Homegrown blueprints for countering terrorism

The blast at Red Fort that injured scores and killed at least 12 persons, brought back terrorism to Delhi, which, since 2011, has been spared of any major terrorist strike.

- Kabir Taneja

Back in 2011, a bomb exploded near the Delhi high court, killing 15 persons, Pakistan-based Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI), a group known to have a spiderweb of affiliations with extremist groups, had claimed responsibility for it.

Investigations into the November blast have revealed a network of actors involved in terror and extremism that managed to penetrate the security walls of the national Capital, built meticulously over the decades. Terrorism in India has often been subsumed within the rubric of international terrorism. Many in the international community to this day do not remember that barely three months after the 9/11 attacks against the US, which reshaped and reordered the global security landscape, the Indian Parliament was attacked by the Pakistan-backed Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). The symbolism for India, a strike against the institution representing Indian democracy, was stark. Much like 9/11 changed the world, the Parliament attack also changed India, but barely dented the international narrative.

The post 9/11 counter-terror mechanisms were dictated by American power and interests. Power and money flew out of the US unquestioned and unabated to take on Al Qaeda and Islamist extremism associated with it, on a global scale. Countries were expected to bend to the US's demands, and they did, including China and Russia. Some did so under pressure, while others saw an opportunity to get into Washington's good books.