Column: On our own, not doing that badly

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: Anniversaries, the frivolity and pomp associated with some aside, are useful occasions. They are an important way to celebrate, mourn and remind ourselves of landmark events. And on the first anniversary of the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai we celebrate the bravado and sacrifice of our security forces along with Mumbai’s spirited response to a dastardly terror attack, we mourn all those who lost their lives on that fateful day, and we remind ourselves in no uncertain terms of the grave and persistent threat of terror, which waits to strike us at the next opportunity.

The real challenge for the Indian state and citizens since that day has been to make the country more secure. There continue to be two broad ways to tackle the challenge. First, by trying to bring pressure on Pakistan, the epicentre of terror groups, to put a lid on them. And second, upgrading our internal security apparatus to deal with any potential threat.

On the first, we have had only limited success. And for many reasons, we may not have much success in the near future. Going to war with Pakistan was never going to solve the problem. But the problem with dialogue, as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh just recently said, is that the government of India isn’t quite sure who calls the shots in Pakistan. It’s reasonable to assume that the army, Pakistan’s only genuinely functional institution in the larger state apparatus, still wields the most power. But, increasingly, it seems that neither the army nor the ISI nor the civilian state is in complete control of all the militant groups operating in Pakistan. That may eventually work to our advantage—if the army and ISI are hit by terror repeatedly, they may actually retaliate.