... If the Varanasi blasts were a consequence of the UPA’s ‘minority appeasement’, then how does one explain the shadow of terror that tailed India during the NDA regime — from Kandahar to the Parliament attack? If the blasts were a result of this government being ‘soft on terror’, then how does one explain that there is no empirical difference in the level of violence today as compared to last year? And has a shrill BJP forgotten that Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s lasting legacy is the creation of a peace process with Pakistan and a peace initiative with Kashmiri separatists?
From this op-ed in the Hindustan Times [via Uma].
3 Comments:
Though this comment of mine is not relevant to what Barka dutt has written,i feel like conveying it as we continue to loose human lives to terrorism.Anyone who is aware of the counter-terrorism efforts of Israel knows well the toughness with which they handle militants and terror cells.When they sense any terror threat or if they face any suicide bombings,within no time they identity the culprits and just erase/bulldoze them.Any militant who roams around is sure to get striked and killed by targeted missile attack.Though our Indian society and problems are different from that of Israel,it is high time our govt should adopt such bold measures to curb the terror and their support groups.We really need to send a strong message to sick minds of militants by taking cues from the israeli intelligence and military operations.
Strong sentiments, Rama. I am sure everyone, including me, would agree with your principle that terrorists must receive harsh punishment. IMHO, it's good to keep two things in mind, before we go about operationalizing that principle:
a. Countries such as Israel that have taken a hard line on terror seem to continue to face terror attacks. Perhaps the way they go about it is not all that great.
b. When police and other security forces are given draconian powers, they tend to use them indiscriminately (TADA and POTA come to mind immediately). There will be a lot of 'collateral damage', with innocent people getting 'punished harshly'. How many such cases of collateral damage are we, as a nation, willing to live with? I would say 'NONE'.
Thanks, Abi.I am in line with your views.Being a pluralistic society,things have to handled with care in India.All I mean to say is that the Indian government should not make concessions or alters its policies under pressure.It should remain steadfast and bring the terrorists to justice without any delay.
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