Our '05 cover on terror

The great outcry here has been for the nation to return to normalcy; any other reaction would be seen as a victory for terrorism. The notion of what is 'normal' however has changed radically in the last several years and is likely to change further. The latest plan-to mix innocuous-looking liquids into a lethal explosive on board a flight over the Atlantic-has made it evident that it is a game of one-upmanship, one in which the terrorists attempt to stay ahead of every new security measure. The modern terrorist has access to the latest technology and is not short of innovation-who knows what he will think up tomorrow?

India has lived with the spectre of terrorism for close to two decades: the rest of the world is only just discovering both its uncertainty and the certainty. The uncertainty revolves around not knowing when or where the next attack could come from. The certainty is knowing that even without a direct attack, the threat of terrorism will disrupt life as we know it.

The arrest of more than two dozen people in England was proof enough that terror cells today are not shadowy entities in Asia, but well-entrenched networks in major western cities. Arrests in Pakistan further highlighted their global and co-ordinated nature. Catching the terrorist is about knowing when to move in. Too soon and it may give the masterminds enough warning to escape, too late and public security could be compromised. The quality of intelligence available to the UK police saved thousands but nobody believes that the terrorists will not strike again.

In this environment, it is only natural to ask how safe we are in India. After 9/11, there have been 10 terror attacks in our country in the past five years-not counting incidents in Jammu & Kashmir. The most recent of these was in Mumbai and the lack of a significant breakthrough in that case is not encouraging. We need to understand whether India's security agencies are prepared for the heightened levels of threat around us. Our cover story package looks at whether India has the manpower, tools and information, to combat the new forms of terror.

The world itself is under attack. The war on terror can only be won with a global pooling together of information and expertise. Today more than ever, the words of English poet John Donne are prophetic: no man is an island.

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