Prahaar: New rules of retribution

India’s Ministry of Home Affairs has announced the National Counter-Terrorism Policy and Strategy, a first for the country, emphasising zero tolerance for any attempt to jeopardise national interests. Conceived under the acronym PRAHAAR, the strategy is centred on responses that are swift and proportionate to the terror threat at hand, a whole-of-government approach, mitigation processes that are also informed by human rights and the rule of law, stronger guardrails against radicalisation, and alignment with international counter-terror efforts.

It proposes to use all available legal frameworks, such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA), the country’s primary anti-terror legislation. The plan also envisages an intelligence- and tech-led crackdown on terror financing, using security and anti-terrorism agencies; its scope covers both home-grown and cross-border terrorist outfits.

While India has been a target of terrorism for more than six decades, the use of terror as a State strategy by Pakistan accelerated after the 1971 war and the subsequent liberation of Bangladesh. The Pakistan army has aided non-state actors capable of causing heavy civilian and military casualties in India, especially in Jammu and Kashmir. The menace of terrorism has since spread to other states that were untouched by such elements of extremism – the vulnerabilities were exposed in multiple incidents across the country, most tellingly in the dastardly November 2008 attack in Mumbai.

Since 2014, the three Union governments led by Narendra Modi have prioritised addressing terrorism. Of course, there have been attacks on the Army and civilians in Jammu and Kashmir, but the frequency of these transgressions has reduced considerably. The government has taken a markedly aggressive line of action against the perpetrators, with a larger vision pegged to absolute deterrence – dismantling training camps, neutralising terror infrastructure and handlers, and cutting the fund inflows.

Nevertheless, these fragmented strategic points needed to be crystallised into a robust, structured framework to facilitate certain, credible action, which the new policy promises to provide. The approach of the government and the security agencies towards domestic, regional, and global terrorism works at different levels. Partnerships are forged in line with these diverse objectives. A case in point is the Joint Working Group (JWG) on counter-terrorism, which India has with the government of Israel. Even as Prime Minister Modi, during his recent visit to Israel, assured that country all-out support in tackling terrorism, a meeting of the JWG was held in New Delhi, where the two sides decided to work out finer details of cooperation.

The government undoubtedly needs to explore engaging with like-minded institutions and countries in the region for greater regional diplomatic stabilisation, intelligence exchange, and technological cooperation. There is also a greater urgency among the security agencies and policymakers to eradicate terrorism. Equipped with advanced technology, ideologically driven extremist modules can penetrate multiple strata of society.

A policy document, therefore, has to take into consideration all these integrated and non-conventional threat perceptions that cover evolving domains, such as cyber, energy, and space. The new policy document needs to be elaborated to include ways and means to identify and eliminate elements that pose dangers to national security and integrity. One cannot deny the existence and dangerous proliferation of radical elements in society. Typically, they have a presence in ecosystems that address local grievances and schisms. They are known to be using online platforms to identify, track, and recruit foot soldiers to implement their divisive agendas. This danger is exacerbated by a polarised political climate, where vote-bank considerations lead to civil liberties and rights being misused to legitimise anti-national interests.

Several suggestions have been made in the past to the government to prepare a comprehensive national security doctrine on the lines of a nuclear doctrine. Counter-terrorism action should adhere to a rulebook. Many times, action on the spur of the moment is seen as a befitting reply, but there is always the danger of such actions turning out to be short on long-term impact. A national security doctrine is all the more important to put in place certain standard operating procedures (SOPs) which are missing in the present setting.

PRAHAAR strikes a clear note. It is a strategic step in the right direction, but to make it tactically and operationally potent, the country will need a broader policy document that enunciates methodologies for the ideological counter-narrative, projects a strong political will, and endorses pathways of consensus and reconciliation.

The writer reads between the lines on big national and international developments from his vantage point in the BJP and the RSS.

(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH).