Terrorist Attacks in India: Some Initial Reactions

The terrorist attacks in India have shocked the nation, and the world. I want to express my deepest sympathy and heartfelt condolences for the victims of these attacks and their families. The Indian security forces have displayed immense courage and fearlessness in rescuing hostages, including many foreign citizens, and securing all the buildings and landmarks that were attacked. As the encounters between the Indian security forces and the terrorists continue, we hope and pray that any further loss of innocent life is prevented.

Despite the heroic efforts of the forces, the terrorist act has raised serious doubts about India's intelligence and security apparatus. Indians have responded with an outpour of anger and outrage at this brazen attack, but they have also started to pose tough questions about the ability of the government to protect its citizens, and others residing in the country. The fact that this time around the terrorists specifically sought out and targeted British and American citizens points to the fact that terror attacks in India are no longer meant to hurt only Indians, but also to advance the cause of global jihadi movements.

Of course, the terrorist attacks will hurt India's economy. Already, the rupee has dropped in value, the stock market has crashed. Foreign businessmen have died in the attacks. Investment will invariably suffer. If not delayed, many business trips will be cancelled.

But more importantly, as Vir Sanghvi, editor of a major Indian newspaper, put it: "this long drawn-out crisis is far worse in the damage it has done to the Indian psyche. The inability of the authorities to bring the situation under control in a few hours has worried and frightened Indians. With each hour that the crisis continued, we felt vulnerable, impotent and humiliated. It was as though we had lost control of our destiny. And we would never feel safe again." Sanghvi, in his article, further asserted that this, more so than other attacks in India, was India's 9/11, and hoped that it would forever change the way we respond to terrorist attacks in the future.

The Indian Prime Minister, in his address to the nation, identified some key steps as part of India's response: setting up of a federal investigation agency to identify the perpetrators, use of the National Security Act, tightening of existing laws to punish the guilty, and pressurizing neighboring countries from allowing their territories from being used as bases for preparation and launch of such attacks.

But the problems lie much deeper. India's intelligence system has failed to deliver, and needs to be immediately overhauled. Preparation for an attack of this scale should not have gone unnoticed. Setting up of a federal intelligence agency has been a topic of debate for sometime now. Until that issue is settled, as a former national security advisor pointed out, India needs greater coordination between its Intelligence Bureau and state intelligence agencies. India needs better intelligence and surveillance systems -- better technology, more intelligence agents, greater emphasis on the requisite training for our intelligence analysts. Human intelligence is critical in a country like India where terrorists can easily hide in the masses. A taskforce should be set up to identify key reforms needed, incorporating best practices from other countries.

The unpreparedness of the security forces to respond swiftly has been glaring as well. As a CNN reporter, who witnessed the attacks in the Taj Mahal Hotel, pointed out, the initial response to the attacks left a lot to be desired. Sure enough, National Security Guards, and the Indian army were brought in later, but an immediate and efficient response can often make the difference between life and death. Greater training of police forces to deal with such attacks, coordination among the police, intelligence and army officials, provision of better equipment and arms, among other measures, are critical. Frequent drills should test the emergency preparedness of the security forces in all major towns and cities across the country.

Third, political will and leadership is needed to combat this threat. The Indian government has come under severe criticism for the lack of a well-thought out and executed strategy against terrorism. Surprisingly, political consensus on counter-terrorism strategy has been hard to reach in India; such issues should no longer be allowed to be used as tools to win votes, or please religious constituencies.

Counter-terrorism policy, as a whole, urgently needs rethinking in India. Condemnation of acts is no longer enough. These terrorists are brilliant strategists and executors; the Indian government needs to outwit and outplay them at this. PM Singh needs to tap the expertise of the counter-terrorist experts, locally and globally. Of course, intelligence and security systems are not sufficient, as the experiences of other countries with more sophisticated systems have shown. Counter-terrorism laws need to be revisited. This needs to be taken seriously. Loss of innocent life is not merely to be condemned, it needs to be pro-actively prevented.