National Security and Terrorism - Issues, Root Causes, Solutions

Dear Friends:

It is really heartening to see how working together, we are able to collectively list Issues, Root Causes and Solutions to almost any national priority.

While I would like to see our proposed solutions to be a bit more specific, it still brings a lot of clarity as to in what areas the work needs to be done by the Government.

Below, please find the Issues, Root Causes and Solutions to the important priority of National Security and Fighting Terrorism.

If something is missing on the solutions front, please add it as a comment to the post.

Thanks for your participation!

Rajendra Pratap Gupta

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Issues:
1. Many terrorist attacks happen in different parts of the country
2. Secrets of our country are leaked to other nations
3. We negotiate with terrorists
4. Conviction/Punishment for even mass murders/acts of terrorism takes years (26/11 Mumbai attacks)
5. No strong response to our neighbor countries’ constant acts of terror
6. Easy to get bail in India
7. Lack of surveillance in cities
8. Infiltration along the LoC
9. Weak surveillance along the Indian border and coast
10. Prompt actions not initiated for people who overstay their visa permit
11.The police still have old firearms
12. Most of the technologies that we use are old and outdated
13. Prompt actions not initiated for people who overstay their visa permit
14. Police verification of tenants/ domestic helps is not undertaken
15. People are concerned just about their own selves and don’t care about what is happening around them
16. Various scams in different sectors including defence
17. Brain washing of the youth of J&K to join terrorist organizations.

Root Causes
1. The sense of nationalism and unity does not prevail among citizens
2. Lack of faith/trust towards the country and the system
3. Poverty, unemployment and lack of opportunities
4. Most of the minority is struggling to make a living and is illiterate about population control.
5. High number of kids in poor minority families, with no education on nationalism leads to poor, directionless, young population which can be brainwashed to perform terrorist acts.
6. The education system in Madarsas and similar set ups with no transparency on its workings
7. Colonization by minorities - there are some areas in many cities which have become hubs for poor minority population
8. Spread of hatred by strong words by minority leaders
9. Lack of strong technical infrastructure at the state police level
10. Lack of strong political will to weed out terrorism and work on long term solutions
11. Corruption in defence, police and other protection agencies
12. Bold decisions while acquiring modern weapons are feared as media tries to find fault in everything
13. Being a democracy, India cannot take some steps like other counties
14. Importance of dedicated surveillance techniques is undermined
15. Requirement of modern firearms for the state police is ignored
16. Politicians influence the work of state police
17. Whistle blowers are not provided enough protection and their details are made known to culprits
18. No proper co-ordination between different security agencies, intelligence agencies, state police and international intelligence agencies.
19. Money can be easily transferred through Havala
20. Unavailability of strong anti-terrorist law in India and speedy court trail mechanism
21. Many illegal arms factory are operational in many parts of the country

Solutions
1. Patriotism and nationalism should be taught in school
2. Steps should be taken to reduce poverty
3. The minorities should be educated about population control
4. Education system in Madarsas should be brought under the government lens
5. Remove all caste/ religion based reservations
6. Latest technical infrastructure should be provided to the state police
7. The police should go through regular trainings to upgrade themselves
8. New surveillance techniques should be adopted and CCTV cameras should be installed
9. State police should be provided with modern weapons
10. Corruption in defence, police and protection agencies should be eradicated
11. Politics of getting votes should be removed from security considerations
12. All security agencies to be autonomous with no political interference. Transfers & appointments to be without political influence & approval
13. Whistle blowers and people giving testimonies should be given thorough police protection
14. A formal coordination network between the Indian intelligence and international agencies should be developed
15. Illegal money laundering should be checked and banned
16. Very strong anti-terrorist laws should be made
17. The people accused of terrorism should undergo a speedy trial
18. Financial surveillance of the potential terrorism funding agencies should be strictly monitored
19. Two laws that need immediate amendment are PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) and UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) more