Recently, India remembered 26/11 on its first anniversary. “26/11” – the terror attack that exposed many holes in the Indian armour continues to give many hours of work for our media houses. Victims and martyrs are remembered. Relatives of victims are interviewed. Heroes who saved lives or passed on vital information are honoured. The Mumbai police’s inaction and incompetence to handle terror attacks are deplored. Visuals of the attack splashed across our televisions screens so often and in various creative formats. Politicians, analysts, commentators, police officials, commandos, and show anchors debated and discussed and lamented the failures of the “system.” Candle light vigils, graffiti, marches, prayers ... expressions of anger, sorrow, confusion, frustration and hope took many shapes.

Post 26/11, many countries were convinced about the dangers to which India stood exposed. An international outcry against Pakistan forced it accept its nationals’ role in the attack. Several arrests were made in Pakistan and other countries; trial is yet to begin. Pakistan, the nursery of terror outfits, continues to get a taste of it’s own medicine through widespread attacks on its own soil.

Post 26/11, has anything really changed in India? A new agency was formed to investigate cases such as terrorism that spreads across various states. We are told that coastal vigil has been stepped up to prevent another attack from the sea. Now, which terror outfit is dumb enough to repeat a strategy that attracted so much attention from the police? A new force – Force One – has come into existence to protect Mumbai from (or to react after?) another terror attack. Security forces have been supplied with new assault rifles and automatic weapons.

With all the hyped new strategies to prevent another terror attack – specifically from the sea on the West coast – a French yacht came into Cochin harbour along the main ship channel without being detected by the Navy, the Coastguard, the CISF, the harbour police or the Customs department! The yacht Andrana was manned by its owner and his American friend. They did not have visas or permission to enter Indian waters much less and Indian harbour. Security agencies sprung into action after they discovered the yacht in the harbour, near the head quarters of the Cochin Port Trust. It turned out that the duo in the yacht, heading from Oman to Madagascar, were harmless people who were forced to enter Indian space following rough weather at sea. What if they had been terrorists? They could have bombed the harbour, the oil terminals, the shipyard and the naval base!

As a nation, we are good at reacting to situations but poor in being proactive in anticipating and preventing mishaps. Be it Kargil or Kandahar, be it an attack on the Parliament or the Taj in Mumbai, each time we are caught off-guard, and worse, without an emergency action plan. In September 2009, a defective tourist boat overloaded with tourists from all over India capsized in Thekkady wildlife reserve killing 25 on board. This was the third such accident in Kerala in recent times. Each time an accident happens, there is a lot of hue and cry in the media. After a few weeks, that incident is forgotten until the next mishap of similar nature recurs. A 114-year old lime surkhi dam in Kerala is about to give away. It might wash away two other dams downstream before devastating three districts. Yet, the Kerala government has no emergency action plan (EAP) to deal with any eventuality.

Do we know the meaning of accountability? After Parliament was attacked, was the then Home Minister fired? No! After gross intelligence failure resulted in Kargil incursions, was the then IB chief brought to the book? No! After the 26/11 attack, was the National Security Advisor fired? No! Why are these people at the top reluctant to quit after taking responsibility for their failures? Policemen in Mumbai may get punished for their mistakes. Yet, the men at the highest levels often are not sacked.

Just as our highest authorities fail to retain responsibility for failures in their area, they are reluctant to delegate authority to men and women on the forefront of the battle against terror. Soldiers in the army may have the latest guns. But often, in troubled areas, a soldier cannot fire at the enemy with confidence. He might call his superiors and they in turn call their superiors all the way to the top bosses in Delhi. When will we learn delegation? One of the costliest decisions of 26/11 was that of an officer who refused to permit his juniors to undertake a combined operation with the Naval commandos. Junior officers on the ground wasted almost 5 hours doing nothing but watch the terrorists through CCTV!

Sophisticated equipment, surplus of funding, camera surveillance, founding of new agencies or forces, and deployment of “expert” groups will not make India safer. Our “chalta hai” (Doesn’t matter, anything goes) attitude, our belief in karma, our passive resignation to “fate,” our indecision . . . all these and other factors are the real reasons for our general failure in many areas. The nation of India is not safe as long as Indians and their attitudes do not change. Our attitudes will not change unless our beliefs change. India needs a new belief system, a new world view, a new outlook on life.