By Sampathkumar Iyangar,
Whatever be the continually sliding rank of India is in indicators like human development index, there can be no dispute that it ranks high in number of ‘experts’. Thanks to ‘expert’ legislators and bureaucrats who usurped control as the British gladly vacated the no-more-lucrative colony, India enjoys top rank in terms of number laws, their total length, antiquity as well as rate of proliferation of new laws.
Using such expertise, self-styled freedom fighters hailing from ruling classes have cunningly cultivated hot-headed bigots as the main opposition. Either openly as belligerent jingoists, or clandestinely as hypocrites practicing the opposite of what they preach, both excel in persecuting the marginalized and oppressed classes, using bizarre laws and a pliant judiciary.
The country’s economics ‘experts’ create islands of prosperity in a vast desert of misery; nuclear ‘experts’ pave the way for becoming a nuke-wielding superpower lording over the region, on empty stomachs of masses; ‘expert’ diplomats have made the one-time Number One of NAM into one of the least significant, also-ran entity in world affairs; strategic affairs ‘experts’ have made frightened and leery neighbours; India can surely boast of a government of ‘experts’, by ‘experts’ and for ‘experts’!
A new breed of ‘experts’ to accelerate the country’s march toward being a superpower – even if superpoor – are terror ‘experts’. A key role towards that is played by the office of National Security Advisor, created by the Saffron regime of AB Vajpayee. ‘Experts’ in top espionage and sabotage outfits like IB and R&AW take orders from NSA, who has traditionally been a ‘terror’ to neighbouring countries, earning more hate for the country. The current incumbent Mayankote Kelath Narayanan seems to be keen to shift the focus to internal security.
It must be noted that in the numerous bomb attacks reported in the recent past from various cities, casualties have only been from the general public. Even in the much hyped Parliament attack, not a single politico, bureaucrat, tycoon or ‘expert’ suffered! The total number of victims belonging to these sections from hundreds of incidents in India would be less than one real terrorist attack elsewhere in the world.
So, it is to provide ‘internal security’ to the common man – not the rulers – that the NSA wants more laws with ‘teeth’ (read, more draconian) enacted. Rumours are flying thick that a full fledged cabinet post may be created for internal security for the senile ‘expert’ to head! Trial balloons have already been floated in the ‘ever-co-operative’ media, which give an indication of the thinking of ‘terror experts’. Some of the crazy solutions that may get legislated soon are:
o Most of the suicide bomb attacks, unlike the Jumbos of 9/11 or VIP Ambassador used in an attempt to destroy the ‘symbol of Indian democracy’, in recent incidents have employed bicycles. That too old ones. So, there is no reason why the procedure of registration for automobiles should not be extended to bicycles. Moreover, the practice of life-time fees will be abolished and the registrations must be renewed every year. Transfer of ownership of old bicycles too must be controlled. There will be strict check of bicycle riders on every road, and those without the papers in his/her person will be prosecuted.
o Just like one needs to have a licence for possessing a gun, there must be specific signed licences, clearly mentioning the list of authorised users (maximum ten), for every copy of inflammatory literature – like the Quran, Guru Granth Sahib and every other Gurbani, Bible etc.
o Emails and SMS’s have become a big menace, facilitating terrorists to coordinate their sinister plans. It is observed that a single mail service provides almost 25,000 email id’s to people living in India. Terrorists even send elaborate emails to media houses, to coincide with every attack, after hacking different computer systems. There is absolutely no restriction by the irresponsible companies to get address proof and identity proof that banks, mobile/financial service providers etc are mandated to procure. It will be mandatory that the hard disk of every computer system must be taken to the police station periodically to verify if the registered owner has valid proof of every Id found in incoming and outgoing messages. Moreover, every mail will be sent only to a central department, which will act similar to a paging service. It will forward unobjectionable messages to the specified recipient. There may be inevitable delays in communications but the people must put up with that in the interest of national security. The government will allocate sufficient budgets to get suitable sniffer programs developed so that the sleuths could intercept and verify the messages faster.
o All churches, cathedrals, Gurudwaras, tombs, mosques etc built by alien rulers will be nationalised as these promote alienation of communities. Entry will be through a quota system, based on one-time permits similar to visas that would be issued by security agencies.
o Quite a few terrorists are found to be computer savvy and engaged in computer graphics, networking, hardware technology etc. Strict control will be enforced for admitting students in IT courses, particularly from communities vulnerable to become terrorists because of sufferings in past riots.
o It has been discovered that terrorists travelled by train on assumed names, mostly faking Hindu names. The Railways, which currently insists on photo-identity while issuing Tatkal reservation tickets, will extend the provision to all reserved seats and later to unreserved seats also. Nobody will be allowed to travel, unless certified as essential by a separate department under NSA.
o If terrorist acts persist despite all these measures in public interest, a permanent curfew will be imposed over the entire country. It will be relaxed in different areas at different periods. People will need curfew passes, signed by an authorised security expert, in their person to move about even during these periods.