Yet another blast, yet another statistic of the dead and the injured. The same routine shamelessly repeated, Rahul Gandhi visiting the hospital to meet the injured; as if that is exactly what they need right now, the government announcing muavza, the PM making another unconvincing pledge to deal with terrorism.
The fact that the Delhi High Court was bombed in May at almost the exact spot has not occurred to our politicians. We got lucky that time, this time 10 people (and counting) have paid for our government's lethargy. We never seem to learn or even want to learn from past incidents and mistakes. No cameras were installed since the May blast, the home minister has stated in parliament that intelligence was shared with Delhi Police, yet things like these happen with alarmingly high frequency. Government apathy has achieved such levels whereby the people of this country are suffering in every aspect of their lives. This is exactly why the bombers could visit the same spot again and give it another try. And they will continue to succeed if real, tangible changes are not made to the security infrastructure in this country.
The way we deal with security issues is excruciatingly slow and outdated, we are content with a system that was effective dealing with domestic disturbances decades ago. Thuggish looking fellows in khaki uniforms holding lathis is not going to stop technologically savvy, determined terrorists. We have for long used our forces as a deterrent rather than an effective way of seeking out and stopping such terror attacks. Our agencies have for long been content with setting up pickets and posting cops around important locations. We shun technology like plague, in fact we do not even possess the necessary skills to work with any technical equipment. Just days after the Diwali blasts in Delhi, most metal detectors were not working, not to mention the fact that these would not be able to detect the improvised technologies that have been utilized to prepare modern bombs. CCTVs installed around various locations in Delhi either do not work or are not monitored. In a recent study more than 40% of cameras at the international airport were not even operational! (read here).
At the risk of sounding repetitive and perennially cynical, our security agencies are mainly ineffective because of the corruption and lack of professionalism of our politicians. Their overriding selfishness and general lack of knowledge and will to govern has only added to the dangers we face as a country. One has to only look at the number of cops that are employed to guard our politicians to understand the reasons behind our inability to deal with terror. Today most of our private offices and establishments are guarded by private security firms. There is clearly no lack of manpower in this country, yet we find it difficult to build a police force which can be effective. Like everything else in this country (airports, roads, other infrastructure, power generation, education, hospitals) the government is content leaving essential duties to the private sector. They cannot and should not be allowed to wash their hands of off our security needs.
Post the 26/11 attacks there have been numerous reports of delays in procuring necessary equipment for our forces. Where any acquisitions have been made they lie unused and rot away for lack of skills and manpower. Such lethargy in dealing with issues like national security has subjected the people of this country to frequent senseless killings. Being a large country with a population of a billion further adds to the ignorant attitude of our governments. Terror attacks have become a way of life, we all just wait to hear about the next one and move on.
Making the right noises is not doing enough, strict implementable actions need to be taken. Our govt. machinery needs to wake the fuck up and start protecting the people. While politicians move around in armored vehicles with a security cover payed for by OUR taxes, ordinary people are being killed in the streets. In a country where living in itself is such a painful process, living without fear of being killed should at least be guaranteed by the governments we elect.
The fact that the Delhi High Court was bombed in May at almost the exact spot has not occurred to our politicians. We got lucky that time, this time 10 people (and counting) have paid for our government's lethargy. We never seem to learn or even want to learn from past incidents and mistakes. No cameras were installed since the May blast, the home minister has stated in parliament that intelligence was shared with Delhi Police, yet things like these happen with alarmingly high frequency. Government apathy has achieved such levels whereby the people of this country are suffering in every aspect of their lives. This is exactly why the bombers could visit the same spot again and give it another try. And they will continue to succeed if real, tangible changes are not made to the security infrastructure in this country.
The way we deal with security issues is excruciatingly slow and outdated, we are content with a system that was effective dealing with domestic disturbances decades ago. Thuggish looking fellows in khaki uniforms holding lathis is not going to stop technologically savvy, determined terrorists. We have for long used our forces as a deterrent rather than an effective way of seeking out and stopping such terror attacks. Our agencies have for long been content with setting up pickets and posting cops around important locations. We shun technology like plague, in fact we do not even possess the necessary skills to work with any technical equipment. Just days after the Diwali blasts in Delhi, most metal detectors were not working, not to mention the fact that these would not be able to detect the improvised technologies that have been utilized to prepare modern bombs. CCTVs installed around various locations in Delhi either do not work or are not monitored. In a recent study more than 40% of cameras at the international airport were not even operational! (read here).
At the risk of sounding repetitive and perennially cynical, our security agencies are mainly ineffective because of the corruption and lack of professionalism of our politicians. Their overriding selfishness and general lack of knowledge and will to govern has only added to the dangers we face as a country. One has to only look at the number of cops that are employed to guard our politicians to understand the reasons behind our inability to deal with terror. Today most of our private offices and establishments are guarded by private security firms. There is clearly no lack of manpower in this country, yet we find it difficult to build a police force which can be effective. Like everything else in this country (airports, roads, other infrastructure, power generation, education, hospitals) the government is content leaving essential duties to the private sector. They cannot and should not be allowed to wash their hands of off our security needs.
Post the 26/11 attacks there have been numerous reports of delays in procuring necessary equipment for our forces. Where any acquisitions have been made they lie unused and rot away for lack of skills and manpower. Such lethargy in dealing with issues like national security has subjected the people of this country to frequent senseless killings. Being a large country with a population of a billion further adds to the ignorant attitude of our governments. Terror attacks have become a way of life, we all just wait to hear about the next one and move on.
Making the right noises is not doing enough, strict implementable actions need to be taken. Our govt. machinery needs to wake the fuck up and start protecting the people. While politicians move around in armored vehicles with a security cover payed for by OUR taxes, ordinary people are being killed in the streets. In a country where living in itself is such a painful process, living without fear of being killed should at least be guaranteed by the governments we elect.
:(
ReplyDeletei wud like to point out a minor correction. cctv r used . to send arbitrary traffic challans such as ' stopped on stop line'
thats all ...... same way, u ll see traffic police hidden 500 mts after a red light. they want ppl to jump the traffic signal and then collect money from them.
methinks analogous philosophy is followed for terrorists ....
Aparna