This set me thinking about a solution to terrorism & what is lacking in India. I feel POTA / COTA can’t be a solution to terrorism. These acts will only serve in inducting new terrorists on board. Someone suggested death sentences for such terrorist acts. Yes, to a certain extent this will create fear in the minds of public at large, but when you closely observe, when these terrorists are open to killing themselves ( suicide attacks), I don’t think a death sentence will stop them.
For the near term solution , I think what we need to have is set-up like the SSN in USA, wherein when you type the SSN of a citizen you get to know everything of that person right from his/her DOB, Schooling, College, Work , Credit history & stuff like that. Though this might not directly deter terrorists, we might get to unearth the network really fast with most of the information from just one guy. Also whenever any citizen gets in touch with any kind of government service the details of the transaction must be tagged on to his/her SSN. This helps a lot in crime scene investigation. This will definitely deter all first time crimers. Implementing this will take some years (atleast 3 – 5 years to cover 80% of populace depending upon the staffing thrust) , but India can make use of its IT prowess here.
Critics might say this is like invading one’s privacy, but in the larger scheme of things if you weigh that against the lesser crime rates, one will understand the benefits. Needless to sat that the SSN information must be regulated & access controlled only to organizations like CBI , RAW etc.,
The longer term solution is to ensure compulsory education till a bachelor degree to all Indians. Only education will bring maturity to an individual to judge for oneself about the benefits of terrorism & violence. Social reforms to decrease regional / religious divide would also help.
