stupidity!!
Light travels at a speed of 186,000 miles / second; by inference darkness which is an absence of light also travels at the same speed. It is our choice if we let light recede or ensure that the darkness is mitigated. The way forward has some milestones we must pass. Firstly we must evolve a national consensus about terrorism. Politicking with this issue is doing incalculable harm . Outlandish claims of existence of Hindu terrorism takes the focus away from the job that needs done. If there is evidence of it, government must act immediately and nip it in the bud . Otherwise it is counter productive at best to spin yarns for the sake of votes. Actually it is no less than treason; because if it is a lie you are plying with national security; and if it is true you are failing your duty to guard national security!
Also we must deny ground to the terrorist. Understand that a foreign terrorist just can not operate without local help. Shut that help down and we'll see the number of terror incidences nosediving as if by magic - instantly! We must set our own house in order before blaming this or that country. It is just a lot of hot air and empty rhetoric anyway. It will never get us any results. Pakistan will continue with the same policy as before , no matter what. Fact is that they also have no choice, but that is quite another discussion. As for us , we can not afford to wait for terrorists to strike anymore. Assume the worst because they will do so again and soon. We are already at war so we have to act proactively and use full force at our command to smash home grown modules before they have acted or provided succor to the inimical alien forces. This will mean taking some tough decisions.
Effective local intelligence gathering and taking swift forceful action based on the information must be our watch words. Hit them and hit them hard. Learn from the drone strikes USA is making in Pakistan. Their principle is to take the war to the enemy. We must act on the same principle and take the war to the terrorist in their lairs spread all over India. It is not the time to be coy or spare the rod. Forget fanciful ideas like "human touch'; it is just another word for " let the terrorists regroup" . It does not stop terrorism entirely but it will act as a deterrent ; it will degrade their strategic objectives and it denies them a ground to operate. In the process if they get liquidated before they have had a chance to perpetrate an act, the event will pass without too many ripples. If they get caught, they must either be dealt with swiftly or locked up quietly and remotely ; without allowing them any leverage or concessions. What was done in the case of Guru is a prime example of how a terrorist should not be dealt with.
We must learn the ropes quickly as time is running out fast. We can not control entirely whatever is happening in Afghanistan or how USA or Pakistan will behave. Neither can we dictate what secret pacts will they ink with each other or with Taliban. All we can control is how we modify and apply our own security policies within our own country. We need to be proactive not reactive. Post 2014 the challenges are going to increase exponentially and this kind of dilly dallying, self serving and knee jerk reactions will certainly lead to a security crisis of catastrophic proportions. There is no other choice but to act now. Remember that the darkness will move in with the speed of light.
The main question remains as to what should be done with a terrorist? Where are we going wrong in managing this menace? The first big mistake we make is hiding the origin and inspiration for terrorism. For the sake of being politically correct or at the altar of political expediency we keep on telling and repeating the lie that terrorism has no religion! It actually has and unless we stop lying to ourselves , we can not even begin to find a counter. Secondly we must stop treating the terrorist as a common criminal and terrorism as a law and order problem. Terrorist is not a common criminal and hence the current laws, rules , judicial processes and punishments meant to control crime are inadequate to deal with it.
Deterrence comprises of denying the opposition their strategic goals and highlighting the futility of their methodology. Sadly we have failed in producing even a namesake deterrent so far. Most governments are still diffident and unsure about taking the terror head on but none is worse than the Indian establishment. There was no rationale for hanging Guru at this time after they kept him alive for 12 years! Except to derive a very narrow political mileage against political opponents. Even a right thing done for entirely wrong reasons loses its validity. It was not even deterrence either. Remember the terrorists are brainwashed to seek death and by providing it the government only provided fodder and impetus to the myths fueling terrorism. It also unwittingly provided help in getting the most mileage that a terrorist and their support organizations could get out of this episode. As later events are proving, they have lost no time is cashing on it. Why in the world would any terrorist be deterred by a hanging. This gives them the "religious martyr" ( Gazi) status they are seeking in the first place. Terrorism is successful for them . Hanging Guru will do nothing to stop future attacks and I am not even so sure about any political benefit accruing to the party in power. If anything, death of their choice should be denied the terrorist. This will defeat one of their main strategic goal. Sadly we do not even want to understand the kind of beast we are dealing with. Problem really begins with us lying to ourselves that terrorism has no religion. Talk about infinite stupidity!!
Light travels at a speed of 186,000 miles / second; by inference darkness which is an absence of light also travels at the same speed. It is our choice if we let light recede or ensure that the darkness is mitigated. The way forward has some milestones we must pass. Firstly we must evolve a national consensus about terrorism. Politicking with this issue is doing incalculable harm . Outlandish claims of existence of Hindu terrorism takes the focus away from the job that needs done. If there is evidence of it, government must act immediately and nip it in the bud . Otherwise it is counter productive at best to spin yarns for the sake of votes. Actually it is no less than treason; because if it is a lie you are plying with national security; and if it is true you are failing your duty to guard national security!
Also we must deny ground to the terrorist. Understand that a foreign terrorist just can not operate without local help. Shut that help down and we'll see the number of terror incidences nosediving as if by magic - instantly! We must set our own house in order before blaming this or that country. It is just a lot of hot air and empty rhetoric anyway. It will never get us any results. Pakistan will continue with the same policy as before , no matter what. Fact is that they also have no choice, but that is quite another discussion. As for us , we can not afford to wait for terrorists to strike anymore. Assume the worst because they will do so again and soon. We are already at war so we have to act proactively and use full force at our command to smash home grown modules before they have acted or provided succor to the inimical alien forces. This will mean taking some tough decisions.
Effective local intelligence gathering and taking swift forceful action based on the information must be our watch words. Hit them and hit them hard. Learn from the drone strikes USA is making in Pakistan. Their principle is to take the war to the enemy. We must act on the same principle and take the war to the terrorist in their lairs spread all over India. It is not the time to be coy or spare the rod. Forget fanciful ideas like "human touch'; it is just another word for " let the terrorists regroup" . It does not stop terrorism entirely but it will act as a deterrent ; it will degrade their strategic objectives and it denies them a ground to operate. In the process if they get liquidated before they have had a chance to perpetrate an act, the event will pass without too many ripples. If they get caught, they must either be dealt with swiftly or locked up quietly and remotely ; without allowing them any leverage or concessions. What was done in the case of Guru is a prime example of how a terrorist should not be dealt with.
We must learn the ropes quickly as time is running out fast. We can not control entirely whatever is happening in Afghanistan or how USA or Pakistan will behave. Neither can we dictate what secret pacts will they ink with each other or with Taliban. All we can control is how we modify and apply our own security policies within our own country. We need to be proactive not reactive. Post 2014 the challenges are going to increase exponentially and this kind of dilly dallying, self serving and knee jerk reactions will certainly lead to a security crisis of catastrophic proportions. There is no other choice but to act now. Remember that the darkness will move in with the speed of light.
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