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VIEWPOINT: POLITICALLY CORRECT
War Begins At Home
India should not allow the opportunity to liquidate
terrorism slip by.
By P. Chidambaram
Three
Indian leaders, held in high esteem by the people of India, fell victim
to the forces of terror in the 20th century. Coincidentally, they shared
the name Gandhi. As we begin the 21st century, we would do well to remember
our recent history.
In the 1980s, there was a very real threat of
secession in Punjab, thanks to the campaign mounted by terrorists. Hundreds
of jawans belonging to the security forces-and thousands of civilians-were
killed before terrorism in Punjab was finally stamped out in the early
1990s.
For over 20 years, the north-eastern states
have been ravaged by insurgency and thousands of lives have been lost.
That part of India has still not seen peace or development.
 Naxalites
of various shades continue to operate and kill in many parts of the country.
The most brutal groups have carved out virtual dominions in parts of Bihar,
Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
When militancy was dying in Punjab, it raised
its head in Kashmir. With the active support of Pakistan, terrorism continues
to exact a heavy toll of lives in Jammu and Kashmir. The last few years
have thrown up a new dimensional description of terror: cross-border terrorism.
To the north and south of India, there are two
of the bitterest theatres of conflict. In the south, there is Sri Lanka.
The violent struggle in that island-country had its reverberations in
India for many years and finally claimed the life of Rajiv Gandhi. In
the north, there are Pakistan and Afghanistan, believed to be the most
fertile soil in the world for religious terrorism.
In the 1980s, Parliament first framed the Terrorist
and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA). This was replaced by
a much-strengthened TADA, in the drafting of which I had a major role.
Several novel features-some called them obnoxious-were grafted into that
law. One of them was a provision regarding the admissibility of a confession
made to a police officer subject to certain rigorous safeguards. This
kicked up a controversy. The Supreme Court, however, upheld the law, including
the provision regarding admissibility of a confession. In normal circumstances,
TADA would not have passed muster, but the 1980s were anything but normal
years. The new TADA made a big difference in the war against terror in
Punjab. There were some human-rights violations but, on balance, I am
of the view that without TADA terrorism could not have been suppressed
in Punjab. Two of our most distinguished police officers, Julio Ribeiro
and K.P.S. Gill, will endorse this conclusion.
Why do I write at length on the well-known history
of terrorism in India? Because I am shocked by the casuistry that has
marked the ongoing debate on the war on terror. The sources of cross-border
terrorism that has affected India are in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Here
is an opportunity to liquidate those sources. The bloody trail left behind
in Mumbai by Dawood Ibrahim and the Memon clan is still fresh in our memory.
These men are believed to be in Pakistan. Here is an opportunity to smoke
them out of their hideouts, freeze their world-wide assets, wreck their
supply chains and put an end to their drug-smuggling, gun-running, kidnapping
and extortion. Pakistan sits on a high horse of support to "freedom
fighters" and exports naked terror to India. Here is an opportunity
to dislodge Pakistan from its pedestal and force that country to disband
the recruitment and training camps. Yet, as only Indians can do, we are
letting these opportunities slip through our hands, while we debate endlessly
the right of the US to apprehend Osama bin Laden, dead or alive.
Most arguments against an international alliance
for a war against terrorism are pure humbug. It is not a coincidence that
the antagonists are also those who are against liberalisation, against
technology, against international capital flows and against foreign cultural
influences.
There is no gainsaying that caution and calibrated
action must be the watchwords in forging or joining an international alliance,
but such an alliance is an imperative. Political action-whatever that
may be-is no substitute for an international campaign against the merchants
of terror. If they can commandeer aircraft today, can they not acquire
biological or nuclear weapons tomorrow? In the war against terror, there
will indeed be some victims who are innocent people. But we should also
remember that almost every victim of terrorism-like those who died on
September 11-is an innocent person. Terrorism knows no boundaries or rules
of war. Hence, in the war against terror, there can be no boundaries or
nationalities. It is a war that must be waged in order to save civil society,
democracy and the freedoms we cherish and enjoy.
(The author
is a former Indian finance minister.)
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