Trouble on the home front

Ajay Banerjee

2014 has been watershed year, in many ways. Occurrences like the emergence of the gun-toting radicalised boys leading the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS); the fresh vigour of anti-India Pakistan-based terror groups like the Lashker-e-Toiba; the exit of US-led forces from Afghanistan and renewed activities of Naxals will keep New Delhi on the proverbial ‘tenterhooks’.
The recent gunfights at Uri and Nowgam between terrorists and the Army have revealed sophisticated levels of fighting abilities exhibited by terrorists, who were carrying war-like stores. There are reports of the ISI trying to revive militancy in Punjab. At the recent annual conference of the DGPs, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh hit the nail on its head: “Pakistan continues to take the alibi of “non-state actors” being involved in subversive activities in India… If non-state actors are involved in terrorist acts in India, then is ISI a non-state actor?”.
The threat from Naxals is such that almost one lakh troopers from the CRPF, BSF and ITBP are deployed, yet the Naxals have their own ‘free zones’ where the writ of the Government of India does not run and can take years before forces ‘liberate’ these swathes of lands. The integrated action plan — of building security infrastructure and simultaneously rolling out social sector schemes — is  coordinated by the Planning Commission, which itself is being revamped. The Home Ministry is looking to change the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for forces in the Naxal areas and infuse new AK-47 rifles to replace the dated INSAS rifles. The Naxals have been targeting IAF’s Mi-17-V5 helicopters, a very sturdy copter, deployed only for relief and rescue.
Actions taken now on the security front will decide how India deals with terror exported by other countries, tackles Naxals, who pose a threat from within besides facing emerging threats from Al-Qaida and the ISIS.
To start with the Narendra Modi-led NDA government needs to recalibrate its stance on having an National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) — a pan-India over-arching anti-terror body. The BJP was critical of it in 2012 and forced the UPA government to hold it back while Home Minister P Chidambaram had warned the country will have to “pay a price”. The National Security Adviser, Ajit K. Doval, an expert in counter terrorism, needs to intervene and remind the BJP that the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government (1998-2004) had accepted the idea of NCTC in 2001 on the basis of a report of group of ministers. India, specifically Kashmir,  will be worst affected, terrorists are expected to meander towards Kashmir, exactly like it happened  in 1989  when the Soviet forces exited Afghanistan. Lastly, each day the threat of communalism raises its head and is turning into hydra-headed monster that threatened the special multi-hued fabric of the country.