Jaipur Blast Aftermath

This time, people of India are not sad or frightened. They are angry. They want a stiff response from the government. The common perception is - if somebody has to be killed in such blasts it has to be the terrorists themselves -not the common innocent public

What

On this Tuesday Rajasthan faced its biggest ever terror attack. Eight (or nine...correct information is not available) bombs exploded right in the heart of state capital Jaipur leaving over 70 dead and 200 injured ! All blasts occurred within a span of 15 minutes in the most crowded markets of the city Badi Choupad, Chhoti Choupad, Johri Bazaar, Manek Chowk, Tripolia bazzzar, Chandpol etc at a time in the day when they are most crowded.

Some points to note:

(1) Terrorists gave authorities no time to react by triggering blasts at different location within a span of 15 minutes. This shows how well planned the attack was.

(2) They chose the most crowded places in the city, peak rush hour and religious places so that maximum damage is done and if authorities are not alert enough they can trigger communal violence too !

(3) Thirteen bombs ( four live bombs are said to have been recovered by police after the serial blasts) were planted in the city. Intelligence agencies be it central or state, had no clue whatsoever. Total failure !

(4) One of the blast took place just outside a Police Station. This shows the level of alertness of police.


How

According to news channels, Bombs were planted on cycles at most of the places. Ammonium nitrate mixed with RDX was used as explosive. Bombs were triggered using timers.


Why

According to unconfirmed sources, some group/person 'Guru-Al-Hindi' sent a small video of one of the places, taken just before the blast. They also claimed the responsibility for the blasts and warned India and also US and UK of more such strikes. They threatened to keep attacking the strong social and economical structure of India with such strikes. They claimed to have chosen Jaipur as the target so as to disrupt flourishing tourism industry of Rajasthan which is the second highest revenue generating source for the state.


Reactions

People (9/10): People of Jaipur showed great courage and rushed to help the victims. When there was a shortage of blood in SMS Hospital, appeal for blood donation was very well received by the general public. There were no instances of communal tension in the city on the very next day. People were on the same affected places on the very next day as soon as the curfew was relaxed after 6 PM.

Politicians(3/10): Leader of opposition in state, Mr. Gehlot showed good spirit and called for peace and calm. But very soon the blame game started. State ruling BJP leaders accused the central intelligence agencies of not sharing inputs (Center is ruled by congress led UPA). On the same day of tragic event, such statements made no sense. They exposed every politician in front of general public. If information is not shared, country's security has been compromised with. It should be a major crime in public eye.

Police (4.5/10): Police rushed to help quickly. Initially they had no idea. Some accused HuJI and others talked of a 'foreign hand' into the event. They gathered a few clues later and have even released sketch of a prime suspect. Hundreds of persons are said to have been detained for questioning. We can just hope they don't persuade some innocent individual to claim responsibility for the blasts and come out with flying colours claiming to have solved the case.

Media (6.5/10): Media behaved in a sensible manner (surprise, surprise !!). Yes, they asked politicians about their views on information sharing but it was not made a big issue by them. They asked why can't we hit back hard ? What is lacking in Indian response to terrorism? 'Times Now' brought very elite panelists combining major stakeholders and organized a debate on the topic. the panelists were: BJP and Congress national spokesperson, former envoy to pakistan Mr. G Parthashashtry, People's conference leader Mr. Sajjad Lone, Former ISI chief, a strategy analyst and an expert from Pakistan. It was a heated debate. Few important points that emerged are:

(1) Pakistani experts said it was too early to predict if there was a Pakistani hand involved.

(2) The spokespersons of national parties called for formation of stricter laws and a centralized force to counter terrorism severely.

(3) Debate coordinator Arnab Goswami questioned Pakistan government's control over its military's aid to terrorists. He linked the blasts with infiltration bid in Samba a day earlier and democracy in Pakistan. He concluded whenever there is a democratic government in Pakistan, military control goes out of hand. Terrorists gain help and strike in India. Pakistani counterparts had no real logical answer.

(4) Some one commented over Sajjad Lone's suggestion of peace talks , structural dialogues etc that these cliches will no longer work. Lets strike back hard and put an end to it all. Live with peace.

(5) A personal comment made on Mr. Lone turned the debate little emotional and he said nobody in the panel except him can sympathise better than him with the blasts victims (His father was killed in one such attack.), thats why he wants peace and doesn't support military action.


No wonder, on another news channel, two MPs of opposite parties (you know who) were fighting each other like dogs, as they do it in parliament daily, over the same issue.


As people of India, we can do a few things which can help prevent such attacks:

(1) If you are a landlord, keep details of persons living in your house. Keep details of your household help and verify their identity.

(2) Report stray baggages etc to police even during the most peaceful days.

(3) If you find somebody making suspicious moves like taking pictures, videos, behaving unusually at a crowded place, inform police asap.

Government of India and various states can make following moves to counter terrorism:
(1) Start behaving sensibly when such strikes occur. Start working in national interest at least on this one issue. Don't talk, take some actions !

(1) a central autonomous counter terrorism agency to bring intelligence
inputs, analyzing and disseminating them.

(2) Install CCTVs at crowded and important places in all cities.

(3) Respond to details of suspicious objects/persons sent by public quickly.

It can very well be a big election issue having the potential to topple governments. India must handle terrorism before it threatens national security in a big big way. Everybody seems to be busy chalking out solutions. Ruling politicians better do it ASAP. Time is running out of hand. This time, people of India are not sad or frightened. They are angry. They want a stiff response from the government. The common perception is - if somebody has to be killed in such blasts it has to be the terrorists themselves - not the common innocent public.