Terror challenge

The serial blasts in Ahmedabad have brought violence back to Gujarat's premier city with vicious intensity. These blasts were different from the ones in Bangalore — they were more intense and have caused much more damage.

Two sets of explosions in two different cities is definitely a message of some sort — where next would be the question on many people's minds.

It is now for the police to investigate whether there was any significance in the locations of the blasts. They all occurred in eastern Ahmedabad which contains Maninagar, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi's assembly constituency.

Usually, in Ahmedabad, it is the walled city which is the target but this time, the havoc has been created outside it in other areas of Ahmedabad. The Ahmedabad blasts were carried out by people with a good knowledge of the city  —  as the injured were taken to the closest hospitals, they were met with another blast which seemed to have been timed for that very purpose.

The blasts are one more reminder that India is a soft target for terror attacks. They are also planning their targets — both Bangalore and Ahmedabad are thriving commercial centres.

Without being unduly critical of the intelligence and investigative agencies in the country, it is necessary to point out that trotting out the roll call of the usual suspects — the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) or Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) — has not proved to be helpful. There is as yet no clear evidence establishing the links between these organisations and the incidents of terror. This does not necessarily let them off the hook but it implies that the investigators should also look elsewhere.

The record of Indian intelligence agencies has not been particularly impressive so far.
But investigations are only half the story; preventive intelligence is critical, which means studying various groups, their psychology, and their networks. Recent terror incidents have shown that the perpetrators must have relied on local help — this can only be tackled with local intelligence.

This will also be the time when demands for a tougher anti-terror law as well as for an all-India agency for tackling terror will be made. Both may have their virtues but will mean nothing without good policing, strong intelligence and most of all, effective coordination between the centre and the states and various law and order agencies.

The infiltration of terror-minded groups into local communities cannot be monitored without intelligence on the ground. Add to that procedures and processes Terrorism can best be tackled by sustained and painstaking detective work, not by knee-jerk tough talk and shoddy policing.