Terrorism spreading tentacles to South India

After the prime region of terrorist activities-Jammu and Kashmir (Pakistan inspired and sponsored terrorism) and Seven Sister States of North-East India (Autonomy and independence movement), which is still the core of terrorism, the tentacles has been spreading to South India, particularly the IT town, Bangalore.

The low intensity serial blasts in IT industry, Bangalore on Friday which took the life of at least two people and left several others injured were enough to create panic for national security activities. For all the blasts, intelligence agencies can not be made entirely responsible for their failure to check such incongruous attempt especially when explosions are not the brain child of any recognised militant outfit. However, the laxity on IA's part can not be denied.

Militant activities are multiplying in South India. Twin bomb blasts of Hyderabad which exploded almost simultaneously at a minor gap of 5 minutes on August 25, 07 had left 42 people dead. According to the Central Security Agency, the banned Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami, a militant outfit of Bangladesh was responsible behind the heinous crime. They used the same IED (Improvised Explosive Devices) made with Ammonium nitrate normally used now-a-days by terrorists. The same ammonium nitrate has been used in the Bangalore serial blasts, but with low intensity.

The Bangalore blast is a reminder of another serial bomb blasts that rocked the Jaipur on May 13 this year leaving 63 dead and over 200 injured.

For such organised serial bomb blasts that is a blot on the humanity is completely a laxity on the part of intelligence agencies that remained failed to check such terrorist activities. But, what about those incident which is a bolt from the blue as happened in case of Navi Mumbai blasts on May 31. Police defused a small explosive at a movie theatre screening Jodhaa Akbar, a film deemed offensive to some Hindutva groups. For such type of hasty and nonsense activities, the entire onus can not be put on intelligence agencies. It may not always be possible to prevent such attacks on soft targets. People, too, should be responsible enough to keep a vigil on their surrounding areas and inform the police in the wake of any bizarre event they notice.

Militants go for blasts to fulfill two purposes: one, to fetch maximum damage in terms of human and material and the other, to terrify people. The Friday blast was perhaps carried out to serve the latter purpose.

Such iniquitous terrorist attacks in cities like Jaipur, Hyderabad and Bangalore gives credence to the fact that India is firmly in the cross-hairs of militants.

The militants' generated death has made India a country which perhaps has the highest number of civilian victims of terror, apart from war-torn countries like Iraq.

Considering terrorist activities are augmenting in Karnataka in general and IT hub-Bangalore in particular, the home minister Shivraj Patil announced a new security plan for IT and other industries. From now, by amending the law, the security cover will be provided to the private sector also specifically the IT industry in Bangalore. The initiative is commendable as after security cover by CISF jawans to the IT industries, it would not be easy for the militants to target those. Police and security agencies, however, need to be alert as the militant outfits in desperation could make blasts in some other crowded place.

The Government of India also needs to implement the suggestion of eminent forensic scientist P Chandra Sekharan who soon after the twin bomb blasts in Hyderabad urged to establish a “National Explosives Control Bureau (NECB)” on the lines of the Narcotics Control Bureau to check effectively the terrorist activities.

To control such militant activities, State and Central Government and Intelligence authorities should work as a team and exchange even less valuable information with utmost urgency. Because, these are the innocent people who have to loss their lives for the laxity done on the part of police and intelligence authorities.