Sitting ducks for jihadis
We need a leadership that has the courage to take on terrorists shunning the pernicious policy of appeasement,
says Anuradha Dutt

Indians who hoped that their Government would give a fitting reply to the latest brutal acts of terrorism in Mumbai and Jammu & Kashmir to their perpetrators may now be anticipating much worse. For, there has been the usual weak-kneed response, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meekly proclaiming that fighting terrorism would be a long haul, and that the ongoing dialogue with Pakistan would not be disrupted.

Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil should be removed as he has abjectly failed to bolster internal security in the wake of the attacks in Delhi, Ayodhya and Varanasi, notably. The ruling coalition would be well advised not to wait for a bigger disaster before acknowledging its lapses, and acting fast to rectify them.

Reviving POTA, repealed by the UPA, should top the agenda. Equally important is the need to clamp down on suspicious organisations such as the Students' Islamic Movement of India and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, charged with complicity in acts of terror. What is urgently required is a powerful anti-sedition and terrorism plan, uninfluenced by vote-bank compulsions, that attach a higher premium to Muslim votes than national security.

Towards the ends, Uttar Pradesh's ruling Samajwadi Party, a UPA component, should be stopped from bailing out Islamist militants and bodies by pleading their innocence. The State Government's move to get the State SIMI chief exonerated of all criminal charges, pending against him since 2001, is anti-national.

As a first step, the Centre needs to put its own house in order by inducing the Samajwadi Party to delink itself from SIMI and other seditious bodies. So long as some of the coalition's members are not above suspicion, the people will doubts its sincerity. As it is, the events of the last few months have fuelled the perception that the nation is not in safe hands. The Prime Minister, in particular, has drawn flak for his meek demeanour.

A huge country, afflicted by secessionist violence, requires dynamic leadership. This is clearly lacking. Mr Singh's claiming credit for the G-8 nations' statement against the Mumbai blasts and terrorism does not ameliorate the situation at home. If anything, the US's defence of Pakistan in the present instance is a slap on the face. US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher has demanded proof from India of Pakistan's involvement. Mr Singh's observation that we should "reflect on our ties with Pakistan" generates acute anger since the grave provocation demands that India go on the offensive.

In this case, trying to break bread with an intractable enemy is a self-defeating exercise. For, Pakistan will neither cease abetting terrorism nor give up its claim to Kashmir. This reality must be publicly acknowledged, and a suitable counter-strategy evolved. Continued attempts at dialogue and negotiations either means that we are prepared to face the raw end of the stick, or open to a mediated solution, that compromises on India's interests.

Giving up even a part of Kashmir or granting the State autonomy would trigger a concerted onslaught by foes, whose aim is nothing less than balkanisation. It is futile for the Government to look towards the US for a cue to act, since that country, holding its own interests in South Asia uppermost, will continue to prop up Pakistan as a useful stooge.

The impending nuclear treaty with the US, currently being touted as the UPA's great achievement, serves no purpose if we continue to be sitting ducks for jihadis, all armed to the teeth. Blood must draw blood, and an eye for an eye. The time for prevarication is now past.