On behalf of the Government of India and my own behalf, I wish you a veryhappy New Year and welcome you to this meeting on the challenge of terrorism. Iam grateful to the Chief Ministers and their colleagues and senior officers fortheir gracious presence at this meeting. I am reassured that your Governmentsshare the Central Government’s assessment of the gravity of the situation.Many Chief Ministers have written to me outlining the several steps that theyhave taken in the last year and, in particular, the last month. On our part, Iassure you that the Government of India will work with you closely in the jointeffort to wipe out the scourge of terrorism.
Ordinarily, a meeting of this kind would have a broader agenda. Even if themeeting had been called to discuss the subject of violence alone, you would haveexpected the discussion to embrace all kinds of violence – terrorist-inducedviolence, left-wing extremism and violence caused by Indian insurgent groups.However, there is a compelling reason to depart from the usual agenda. Terrorismwas, and is, the issue upper most in the minds of the people. Mumbai was thetipping point. You have heard the anguished voices of the people of India. Youhave heard the cry for justice from those who have lost their loved ones andthose who find themselves tending to the injured. You have heard the universaldemand that our response to terror and terrorist threats should be strong, swiftand decisive.
We represent elected Governments. The executive, more than the other branches ofthe State, and more than any other agency of Government, is ultimatelyresponsible to the people. In the States, the buck stops at the desk of theChief Minister. Hence, we have called this meeting of Chief Ministers to applyour minds to the sole issue of terrorism. I am confident that your wise counseland valuable suggestions will help us evolve a coherent policy and a coordinatedresponse to the challenge of terrorism.
Terrorist attacks have exacted a heavy toll of lives and left many hundredsinjured. There are also other consequences, notably fear. Fear saps the energyof the nation. The security of the people ranks above any other consideration.Liberty and equality have meaning only if there is security.
36 days into this office, I am more convinced than ever before that we have toset for ourselves two goals:
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- First, to raise the level of preparedness to meet the increasingly sophisticated terrorist threats.
- Second, to enhance the speed and decisiveness of the response to a terrorist threat or a terrorist attack.
Further, we have to achieve the twin objectives in a relatively short periodof time.
Let me deal first with the level of preparedness. The key to raising the levelof preparedness is gathering and sharing intelligence. One of the first tasksthat I undertook was to re-establish and empower the Multi Agency Centre createdin 2001 to deal with all matters concerning intelligence pertaining toterrorism. As you are aware, beginning January 1, 2009, the Multi Agency Centrehas begun to function on a 24x7 basis and is now legally obliged to shareintelligence with all other agencies, including agencies of the Governments ofthe States and Union Territories. A copy of the executive order outlining thefunctions, powers and duties of the Multi Agency Centre is contained in yourfolder.
Having established MAC, the next question is what are the sources ofintelligence? Intelligence is gathered by a number of agencies – some arelocated within the defence forces, some are at the borders, and many are indifferent parts of India. They rely on both human intelligence and technicalintelligence. Their contribution is valuable. Nevertheless, I wish to say thatthe best source of intelligence still remains the local police station andfriends of the local police. As seasoned administrators, you will agree with methat nothing of consequence can happen within the jurisdiction of a policestation without the knowledge of the Station House Officer. The local policestation is the best source of intelligence. All of us recognize this fact, but Iregret to draw your attention to another fact, namely, that the vacancies as onAugust 31, 2007 were constables:1,13,779; sub-inspectors:18,654; andDySPs:2,099. I sincerely hope that the position has improved since August 2007.Keeping the local police station at the centre of the intelligence gatheringmachinery, we must find a way in which that intelligence can be made to flowseamlessly – and in real time – to the District Headquarters, State capitaland the national capital. Equally, in the reverse direction, intelligence mustflow from the national capital to the State capital, the District Headquartersand the local police station. Many State Governments have already taken up plansto provide such connectivity. My offer to you today is that we are willing towork with you in order to establish this connectivity so that gathering andsharing intelligence on a real time basis is accomplished as early as possible.
On your part, I would urge you to kindly strengthen the intelligence gatheringfunction of the police station. There must be at least one person of the rank ofHead Constable or an Assistant Sub-Inspector who is exclusively charged withthis responsibility – and is burdened with no other work. Besides, the SpecialBranch must be strengthened and adequate number of Special Branch personnel mustbe posted in the districts and major towns. Under the Modernisation of PoliceForces Scheme, there is a component to enhance the capacity of the SpecialBranch of the State police, and I would request you to implement the agreedplans expeditiously. I draw your kind attention to a paper in your folder whichcontains an outline of a proposal to strengthen the Special Branch in yourState. I request you to examine the paper carefully and let us have your viewsand suggestions.
Our second goal should be to enhance the speed and decisiveness of the responsemechanism to terrorist threats or terrorist attacks. This requires speciallytrained police personnel and advanced equipment. The Central Government proposesto set up hubs of the National Security Guard in different parts of the country.To begin with, hubs will be set up in four cities. Some other cities will becovered by a trained anti-terrorist force provided by the defence forces – forexample, Bengaluru will be covered by the Army. In course of time, NSG hubs willbe set up in more centres. I would urge State Governments to complement thiseffort by raising and deploying their own anti-terrorist forces. The CentralGovernment offers to help the States in raising and training the anti-terroristforces in each State.
The speed and decisiveness of the response mechanism would also depend upon theequipment that is provided to the anti-terrorist force. Hence, it is importantto invest in the latest equipment and technology. The Central Government offersto advise you and assist you in this regard. It would also be necessary to putin place a clear command structure in the case of a terrorist threat or aterrorist attack. There must be no ambiguity or confusion about who isin-charge; who will have overall authority over the different forces; who willdeploy the forces according to the needs of the situation; and who will be heldaccountable for the success of the operation. All these aspects must be speltout clearly and made known to the State police department as well as the otherforces that may be requisitioned in the case of a terrorist threat or aterrorist attack.
Our response to terrorism cannot be reactive. There is ample evidence that manyterrorist modules have burrowed their way into the country. There are also manysleeper cells. We must adopt a proactive approach to apprehend these people andthwart any possible terrorist threat. In this regard too, the key is gatheringand sharing intelligence and responding in a coordinated manner to apprehend thepotential terrorist.
While the agenda before you is quite long, I have dwelt only on a few matterswhich I thought deserve to be highlighted. The other items on the agenda areequally important and I am sure you will deal with many of them in your remarks.I look forward to listening to your comments and views and, at the end, I hopeto make a sincere effort to forge a common approach to the challenge posed byterrorism.
Once again, I welcome you to this important meeting at the beginning of theyear. I shall now request the Honourable Prime Minister to inaugurate thisconference.
