Terrorism has spread across the Nation and is claiming hundreds of innocent lives with sickening regularity. Notwithstanding their differing ideologies, all terrorists, be they Pak inspired secessionists of J&K and Khalistanis of Punjab; ULFA extremists of Assam; LTTE of Tamil Nadu; and Left extremists of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, have one common aim of disrupting this great Democracy and wrecking the unity of the Nation.

Terrorists have acquired awesome fire power - Rocket launchers, machine guns, AK series of automatic weapons; expertise in the use of explosives - Land mines, IEDs and electronically primed remote control devices; a state of art communication system; and a well established grass-root level hideouts and logistic support. All these demand counter-terrorist operations be highly skillful and of higher level of sophistication. Judging by results, our Security Forces have a long way to go before eliminating this menace.

In this context, much was expected of the meeting held by the Union Home Minister with the Chief Ministers of Terrorist affected States on February 29, 1992 at New Delhi. The event almost went unnoticed by the public and Media - thanks to the choice of inappropriate date, when the Nation was preoccupied with the Union Budget. Judging by the meagre Press reports, the meeting only reiterated the well known position; intelligence systems should be strengthened and coordinated by the IB; States are responsible for Law and Order and the main thrust to fight terrorism should emanate from them; Central Police Forces are to be sparingly used and for specific duration and purposes; the Centre would welcome the cooperation from the States in raising India Reserve Bns; and listed reasons for the inability of the Centre to provide modern weapons to the States. None of these is new and all the attending Chief Ministers must be aware of these. No new light was thrown on the problem nor any fresh directions given.

The Nation has already lost valuable time and advantage in its war against Terrorism due to lack of clarity in our objectives and the policy of drift and adhocism. While terrorism is fawned by political discontent, the administration has a duty to fight the criminality inherent in the terrorist activities with all the might at its disposal. The ultimate cure may lie in Political processes but the protection of lives and property of people is the paramount duty of the State. It is high time we faced the problem squarely and agree on these basic issues.

1. Terrorism is not a law and order problem but one of National Security.
2. As safeguarding the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Nation is the basic duty of the Union of India, counter-terrorism is its main responsibility and not of the States.
3. Terrorism has to be fought unitedly by all political parties subscribing to democratic ideals and there could be no compromise on the use of violence to solve political issues.
4. Cooperation of federating units - the States and U.Ts. - should also be enlisted in fighting terrorism and towards this end, Union of India should extend financial assistance to the States and Uts to strengthen their Police Forces.
5. In view of its complexities, counter-terrorist operations are to be coordinated by the Union of India.

An ACTION PLAN to combat Terrorism consisting of : (a) Political initiative; (b) Improving the Quality of intelligence inputs; (c) upgrading the anti-terrorist capability of State Police Forces; (d) Creation of a Central Anti-Terrorist Force; and (e) Coordination of operations, should be implemented early.

Political Initiative : A National consensus should be developed on the strategy to combat terrorism cutting across Party lines. The message should go loud and clear to the Terrorists that all Political parties are united in defending the integrity of the Nation and abhor use of violence in solving political problems. While political demands are negotiable and the Terrorists are welcome to the discussion table, there would be no scope for discussions on fundamental ideals on which our Republic is founded. A National Movement to galvanise people to resist terrorism and support the counter-terrorist activities of the State should be launched by political parties.

Improving the Quality of Intelligence Inputs : Precise and pin-pointed operational intelligence is essential to achieve victory over the Terrorists. While the Central Intelligence agencies may be able to provide strategic intelligence, grass-root operational intelligence has to be generated only by local efforts. The State and District intelligence units are in great disarray and in need of massive doses of professional inputs to achieve the desired results. A well thought out time bound plan for upgrading the professional skills of local intelligence units is to be implemented by the central Government. This task could be assigned to the Intelligence Bureau. Simultaneously, a review has to be made of the intelligence set up of the Central Police Organisations and they should be restructured and reoriented to work in close cooperation with the IB. At present large volume of information available with the field units of Central Police Organisations and the States remain unutilised. Major organisations like CRPF do not even have their own intelligence units. These lacuane are to be rectified.

Upgrading the anti-terrorist capabilities of State Police Forces:

Police Forces in the States today are not geared to meet the challenges posed by terrorism. They are bereft of modern weapons, training and professional skills. Wherever attempts have been made to rectify these lacuane, as in the cases of Maharashtra, AP and Tamil Nadu, the results are already impressive. The basic requirements of State Police Forces are: Modern weapons - SLR 7.62; 9 mm carbines and pistols; Grenade launchers; LMGs, Mortars and in small qualities, MMG and Rocket Launchers. They need Bullet Proof vests, night vision devices and communication equipment. There are no facilities for anti-terrorist training in the States.

It is sad to read the reported comments of the Union Home Minister that there is a general shortage of weapons owing to the demands of the Army and limited production capacity. It was also mentioned that the States have not been able to lift the weapons and ammunition allotted to them. Given proper incentives and direction, Indian Ordnance Factories are capable of meeting the full demands of the State Police Forces. They are suffocating under unreasonable restrictions and are not able to operate on commercial lines. The procedure for the States to obtain Arms and Ammunition from the Ordnance Factories is archaic and cumbersome. Too many agencies and too much of paper work are involved. If the States are permitted to directly procure their requirements from Ordnance Factories as a commercial transaction, much of the hassles faced by them now would disappear. As an alternative, the Union Home Ministry should procure these from Ordnance factories and distribute them to the States. With the Army switching over to 5.56 mm rifles shortly, the entire range of 7.62 mm weapons would become surplus and superfluous. By proper management of available resources, it should be possible to provide the States with the needed weapons. Considerable stocks of weapons retired from Army service like 7.62 BA Rifles, 9 mm TMC, Mortars, 303 LMGs etc. remain unutilised. These could be put to productive use if these are supplied to the state Police Forces.

There are nearly two lakhs police personnel in the State Armed Police units and District Armed Reserves in this country. Their normal training consists of : Techniques for crowd control and mob dispersal; Anti-Dacoity operations; Guards and Escorts, etc. Majority of them are armed with Second World War Vintage .303 rifles. These personnel hardly fire 30 rounds of ammunition per head per year at the Firing ranges to hone their marksmanship. They seldom have any training on Field Craft and Tactics and anti-terrorist operations. The training infrastructure available in the States is below par. There are no instructors with the States to teach their personnel about modern generation weapons. No wonder that this ill trained and equipped force is not able to give a good account of itself against terrorists. There is an urgent need to open training centres in Counter-terrorism in each zone of the country and train the State Police personnel in counter-terrorist tactics and in handling of modern weapons and explosives. A mandatory twelve week Anti-terrorist course for every personnel of the State Armed Police Organisations will yield rich dividends and upgrade the professional skills of these personnel.

State Police Forces also need fast moving transport, better communication facilities and specialised counter-terrorist equipments.

Terrorism will stay with us for sometime to come. Our ad hoc measures have not so far produced the desired results. Therefore, a long range plan has to be worked out. None of the Para Military Forces except NSG are specially trained and equipped to meet the Terrorist challenge. In the recent years almost all Para Military organisations have been involved in Punjab and J&K. The creditable performance put up by the personnel of Para Military Forces is mainly due tot heir dedication, personal bravery and adaptation at great cost of human lives.

The only Central Police Organisation with the charter of maintenance of law and order is the Central Reserve Police Force, which is 129 Battalion strong. The entire CRPF is now being trained and equipped to function as an adjunct to the State Police forces in the maintenance of law and order. Thus, large man-power is presently not available for anti-terrorist operations. It is necessary to earmark 75 Battalions of CRPF to form the Anti-Terrorist Force of the Union of India. These Battalions are to be trained and equipped for Counter-terrorist work and should have the capability of quick movement and be self contained. If this is done, it will be possible to saturate an area/State with specially trained Counter-terrorist Forces and contain the activities of terrorists. This will not entail any additional expenditure except on weapons and equipment. This ATF will continue to remain part of CRPF.

Coordination of Operations : Sikh militants have now extended their activities to many States outside Punjab. Similarly Naxalites operate in many States outside Andhra Pradesh. To achieve maximum results, the on going operations in various States are to be coordinated from a central point. Neither the Union Home Ministry nor the IB have the expertise to oversee and coordinate operations. There is need to establish in the Union Home Ministry a professionally competent Directorate of Operations which should be responsible for planning and executing counter terrorist operations on an All India basis.

To provide the States with modern weapons, transport, communication and modern training facilities and to upgrade the counter terrorist capability of State Police Forces, an additional expenditure of the order of Rs.60 crores per year for the next 5 years would be needed. Since this expenditure is of an emergent nature and cannot be postponed for better times, nor the States will be able to meet this additional burden, it is necessary to raise additional resources from public borrowing. Govt. of India should issue ‘SURAKSHA BONDS’ bearing 9% Tax free interest and the principal repayable after 5 years. Given the present investment climate, it is expected that the public will subscribe to these bonds enthusiastically and the required funds could be raised without any difficulty.

Role of Media : Media has to realise its responsibilities in assisting the State in fighting terrorism. While freedom of expression and the basic right for information are to be valued and safeguarded, Media should not unwittingly provide the Terrorists free and undeserved publicity. Terrorism thrives on Publicity and once this is denied, it will die a natural death.

Human Rights activists : Human rights deserve to be protected and any violation is to be fought with vigour. But the principles of protection of civil liberties and human rights are to be applied to all. While taking up the cause of civil liberties and human rights, activists should avoid giving an impression that they are championing the cause of the terrorists and ignoring that of the victims. An even handed approach would yield the desires results.

Proactive actions : The State should follow the principle of ‘offence is the best defence’ policy in dealing with terrorists. Without ushering in State terrorism, all the tricks in the bag, including ‘pre-emptive strikes’ at terrorist bases and training centres are to be contemplated.

Terrorism cannot be wished away nor will it disappear on its own. It has to be met head on and annihilated with resoluteness, dedication and perseverance. The steps mentioned above are bound to produce expected results.