YEAR AFTER

A year after the horrific siege of Mumbai by Pakistan based terrorists actively assisted by worldwide terror cells - has India as a nation learnt any lessons?
‘NO’ – is the answer if we consider:
1) Status of investigation and court proceedings despite having to feed ‘gost biryani’ to a captured terrorist from Pakistan.
2) Vinita Kamte widow of martyr Ashok Kamte of Mumbai Police alleges being stonewalled in her quest to find the truth leading to her husband’s death. She had to resort to RTI Act to get facts for her tribute to bravery contained in a biography of her husband titled ‘To The Last Bullet’.
3) Politician’s like Thakerays are stuck in their ghetto mentality for political space based on regionalism, violence and intolerance. Personal animosity spills on to public domain and thrust upon common citizens by invoking ‘Marathi Manoos’.
4) Naxalite terror tactics with threat to life and property is spreading while regional politicians indulge in ‘blame game’.
5) The sacked Home Minister of Maharashtra is reinstated on the eve of 26/11 first anniversary having displayed incompetence and insensitivity to the tragedy a year ago.
6) Soft peddling with Pakistan in spite of clinching evidence of ISI involvement in the well planned ruthless execution of the Mumbai terror plot.
7) The much promised Police and criminal justice reforms not initiated.
8) Home Ministry has been unable to introduce robust infrastructure and systems for gathering and sharing intelligence to pre-empt attacks. We still stumble upon vital information more by chance than by design since the left hand mostly does not know what the right hand does. State level politics takes precedence over national security.
9) Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs lack basic co-ordination with a loose discretionary visa system being abused by terrorists around the world to gain multiple accesses with free unrestricted movement within India.
10) Corruption in procurement of equipment and accessories for law and order wings. The ‘failed’ inferior quality bulletproof jacket that killed police officers in Mumbai has disappeared along with records of their procurement.
11) Citizens have failed to exercise their franchise for seeking accountability and transparency from the government.
12) Last but not the least, a fractured opposition busy fire fighting to save their politics of irrelevant issues, has miserably failed to set aside partisan politics to make the nation more secure.