Red Fort blast — some questions, lessons

IT has been quite a while since the car blast took place in New Delhi. Enough time has passed and the investigation has picked up pace and direction. Enough time for various theories to be expounded and revelations made. The blast near the gates of the Lal Qila was shocking and its audacity was bone-chilling.

What comes to mind straightaway is that the plans were long in the making; indoctrination of professionals (mostly doctors) had taken place, and this takes time. Material was collected for making high-level explosives, skilled training given in bomb-making from readily available chemicals (it is not as simple as shown in the movies, rather a highly skilled task). Targets were selected, recces carried out and all other strands of a web brought together for a major simultaneous strike across regions.

What comes across is that this time our police and intelligence agencies were completely blindsided and could not spot the design and activities of a very dangerous enemy organisation. It was only the humongous recovery of ammonium nitrate (by the J&K police) that gradually led to the unravelling of a complex and vast network of terrorists and their nefarious plans to cause mayhem in Delhi and other places.

These terrorists, it appears, were working in coordination with handlers in Turkey and Pakistan. The hub of activity appears to have been the Al Falah Medical College in Faridabad, and the point of origin is allegedly Kashmir. For some reasons, people in authority keep claiming the extinction of local terrorists from J&K. Obviously, they have been caught flat-footed and every day there are new revelations and fresh detentions and arrests in J&K, Haryana, UP, etc. Perceptibly, the interrogation of those picked up is the basis of these detentions and recoveries.

What worries me is that from conception to indoctrination, purchase of material, selection of targets and deployment of men and material, it is a complex time-consuming task which had to be done in secrecy. Most of the tasks were complete and the final stage was near, and we missed the whole song and dance… we got lucky. However, it must be noted that the initial breakthrough came from the J&K police who located the huge dump at Faridabad. This is what good policing is all about.

The obvious next question which comes up is: how many such cells are still out there? What is their composition and what are their likely targets? Who are the ultimate perpetrators of these operations? Hopefully, these questions should be keeping the officers and organisations concerned in our country working round the clock, because the alternative is too painful to comprehend. Today, as the situation is even more fluid, more such action can be anticipated. We have not only to look out for our inbred terrorist, but also watch our neighbours.

The Pakistanis have always been active, and with seeming American support they appear to have their tails up; we must remember that they have always had overground and underground networks in J&K and some other states also. Newspapers are full of reports of recoveries being made in states of north India. Add to this the new animosity of Bangladesh and our very vulnerable and porous border with it… the problem multiplies exponentially. We now must keep our guard up in the Northeast as well.

The new and surprising factor which has come up in the media is that of Turkey. It has been a supporter of Pakistan over J&K, but this is the first time it has been alleged that terrorists went to Turkey to meet their handlers… this needs to be watched carefully.

I have deliberately avoided talking about the Chinese factor for it is there and as inscrutable and mysterious as ever, but definitely not favourable to us. So, all in all, the investigation has been giving good results so far and a vast network has been exposed. We have escaped a major tragedy by the timely recovery from Faridabad. However, we must do in-house plain speaking and accept our shortcomings. This can only come about through intervention at the highest political and professional levels. There is nothing more important than the security of the state and no better instrument to secure it than timely and outstanding policing and intelligence.

A complex and vast nation such as ours will always face challenges both from within and outside. These challenges have to be met from a position of strength both diplomatically and militarily, for the best victories are those that require no battle. Sun Tzu said: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” The heart of this strength is the policing at the police station level and intelligence we can gather i.e. actionable intelligence.

Internally, we must strengthen our vast network of police stations as they form the core of our security network. We have seen it in Punjab and J&K that the best response to terrorism is an active and motivated police force, for they are the sons of the soil and familiar with ground-level activities and activists. The need is to motivate them and not denigrate them — this is what good leadership is all about.

Even if there are foreign mercenaries, they are easily noticed by the local populace and the police who are familiar with the terrain and the people. This requires both police and political leadership as well as coordination. The needs of national security are paramount, and these needs should enable all parties to evolve a national consensus on how to face the situation.