A year after ten gunmen held Mumbai hostage

Last year this time I was busy planning my first Thanksgiving when terror struck Mumbai once again. Earlier that year there was a chain of explosions across various cities, and I thought this was a continuation of the same. But it was much more than crude bombs planted in rickshaws and cycles. So instead of RSVPs, friends telephoned us to check if friends and family members back home were safe. Conversation during dinner was grim and CNN provided the background score. As we watched, some cursed, some weeped and everyone was outraged and ashamed.

The terror attacks at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), Leopold Café, Taj Hotel, Trident-Oberoi Hotel and Nariman House caught the world’s attention just as the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) had expected. They had come to Mumbai to kill and be noticed, and they succeeded. One of the gunmen, Ajmal Kasab, was caught alive and put on trial subsequently.

The population of Mumbai was horrified by the brazenness and the audacity of the attack. There was mourning, then anger, followed by candlelight protests and vigils. Over the next few days, Mumbai took a deep breath and got back to business as usual. Unfortunately so did the security apparatus.

Along with the LeT, the world also noticed India’s unpreparedness in protecting itself. The first response from the Mumbai police was slow and disastrous that led to the death of many top policemen. The people who should have organized a fitting fight seemed to have panicked and fallen into chaos. The special commando forces who are trained to handle such situations, were delayed for hours at end as the terrorists gunned down hundreds of innocent people. The policemen were inadequately armed, trained and protected. As later reports have shown telephone intercepts and prior intelligence were not used properly to end the attack sooner.

Now a year after the attacks, the Indian Prime Minister is visiting the US. Instead of a quick trial and capital punishment, Ajmal Kasab is still alive and courtroom formalities continue. A quicker sentence for Kasab could have provided the people of Mumbai a sense of justice and closure at a time when security preparedness doesn’t seem to be any better than a year ago. Cosmetic changes have been made, people transferred/demoted and new guns and equipment ordered. But the fundamental changes in attitudes of the security apparatus, the government, the media and the people promised by the uproar after the attacks are nowhere to be seen. The most glaring example being the general elections in the country and the State of Maharashtra (of which Mumbai is the capital city) this year. The very same people in power during the attacks were resoundingly reelected because of poor voter turnout. Political apathy, that seemed to have subsided in the days following the attacks, returned when the time came to vote. The issue of terrorism did not seem to come into play during the elections. The government in Maharashtra was returned to power in spite of poor performance, and probably due to the lack of a better alternative. The quintessential Indian attitude of ‘everything goes’ appears to be too deep rooted for people to demand better governance and difficult answers even after such a horrifying experience.

And since the voters don’t care, the government has also not come out with strong  solutions. To begin with, there was a serious lack of soul searching. The attacks provided a chance to introspect and change for the better. But there was no public policy debate, the parliament did not force answers to the glaring mistakes made during those three days in Mumbai. Even the reports of investigations into the attacks are kept secret. Other than Kasab’s confession, the intercepted phone conversations between the gunmen and their handlers, and subsequent finger pointing at Pakistan we do not know how the investigations proceeded. The Headly-Rana link unearthed by the FBI suggests that Indian authorities were not thorough in their investigations. In sharp contrast to the public criticism of US intelligence agencies after the 9/11 attacks, Indian intelligence agencies faced very little music. We do not know what concrete steps are being taken to improve the gathering and analysis of intelligence. Or what organizational changes are being made to better connect the intelligence agencies to the enforcement agencies across the country.

The attacks last year raised numerous questions and most have not yet been answered satisfactorily. The issue of maritime security is being addressed by strengthening the Coast Guard. They will get some more men and equipment, but that is only because last time the terrorists came from the sea. What about airport security? What about those people that might already have entered the country? Has there been a wholesome analysis of the existing air, sea and land security preparedness? Is there a specific strategy in place to profile possible terrorists at airports, train stations, malls, government and business complexes etc? Is there an emergency service in place for people to report suspicious people and activities? Through my experience of living in India for 24 years, I know that people are afraid and reluctant to contact the police. Has there been any effort to gain people’s trust and convince them that their information will not be ignored? As the media coverage showed, the Mumbai police did not secure the crime scenes which could have inadvertently led to the loss of vital information. Have efforts been made to instill the importance of saving and documenting the crime scene thoroughly before allowing media and public near it?

Terrorism in India has been a reality for a couple of decades now. But counter-terrorism measures have been inadequate. Our nuclear arsenal and military preparedness might deter an enemy country. But our weak internal security situation scares no one. The weaknesses of the police forces, delayed commando operations due to lack of preparedness and ‘VIP culture’ can only strengthen the resolve of terrorists waiting to launch more attacks. Blaming Pakistan for our problems and expecting the international community to do the same is only a small part of the solution. Unless we tackle the internal problems of political apathy, corruption and lack of political will to work for the people we cannot expect to find the complete answer to the problem. It is through public participation and well-formulated and enforced laws that India can be kept safe. So long as our leaders, policemen, bureaucrats can be expected to (maybe unintentionally) turn a blind eye to security for personal gains, there will be more 26/11s.

As we remember the martyrs of the Mumbai attacks I hope that the Indian government, security personnel and people at large understand that we all had a role to play in the deaths of those innocent men and women. And we all have a responsibility to amend our ways and give justice to those that succumbed to terrorism that day and years before that.

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Related links: A exhaustive coverage by Jason Motlagh at VQR.

A documentary on the attacks by Dan Reed and an interview with him at MOB.

Pakistan indicts seven suspects related to Mumbai attacks.