The number of persons involved, directly or indirectly, could easily run into dozens if not a hundred. It speaks of the abysmal depths plumbed by our police and intelligence apparatus that they failed to hear an underworld rumour or a whisper on the airwaves, or obtain any sort of warning at all. But that seems to be now 'par for the course' in India.

Soon after the July 2006 serial train blasts in Mumbai, which resulted in over 500 dead and injured, this writer attended a high level inter-ministry meeting to discuss the issue. After presentations, discussions and brain-storming lasting a couple of hours, a final question was asked by the cabinet secretary: what urgent remedial and precautionary measures should we take to prevent recurrence of such incidents?

After a pregnant silence, the sole suggestion that came was voiced by a junior functionary: 'We must give the SHOs at the thana level more and better quality walkie-talkie sets.' One was shaken to the core because of the pedestrian perspective that it demonstrated; not high-technology, not intelligence, not weapons, but walkie-talkies for police at the precinct level! And this was in 2006, after the nation had been experiencing bomb blasts or terrorist attacks with monotonous regularity in the wake of the horrifying 1993 Mumbai carnage. The score today, of course, stands much higher.

What India has been facing for many years now, and continues to face, is an 'asymmetric war' waged by a ruthless and imaginative intelligence agency. The war has many dimensions; aiding separatism and insurgency, attacking our economy by pumping in fake currency, inciting communal violence, and undermining the morale and cohesion of the armed forces (often through the instrumentality of the Indian media) are some other facets of this multi-pronged assault by the Pak Inter-Services Intelligence agency on the hapless Indian State.

Its most obvious manifestation has been the cold-blooded orchestration of violence amidst our civilian population. This is done through a complex and well-organised network of agents and surrogates, indigenous and foreign, who are trained, equipped and financed to wreak havoc. Mumbai was obviously a soft and undefended target, where they perpetrated mayhem with impunity.

Like ostriches with heads buried deep in sand, we have refused to acknowledge this asymmetric war against the Indian State. By using the euphemism 'cross-border terrorism' we have, pusillanimously, also provided a convenient loophole for the aggressor. And full responsibility for this situation must be accepted by Indian politicians of all hues, who in their quest for votes and political one-upmanship, have systematically undermined every instrument of state and rendered the nation vulnerable. While using it to score electoral 'brownie points' they have failed to make terrorism an issue of sharp focus for the security establishment, and our response to the asymmetric war has therefore remained disjointed, fragmented and disorganized; for three reasons.

Firstly, the police forces have been emasculated and intelligence agencies rendered ineffective by interference and politicisation, with the result they are unable to discharge their core functions. Secondly, the national security establishment has encouraged turf distribution and creation of fiefdoms, and thereby deprived itself of the benefits of holistic thinking and synchronised action. And lastly, in a system that must be unique worldwide, the armed forces are kept on the margins of national security management by a powerful bureaucracy and rarely consulted or heard by politicians; even on issues in which they have exclusive expertise.

Coming back to Mumbai, which is not only a metropolis, port city and financial hub but also home to India's vital nuclear establishments and the Western Naval Command. There can be little doubt that the city's porous water-front is its Achilles heel, as is the state's long coastal belt. But the state of Maharashtra received adequate warning 15 years ago, when in 1993 the 'mafia' landed a few tons of arms and explosives by boat near Ratnagiri and transported them to Mumbai for the carnage that was to follow.

Soon thereafter, all coastal states were directed by the Centre to raise marine police wings equipped with high speed boats and communication equipment. To my knowledge, only Kerala has put together a small unit of this type, while the other states unrealistically expect the IN or the CG to undertake coastal policing functions. These two services are meant to operate at sea, and cannot, for example, undertake patrolling of Juhu, Chowpatti, Cuffe Parade or Alibag, which is the job of the marine police.

However, that is not all. Like much else in our country, port and coastal security is in a total mess, because at least 14 ministries, departments and agencies (e.g. MoST, MHA, MoD, DG Shipping, ONGC, Customs, Immigration, Fisheries and so on) have a degree of involvement in maritime related issues. There are numerous instances when we have seen security being compromised because the left hand did not know what the right was doing. Agencies work at cross purposes even as important harbours like Mumbai remain unguarded and porous.

For years, the IN has been pleading with the government that there is a dire need to constitute a National Maritime Commission for regulation, coordination and oversight of maritime security. That this eminently sensible proposal is languishing due to bureaucratic obduracy (arising from 'turf' issues) is proof of our political myopia and lack of resolve. This is how other nations handle similar situations.

New York was struck by terrorists on September 11, 2001. By October 1, a Homeland Defence Command had been established and placed under a 4-star military officer. The U.S. Secretary of the Army stated: '…homeland security is the No. 1 job for the U.S. military and we will act accordingly.' On October 26, Public Law 107-56 was enacted by the U.S. Congress without debate. The contrived acronym U.S.A PATRIOT (standing for: Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) explains the purport of the Act. With the sweeping powers available, the Homeland Defence Command has ensured that the U.S. has remained free of terrorism since 2001. Need one say more?

France, perceiving many serious threats from seawards, revived an old Napoleonic institution: the Prefet Maritime (Maritime Prefect) to implement security in a coherent and holistic manner. This functionary is the '…servant of the French State who exercises authority over the sea in a Prefecture. He reports to the Prime Minister for civil functions and to the Chief of Defence Staff for military operations.' A 3-star Admiral each has been placed in charge of the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Channel coasts of France, and is empowered to coordinate the efficient functioning of agencies like the navy, coast guard, marine police, customs, immigration, pollution control, search & rescue etc. There is no bickering like we have for protection of Mumbai port; France can afford to sleep in peace.

The gallant men who undertook the successful counter-attack against the terrorists in Mumbai performed marvellously. But there is no doubt that de-briefs will bring out the colossal confusion and hazards that must have emerged in trying to establish a degree of coordination between the four forces participating in the operation: the army troops, marine commandos, National Security Guard and Mumbai police.

India's coastal, maritime and national security would be tremendously enhanced if we follow the French example and empower the Commanders-in-Chief of the Western and Eastern Naval Commands to coordinate maritime affairs. For that we will not only need to reach a higher level of security consciousness but also learn to repose faith and responsibility in the one national institution which continues to function with dedication, efficiency and intense patriotism: the Indian Armed Forces.

Every newspaper and TV channel is, today, reflecting how drastically the stock of the politician has fallen with the common man. If India's polity wants to redeem itself in the public eye there is only one service it can perform for the nation. No vacuous hypocritical speeches, no ex-gratia payments, no commissions of enquiry; they must convene an emergency session of both houses of parliament, and, sinking all differences, show the people that for once, instead of their own, they  have the nation's vital interests at heart.

This parliament session should enact or start the process for legislation for:

• Constituting a Homeland Defence Organisation, be it a civil ministry, a military command or a combination of the two, with appropriate instruments at its disposal.
• Empowerment of this organisation with adequate authority to, inter alia, monitor the movements, search and detain if necessary individuals suspected of posing a threat to the nation, gain access to telephones, e-mails, bank accounts and any other information in the interest of homeland safety.
• Immediate implementation of reforms to free the police forces of the debilitating yoke of political servitude and interference.

Yes, this will be a draconian measure, but for how long must the people of India remain hostage to terror exported from the neighbourhood due to the weakness and lack of resolve? Sixty-one years after independence Indians deserve freedom from perpetual fear.

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