That the attack on the police personnel guarding the American Centre in Kolkata, was obviously carefully planned. It was timed around when the guards were being changed. This was probably a daily routine, and has been studied by the assailants. Two motorcyclists mounted the attacks, one very shortly after the other, knowing that the second attack could take advantage of the confusion resulting from the first. Pillion riders armed with AK 47 rifles did the actual indiscriminate shooting. These terrorist tactics were extensively used during the Punjab militancy in the eighties.
The choice of victims, Indian security force personnel guarding the American Centre, although some civilians got caught in the indiscriminate shooting, was designed to serve a political end viz. to show down the Indian state, and its growing cooperative relationship with the United States, in a spectacular manner. The symbolism of this terrorist act therefore cannot be missed. It has occurred when the Indian and American governments are discussing measures to increase their cooperation in counter-terrorism operations in New Delhi.
A Dubai-based mafia member, Farhan Malik alias Aftab Ansari, has claimed responsibility for this attack. He is associated with the Harkat-ul-Jihadi-Islami outfit, which, apparently, has intimate links with Pakistan’s ISI organization. The Indian government has, wisely, not displayed a knee-jerk reaction by blaming Pakistan for this attack, which could vitiate the already existing tense relations between the two countries. Until credible evidence becomes available after a full and proper investigation, it would be unwise to blame any country or organization, lest an embarrassing retraction later become necessary.
Farhan Malik is a mafia element. His links with India-based criminals must also be properly investigated, and strict action taken against his local links. The internal and external dimensions of terrorism are equally important. So, of course, is cross-border terrorism.
Another point to be made here is the imperative need for a national consensus to unitedly fight the war against terrorism. The Opposition parties in West Bengal have criticized the government for its alleged security failure as a ritual, without appreciating that the terrorist always has the advantage of surprise. Such attacks, moreover, can never be totally anticipated or prevented from happening. Instead of criticizing the party in power for such alleged failures, it would be useful if all political parties and citizens cooperate with each other to deal with this menace of political terrorism.
The Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS) is the premier South Asian think tank which conducts independent research on and provides an in depth analysis of conventional and non-conventional issues related to national and South Asian security including nuclear issues, disarmament, non-proliferation, weapons of mass destruction, the war on terrorism, counter terrorism , strategies security sector reforms, and armed conflict and peace processes in the region.
For those in South Asia and elsewhere, the IPCS website provides a comprehensive analysis of the happenings within India with a special focus on Jammu and Kashmir and Naxalite Violence. Our research promotes greater understanding of India's foreign policy especially India-China relations, India's relations with SAARC countries and South East Asia.
Through close interaction with leading strategic thinkers, former members of the Indian Administrative Service, the Foreign Service and the three wings of the Armed Forces - the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force, - the academic community as well as the media, the IPCS has contributed considerably to the strategic discourse in India.
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