Features

India Hurt!

DQI Bureau

10 Dec 2008 00:00 IST

New Update

26/11. War on Mumbai. Operation Water Rat. Terror 2.0. Mumbai Under
Siege. New Face of Terror. Indias 9/11.

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Ever since a few 20-somethings sneaked into the city of Mumbai and unleashed
Cerberus (the mythological multi-faced dog guarding hell); we have been badgered
with such metaphorical phrases and clichs. Open any newspaper or flick any
channel and these phrases and their likes are bound to enshroud you. With over
200 killed and hundreds injured in latest terror strike, a seething rage is
brimming within everyone. Never before has independent India had been so
helpless as it was in those 72 hours.

But the problem with metaphors is that while they imply much, they convey
ever little. So while all these phrases capture the tiny waves on the surface,
they dont churn whats happening inside. Unlike in the past, when in spite of
the numerous terror attacks, the august indomitable spirit of Mumbai came into
play and people just carried on with the bruises. This time, no one wants to let
go. There are scores of questions and everyone wants an answer. Newspapers,
cyberspace, mobile SMSes, et al, are clogged with such questions. People are
venting their anger and saying: enough is indeed enough.

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There was something distinctive about the latest terror strike on the city.
Forget the great plans, or the fact that it was carried out with such precision
and ease; it is the motive that is troubling. The attack this time was not to
cause maximum damage in terms of life, but there was an economic angle to it. By
attacking five-star hotels like Taj and Oberoi, these terrorist were sending out
a message; India is unsafe in terms of life, and also business. By frequent
attacks on the financial capital, the malignant elements want to scuttle the
economic progress achieved and undertaken by India. And there is a genuine fear
that if something concrete is not done soon, these scum might just succeed.

The sunshine IT and BPO sector is especially concerned. Because these
economically motivated attacks can be a great cause of great concern. As
customers across the globe would be wary to ship out their work to a location
that seems unsafe and volatile. Also, foreign nationals, namely CEOs and CXOs,
from international firms would not be too keen to come down to India, thereby a
lot of the big ticket announcements could be pushed to a later date.

A Call for Action

The dastardly terror attacks on Mumbai
have obviously been the culmination of months of planning and not a chance
incident. It must spur our country to action. Too often in the last few
months have we been taken by surprise and simply relied on the resilience of
our countrymen to bounce back within a few days. But for a nation that is
now watched by many as one of the few islands of economic reliability in an
ocean of economic morass, it is important for all of us, as citizens, policy
makers and proud upholders of democracy and secularism, to put our foot
down. A war on the forces of terrorism that seem to strike at will any where
in the country is what we needand indeed a war on anything that comes in
the way of our continued progress as a nation.

Ganesh Natarajan, chairman,
Nasscom

The economic impact on the country is difficult to predict and all
industry segments including export oriented ones have already taken steps to
keep the business going without missing a step. They have been in touch with
customers not to gloss over the incidents but to assure them of business
continuity. However, we must be conscious of the negative image that will be
created in the minds of customers, who will worry that their dependence on a
country which has so much to deal with in the form of external threat may be
called to question by their own Boards.

The cynics might argue that nothing can be done and we should just hunker
down and take protective action to limit the morale hit our employees would
take, and the concerns that global customers of IT and BPO would surely
express at getting mission critical applications developed and supported
amidst such a spate of attacks. But we can and should show a new
determination to counter and exterminate this menace in the near future. The
strengthening of the anticipation and response mechanisms of the ATS and
definitive action on all words and acts of terrorism is necessary even if it
smacks of our country becoming a police state in the short term. Can the
government commit itself to making 2009 a terror-free year and can all of us
as citizens resolve to make it a year of extreme vigilance where we all work
together to support the law and order machinery to make this effective? The
martyrdom of so many of our policemen in Mumbai, including the brave ATS
leaders, would have some value if we take this incident as a final straw and
make something happen now!

We have a multi-pronged agenda and many challenges in front of us but if
we can fight the terrorism war, India will surely emerge as one of the true
islands of excellence in 2009. Lets make it a happy new year!

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Three years back, terrorists had staged a direct attack on the IT sector when
they opened indiscriminate fire at the Indian Institute of Sciences Campus in
Bangalore, killing IIT-Delhi professor MC Puri. That time there was much hue and
cry over the incident, but as is obvious now, no lessons were learnt.

Need for Citizen
Power

It was a barbaric act perpetuated by
individuals who have no respect for life. But I do not think it will have
any long-term impact. People in the US, UK and Europe have also been victims
of terrorist attacks. Organizations are much more resilient these days to
withstand the impact of such events. In the short-term, there will be a
period of uncertainty since it takes time to restore the confidence of
people.

Sudip Banerjee, CEO, L&T
Infotech

Better coordination among various security agencies, particularly much
better intelligence gathering is what I expect along with greater citizen
participation in terms of reporting of suspicious activities and greater
overall vigilance.

We have solid disaster recovery processes in place. Plus, we have
increased physical security by deploying extra security guards and by
installing electronic surveillance gadgets. We have also enforced stricter
checking procedures.

In fact, there is a genuine fear among many that the IT and BPO sector could
be under direct threat. These monuments of modern India could be attacked by
unscrupulous elements out to spread terror. Keeping this in mind, Dataquest
asked prominent CEOs from the sector (mostly from Mumbai and hence directly
related to the incident) to voice their opinions. Some have not only shared
their outrage and indignation at the turn of events but have also admitted their
own concerns for their employees security. BPO CEO, Susir Kumar (Intelenet
Global), Safir Adeni (Sitel India) and L&T CEO Sudip Banerjee have all spoken
about how they are increasing physical security within their own premises and
working with the employees to make them aware of how to spot a terror threat.

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Immense Tragedy

This is a tragedy of great proportions and
we have lost many innocent lives. I believe we have to move on resolutely as
the whole objective of such terror attacks is to make us be afraid, and the
best way to defeat them is to be unafraid and continue in our task of nation
building.

Nandan Nilekani, former CEO
and co-chairman of Infosys

From all the responses collated, almost all vent their anger at the
establishment that was completely dumbfounded by the attacks. Ganesh Natarajan,
for instance, gives a call for action for all and Susir Kumar talks of a 5-point
agenda plan that deals with things like separate statehood for Mumbai to more
amount being allocated to internal security in the annual budget. Ananda
Mukerjee, CEO, Firstsource, meanwhile, strongly feels that the focus needs to be
made on making the country more secure else, Indias image as a soft target for
terror will inevitably affect its economic standing in the world.

The Next Target

I am shocked and completely outraged at
the attacks in general and specifically at how they were targeted on the
global business community. Even before this dastardly act, there were enough
challenges due to the global financial crisis. This is going to further
accentuate the issue.

Safir Adeni, CEO & MD,
Sitel India

We need to significantly improve out intelligence organizations, our
security organizations, process, protocols and take them to world-class
standards. We need to de-politicize these completely.

Who knows what or who the next target will be. We are all vulnerable
today. The IT and BPO companies already have more security infrastructure
and protocols than most other industry segments. We are further increasing
the focus on this and continuing to ensure the adherence by all.

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A Soft TerrorNo
More

I feel the incident shows that there has
been a complete abdication of duty by the political leadership of this
country. There was no visible leadership being shown by anyone during the
three days of the kind shown by the Mayor of New York and, indeed George
Bush, during 9/11. The usual empty statements of not tolerating terrorism
and determination to root it out by the government and the opposition party
politicians trying to make political capital out of tragedies, have now
become as much a part of the routine as terror strikes themselves.

Ananda Mukerjee, CEO,
Firstsource

Unless we can quickly demonstrate our will to change it, Indias image as
a soft target for terror will inevitably affect its economic standing in the
world. And the way to do it is not just look at the source of terror attacks
(there is only so much that we will achieve), but to focus inwards and take
concrete steps to make this country more secure.

The obvious step is to learn from the USthey have not had a single
incident on the US soil since 9/11. We clearly need a central agency outside
of the current structure with complete authority over all intelligence
gathering, border protection and counter-terrorism along the lines of the
Department of Homeland Security in the US. This will need to have
appropriate interfaces with police and other local law enforcement agencies
but must have clear precedence over them. We need to quickly get political
consensus to make whatever changes in law that has to be done to make this
happen. The government is talking about a federal agency, but that must not
become one more bureaucracy tasked with coordination. Give this agency the
stature, independence and funding it needs and do not politicize it. This
will require political will, maturity, courage and some degree of long term
planningI hope and pray that our politicians can surprise all of us by
rising above themselves to provide it!

A Separate
Statehood?

Its disgusting that in our country we
waste 50% of our earnings (direct and indirect tax) on people who do not
deliver any value. Beyond poor infrastructure and governance you have to
also now live up with poor security.

Susir Kumar, CEO, Intelenet Global

In the long term there will be no impact if we are able to have a long
term sustainable fix on the problemwe will have to fix the source from
where terror is emanating, similar to what the US did post 9/11. We will
have to do this in consortium with the right partners including the US. We
cant expect the problem of terror to be resolved by just intensifying
internal security.

The short term impact will be: a risk that the people will factor when
dealing with or investing in India. People will be worried to travel to
India for doing business.

I suggest five things the government should immediately consider:

1 Separate statehood for Mumbai. An agreed percentage of taxes paid by
Mumbaikars and Mumbai companies should be invested in its infrastructure and
security, given the importance of Mumbai for India. Key citizens comprising
industry leaders and activists beyond elected members of state legislative
to be part of the governance committee governing the state affairs.

2 Installation of large number of close circuit cameras across all
important citiesto view and manage any disaster. We cant have police
officers on street monitoring this - given our population density.

3 Constant education for the citizens to be vigilant and manage
disasters. Each member of the society will have to take some responsibility
of detecting and managing untoward incidents - we cant leave this only for
government officials given our population density.

4 India should invite other counties to join it in fighting terrorism,
including the US and Israel. During the recent terror attack that would have
been sensible in terms of giving a message to terrorists that countries are
cooperating more and more on fighting terrorism.

5 The government has to consider re-allocating higher amounts for
internal security out of the defense budget.

We have significantly intensified the vigilance in our sites and offices.
And we have started working with experts, especially using technology in
detecting and handling disasters. We are also increasing our disaster
recovery capability to manage any potential disasters.

The views and opinions of these select few individuals is reflective of the
feeling of all Indians, who are benumbed not only at the gruesome nature of
these attacks but also at the frequency of them. In this hour of shame, grief,
and anger, lets spare a moment for all the innocents that met a gory end in
this attack. And as a mark of respect for these departed Indians and our foreign
guests; lets not forget and certainly not forgive. Its high time; these fiends
from across the borders or from wherever, were paid their dues.

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Shashwat DC

shashwatc@cybermedia.co.in

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