Fight with terrorists is also a mind game
Source: DNA
Another demented terror attack, another demented justification. The Indian Mujahideen (IM), which has claimed authorship of the latest bomb blast at Varanasi’s Dashashwamedh Ghat on the banks of the Ganga, chooses its targets well. Defenceless people are the preferred targets of this cowardly group, which has mentioned its usual litany of gripes — Babri Masjid, post-Godhra anti-Muslim riots — for indulging in this sick enterprise.
Though ostensibly targeted at the majority community, the email that coincided with the blast does more damage to Islam, since it quotes profusely from the holy book to justify its dastardly acts.
It is not necessary to analyse the motives and ideology behind the terror attacks by the IM or other terror groups.
What we need to do is to focus on gathering better intelligence and preventing such highly motivated groups from striking at will. This means seeking the cooperation of the minority community and conducting investigations that are fair and thorough.
In the past, this has not been the case, and random members of the community were picked up and harassed at the merest hint of suspicion. Trust cannot be built overnight. But this is the only thing that will work. A trigger-happy police force and a disgruntled minority community make for an unhealthy combo while fighting terror.
The arrest of some IM members in the past does not appear to have helped the investigating agencies to get to the roots of the organisation. The Varanasi blast exemplifies this. If the IM had not sent the purported e-mail, we would have been clueless about who had done it. But this raises the possibility that the IM is either a very tiny outfit or that new groups are using the label to create mayhem.
As a matter of fact, it may be best to treat the IM email not as proof of the organisation’s existence, but merely as a clue to the crime.
It is also not sufficient to say that IM has links with Pakistan-based terror organisations like Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
There is no need to doubt the role of LeT and JeM in terror attacks in the country, but it still does not lead us anywhere. The IM, even by police accounts, is a home-grown terror organisation.
There is a need to counter it not only by outgunning it, but by making serious efforts to wean its potential recruits away. The war against terror is ultimately a hearts and minds game, and the police just do not seem to understand this.
Another demented terror attack, another demented justification. The Indian Mujahideen (IM), which has claimed authorship of the latest bomb blast at Varanasi’s Dashashwamedh Ghat on the banks of the Ganga, chooses its targets well. Defenceless people are the preferred targets of this cowardly group, which has mentioned its usual litany of gripes — Babri Masjid, post-Godhra anti-Muslim riots — for indulging in this sick enterprise.
Though ostensibly targeted at the majority community, the email that coincided with the blast does more damage to Islam, since it quotes profusely from the holy book to justify its dastardly acts.
It is not necessary to analyse the motives and ideology behind the terror attacks by the IM or other terror groups.
What we need to do is to focus on gathering better intelligence and preventing such highly motivated groups from striking at will. This means seeking the cooperation of the minority community and conducting investigations that are fair and thorough.
In the past, this has not been the case, and random members of the community were picked up and harassed at the merest hint of suspicion. Trust cannot be built overnight. But this is the only thing that will work. A trigger-happy police force and a disgruntled minority community make for an unhealthy combo while fighting terror.
The arrest of some IM members in the past does not appear to have helped the investigating agencies to get to the roots of the organisation. The Varanasi blast exemplifies this. If the IM had not sent the purported e-mail, we would have been clueless about who had done it. But this raises the possibility that the IM is either a very tiny outfit or that new groups are using the label to create mayhem.
As a matter of fact, it may be best to treat the IM email not as proof of the organisation’s existence, but merely as a clue to the crime.
It is also not sufficient to say that IM has links with Pakistan-based terror organisations like Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
There is no need to doubt the role of LeT and JeM in terror attacks in the country, but it still does not lead us anywhere. The IM, even by police accounts, is a home-grown terror organisation.
There is a need to counter it not only by outgunning it, but by making serious efforts to wean its potential recruits away. The war against terror is ultimately a hearts and minds game, and the police just do not seem to understand this.
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