Wise men, they say, learn from others' experience; fools learn from their own experience. But, what can one say about a Government that, like the proverbial Bourbons of France, learns nothing and forgets nothing.

These dour musings were set off by the official reactions in New Delhi to the Hyderabad bombings and the tragic loss of some 45 lives. The Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, enlightened the nation saying, "It is a dastardly act." For good measure, the Home Secretary, Madhukar Gupta, added, "It is a terrorist strike." Can anyone improve upon these statements of the obvious? Perhaps, nothing could have been said immediately after the bombings since investigations were proceeding, and the identity of the individuals and organizations involved had to be worked out. What was the need then for the political and bureaucratic leadership to rush to the TV studios and address press conferences? Regrettably, self-projection even during times of sorrow has become a hallmark of the New Delhi scene. And, even if self-projection was unavoidable to reassure a traumatized nation, could not something sensible have been said? Like, clues are being investigated, security is being tightened, and the public is requested to come forward with any information that they could provide to identify the perpetrators of this dastardly act.

In truth, the credibility of the state is so low that statements by its minions carry little conviction. After all, what is its record in the detection and successful prosecution of past cases of terrorist strikes? Like, the Mumbai train blasts in 2006, and the bombings of the Samjhauta Express and the Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad, earlier this year. All these cases follow a fairly set pattern before disappearing from the newspapers until the next terrorist strike takes place. Mobile telephones seem routinely to be left behind by the terrorists and calls made from them are investigated all over the country leading to a few arrests. Very few eye witnesses are available, and those who might be helpful are afraid to help the police, partly for the fear of being harmed by the terrorists but, equally, because they could be endangered by the so-called arms of the law. Instances are galore where the witnesses have been harassed and even killed to prevent their giving evidence in court. There is little to suggest that any witness protection program is working at the ground level. With little to work on, it is not surprising that weak cases are filed before the courts, where they almost uniformly fail - that is assuming that they come up for hearing regularly and do not drag on from adjournment to adjournment, witnesses are not suborned, and magistrates, prosecutors and the criminal justice system function with a modicum of honestly. Is any of this happening in India?

Why, then, should we be surprised that Hyderabad-type terrorist bombings are occurring all over the country? We can question the perversity of the bombers, the incoherence of their ideology and the suspected role of foreign powers, but the impunity with which they strike at-will should be a matter of concern. After all, the security of the individual is as important as the security of the state, on which so much attention and treasure is being devoted by our leadership.

Coming back to the Hyderabad bombings, it could be reasonably expected that an external linkage will be discovered. Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami (HuJI) in Bangladesh has been currently indicted, purely based on the modus operandi of this terrorist attack. This would deflect attention from the fact that some eight kilograms of military explosives are believed to have been delivered to a HuJI operative in Hyderabad, but nothing was done to pursue this lead. The failure to prosecute those who attacked Taslima Nasrin in the city, even though a case was registered against her, clarifies that the local police is being encouraged to be selective in such matters. Law and order in Hyderabad, obviously, has been politicized and communalized. No marks given for guessing why this dispensation exists. Or, where orders are emanating from. And what is their relevance to the upcoming general elections.

There is another invisible aspect to this matter. An emerging threat facing our society today is the link between terrorist organizations and organized crime. Both rely on the same personnel, transportation, operational techniques and financial infrastructures. Both exploit the same breakdown in authority and enforcement. Is this happening in Hyderabad? If so, it points to the basic need to reform the local police setup if the administration hopes to proceed seriously against terrorists before the next event takes place in the city. For a start, it would be useful to discover how postings of subordinate police officials are being made to sensitive/ lucrative police stations in Hyderabad. Investigative journalism, anybody?