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‘Not to mention the fact that this simmering problem with India enables the Pakistani Army to retain control over Pakistan. It also ensures they get unstinted support from countries like China.’

‘That’s absolutely correct,’ Rao said. ‘In fact, the terror attacks they sponsor against India are mainly aimed at provoking an armed response from us, a response that will give the Pak Army an excuse to pull out their troops from the NWFP area and thus reduce pressure on the Taliban and Al Qaeda. The army is deeply unhappy about the operations they are being forced to conduct against the Taliban due to American pressure. They would love to have an excuse to get out of that.’

‘But isn’t it in their own interest to fight the Taliban? Doesn’t Pakistan suffer from terror attacks too?’

‘Yes, but there are many in the army and the ISI who want the Taliban to take over Pakistan. They want the Islamic caliphate to expand and take control of maximum territory. In fact, this lot views everything in terms of a jihad against what they call the Crusader-Zionist-Hindu nexus.’

‘All that’s fine, Rao, but who specifically was responsible for these bomb blasts in Ahmedabad – and why are we not able to prevent such attacks?’ The prime minister’s tone was curt.

‘The investigations are still on, sir, but it’s almost certainly the handiwork of the YPS.’

‘I thought the Indian Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the bombings.’

‘They did, sir, but the Indian Mujahideen is merely the action arm of the YPS. The name has been chosen because they want to portray it as a homegrown terror group.’

‘They think they can get away with that?’

‘Well… ever since the Supreme Court banned the YPS as a terrorist group, they have been trying every trick in the book, including the use of some dubious political patrons, to get the ban lifted. If they manage that, they’ll be able to re-establish their over-theground network and actively promote their brand of extremist Islam, while simultaneously carrying out terror strikes as the Indian Mujahideen. This model – of a legitimate political movement or welfare organization as the front with an underground terrorist arm operating in its shadows – is being used by several terrorist organizations in many democratic countries.’

‘You mean, like the Jamaat-ud-Dawah and the Lashkar-e-Toiba in Pakistan?’

‘Exactly, sir. It makes it really hard for security agencies to act.’

‘Is it true that the founders of the YPS are influenced by Deobandi Islam – just like the Taliban and several other right-wing terrorist groups?’

‘It is,’ Rao confirmed.

‘How in hell has the YPS suddenly become so organized? They were just a ragtag bunch till recently.’

‘Sir, though the YPS started as the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami, which itself was inspired by Iran’s Islamic Revolution, the JIH distanced itself from the YPS when it started inciting people to wage war on the Indian state. However, by then the YPS had been identified by the ISI as a valuable tool for use against India. They helped it to link up with the Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami and other such groups and this enhanced their resources and strike capabilities considerably.’

‘I’m glad you’ve done your homework so thoroughly,’ the PM said brusquely, ‘but what I want to know is why we’ve been unable to prevent these bomb attacks.’

‘Sir, no country in the world can be on guard all the time, everywhere. A few attacks will always get through, no matter how strong our defences. There is no single battlefield here, no enemy, and no obvious target to protect.’

‘Are you trying to tell me, Rao, that there is nothing we can do? Are you saying that we simply have to live with this, accept it as yet another unpleasant reality?’

‘No, sir, I’m not saying that, but there is no simple solution.’

‘I’m aware of that, Rao,’ the PM said wearily. ‘Tell us what we can do.’

‘Well, sir.’ Rao took a deep breath. ‘Military operations must always be conducted speedily to ensure the objective is attained in the shortest possible time with the least possible resources. Delhi must acknowledge that Pakistan is a failed state and talking peace with it will just not work.’

‘What nonsense!’ the external affairs minister exploded.

‘I agree with Rao,’ Narayan intervened. ‘We must understand that in Pakistan the power and pervasiveness of the army and the ISI is built on hostility with India and their success in anti-India operations. Why will they ever give it up?’

‘Pakistan is more than just an army and the ISI. What about civil society?’

‘Well, as far as that goes, sir, the Taliban is not the cause, it is in some measure the result of the talibanization of Pakistan’s society,’ Rao explained. ‘In 1947 there were less than 250 madrassas in Pakistan. At the end of last year there were 23,000 and they churn out 1.2 to 1.7 million students annually.’

‘So what?’ the external affairs minister said. ‘Madrassas need not impart only fundamentalism. Sometimes they are required to fill the gap in the absence of state schools.’

‘Well, in the case of Pakistan, the government’s failure to invest in education has been systematically exploited by the Wahhabis, who use Saudi-supplied petro-dollars to control these madrassas. They’ve been subverting entire generations of children and putting them firmly on the path of the jihad. Look at this.’ Rao switched on his laptop and opened a slide. The words scrolled down:
Right from kindergarten, when a child is just five or six years old, he shall be judged by the fervour with which he gives speeches on jihad and shahadat.

‘These instructions have been issued by the Central School of Secondary and Primary Education in Pakistan,’ Rao continued. ‘This, sir, is the society you wish to engage with diplomatically.’

‘So you’re saying that diplomacy is not a solution?’

‘Yes, sir. First, there’s the problem of who we should talk to; the civilian government has no real say in anything and the army has its own axe to grind. To my mind, the only way we can win peace is by taking the battle deep into the Pakistani hinterland.

‘To begin with, sir, we need to declare Pakistan a terror state and snap all diplomatic, commercial, sport and cultural links with it. All planes, trains and buses should be stopped and overflight permissions withdrawn. We must also renegotiate treaties like the Indus water treaty and install new waterflow control procedures.’

‘Do you have any idea of the effort it took to negotiate these treaties?’ the external affairs minister asked irritably.

‘I think so, sir. I also know for a fact that most of these treaties favour Pakistan over India.’

‘What nonsense, Rao! Are you saying they were fools, the people who negotiated these treaties... or are you accusing them of consorting with the enemy?’

‘Neither, sir. We’ve been so busy trying to prove we are not the neighbourhood bully and are serious about the peace process, we’ve bent over backwards to give them more than their fair share. They, on the other hand, have always taken this kindness to be our weakness.’

‘I’m so glad you’re not a diplomat, Rao,’ the external affairs minister remarked.

‘Me too, sir,’ Rao replied evenly. He knew he had crossed the line and focused on hammering out his final points with clarity. ‘We must immediately seal the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bangladesh borders. These open borders help no one but the ISI. India has gone out of its way to woo Nepal and Bangladesh while Pakistan takes advantage of the situation.’

‘Go ahead, Rao,’ the PM said thoughtfully.

‘Sir, Pakistan has to be kept busy with its own problems so it can’t inflict so many on us. That’s why we must offer troops to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan and help them finish off the Taliban and Al Qaeda. The presence of Indian troops in Afghanistan will prevent attacks like the one on our Kabul embassy and it will force Pakistan to deploy troops on that frontier, thus reducing the pressure on the Indian borders and diluting their focus on Kashmir.’

‘Have you gone crazy, Rao?’ the defence minister exclaimed. ‘How do you think the Indian Muslims will react to our sending forces to Afghanistan?’

‘There may be an outcry at first, but they will understand when they start to see some measure of peace return to India.’

‘Easy for you to say, Rao, you don’t have to stand for elections.’

‘No, sir, I don’t. But the fact is that until we stop playing vote bank politics and get down to the business of serious governance, we can’t get off the road to eventual disintegration.’

‘So you think we should just pull the plug on Pakistan...’

‘Of course! It’s common sense. Wars are not fought half-heartedly or with minimal force; every possible lever must be employed to break the enemy’s will and capability to fight. Unless India’s political leadership has clarity and determination, we’ll always remain a soft state and continue to bleed… the way we’ve been bleeding for the past three decades.’

There was an immediate outbreak of angry comments and expletives. The PM stood up and took charge. ‘Gentlemen, please. We asked him for solutions. We may or may not like them, and I certainly don’t find a lot of what he said very palatable, but it’s only fair that we hear him out.’ He turned to Rao. ‘All right, so that’s what the offensive part of India’s strategy should be. What about the defensive measures you mentioned?’

‘The defensive strategy has to be two-pronged, sir. First, we must take measures that make it hard for the enemy to strike. Second, our security forces must be geared to respond to attacks swiftly and our legal system should be able to punish those who are found guilty. Justice must be swift and the punishment harsh.’

The PM nodded. ‘And how do you think we should go about making India a hard target so that terrorists are unable to operate here so freely?’

‘To begin with, sir, all Indian nationals must be issued with biometric photo identification.’

‘Biometric photo identification?’ the home minister repeated in surprise. ‘Do you have any idea what that will cost us?’

Rao appeared unruffled. ‘It will certainly cost a bomb, but in the long run it will cost a lot less than the damage the terrorists inflict on us. In any case, it’s a matter of time before such measures become unavoidable.’

‘And just how will it prevent terror attacks?’ the home minister persisted.

‘Not directly, sir, but it will form the bedrock of a system that will make it much harder for terrorists to operate.’

‘Explain that, Rao,’ the PM said, sitting down again.

‘We must ensure that biometric identification is mandatory for all activities, commercial and otherwise. Whether a person wants a college admission or a library membership, whether he wants to rent an apartment or buy a vehicle – any vehicle, even a bicycle – or purchase a telephone or mobile connection, buy or sell property, start a business, apply for a passport, book a room in a hotel or a guesthouse, even use a cybercafé, he has to first produce his national identity card. That way, we can keep tabs on anyone and also track the movement of dangerous goods. It will also enhance our post-incident investigation capability considerably and make it easier to track down the culprits much faster.’

‘I still don’t see how it can be justified,’ the home minister protested again.

‘Neither would a lot of other politicians, my friend,’ the PM retorted, ‘because it would also cut down on any kind of wrongful voting.’

‘Oh yes, sir.’ There was a hint of a smile on Rao’s face. ‘You can rest assured that a lot of illegal immigrants are going to get weeded out. We’ll see huge changes taking place in many constituencies, especially in areas where so many Bangladeshis have just flooded in and are passing themselves off as Indian nationals…’ Rao’s voice trailed off.

‘You seem to have a special problem with Bangladeshis, Rao?’

‘I have a problem with anyone who is in India illegally, sir,’ Rao replied calmly, too old a hand to be provoked. ‘The only reason I specifically mentioned Bangladeshis is because we all know that these days the ISI is using some of them to carry out acts of terror in India.’

Narayan spoke up then. ‘We need to strengthen our intelligence efforts.’

‘Isn’t that why we set up the National Intelligence Command, Rao?’

‘The NIC has shown results even in the short time it has been in existence. We’ve broken at least four major terror modules in the past few months,’ Rao assented, ‘not to mention several dozen potential strikes that we managed to blunt before they even got off the ground. But there is a lot more to be done. We need to give more muscle to our intelligence agencies and deploy more resources, both human and technical.’

‘I agree with Rao,’ Narayan said. ‘Isn’t it surprising that for a country with a population of almost 1.2 billion we barely have 3,500 people in the IB? For many years now they’ve been asking for more and better quality people, but the sanctions just don’t seem to come.’

‘There you are!’ Rao shrugged. ‘The Godbole Task Force set up after the Kargil intrusion in 2000 had made some very relevant observations regarding the quantity and quality of intelligence personnel. We need to start implementing these reforms instead of debating them endlessly.’

‘That’s what we’re working on right now,’ the home minister said curtly. ‘Is there anything else you have to suggest?’

‘Actually, yes,’ Rao continued. ‘Our front line against terror is the policeman on the street. We need to modernize our police forces and ensure they are better trained, equipped and motivated than the terrorists they have to combat. Right now we have archaic 303 rifles facing up against AK-74s. We have scarcely functional radio sets trying to match up to satellite phones. That must change. We have even reduced the mandatory educational requirement for constables from class ten to class eight, and there’s barely any training – so how can we expect them to stand up to well-trained and highly motivated terrorists?’

‘Who else will join, considering the service conditions and the salaries we pay them?’

‘Very true, sir, and this is yet another anomaly we need to redress. The police and the defence services are our weapons of first and last resort against the enemy. India has to spend more money and ensure it gets the best possible people for these jobs. Crude as it may sound, only those interested in making a fast buck are keen on the police and those who join the defence services do so because they don’t have other options. And a first-class counter-terror operation cannot be fought by a third-class law and order machinery.’