Essay Competititon : On NCTC

Trademark presents the first of the two Essays [unedited] which were selected by a panel of experts as better submissions. The author of this essay will be presented with a Cash Award of  Rs 150/-. 

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NATIONAL COUNTER -TERRORISM CENTER:

OPERATIONS & EFFECTIVENESS

by Pratyay Sarkar 

The 2008 Mumbai Terrorist attack that took place on 26^th November, 2008 not only changed a large number of human life touched by that tragedy, but also showed the utter failure of Indian Intelligence. It also showed the lack of co-ordination among the intelligence agencies in India. 

The aftermath of the terrorist attack threw up a demand for a central intelligence agency which will co-ordinate all the counter-terrorism activities. In this context the searchlight turned to the NCTC of USA and JIAC of UK.The home-minister of India, Mr.Chidabaram and the NSA Mr.M.K.Narayanan, went to USA to study the mechanism of NCTC. Finally, the Government of India came out with a proposed “National Counter Terrorism Center”.

The proposed NCTC is based on Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 1967.The proposed NCTC,which would be part of Intelligence Bureau,  would function to gather intelligence,analyse them and carry out operation based on them. It is this feature that became a bone of contention for the states. The Indian Constitution places the law and order under state lists. The state CMs argue that an independent NCTC would infringe upon the powers of the state. In the backdrop of the protests, the government has put the proposal on back-burner. In this context, the operation of NCTC and its effectiveness needs to be analyzed.

Like the NCTC of USA, the Indian NCTC will be gathering data regarding terrorist activity, keep track of the friends and relatives of suspected and convicted terrorists, share intelligence on daily basis and carry out operations on the basis of that data. Gathering data regarding terrorism is a discrete and tedious job that needs to be carried out very efficiently.So, naturally a single organization collecting huge volumes of data would require lots of field personnel.

The huge amount of data that has been collected needs to be processed and analysed.This is where NCTC could prove to be deadly provided it has experienced and efficient people from the intelligence community. Raw data unless processed does not turn into information and unless the information is gathered whole exercise is futile. With suitable expertise and technology, NCTC can solely focus on processing data and extracting information. This is one area where the effectiveness of NCTC lies.

The information that has been extracted now needs to be utelised.This can be done in two ways: either NCTC pass on the intelligence to law enforcement agencies or it can take action directly on the basis of its own assembled information. This is where the controversy starts. States are of opinion that the power to overrule the states authority can be misused by the center.Also, according to the states, it amounts to violation of the constitution as the Constitution places law and order in the States list. 

The states forget that Article 355 enables the center to protect the union from internal disturbances and hence the center is very much within its rights to take action on these matters. If the NCTC acts as a feeder organization of other counter-terrorism bodies then chances are that its effectiveness may get blunt: carrying out field-operations based on the data from NCTC would solely depend on the counter-terrorism bodies that are not quite free from political influences.

The solution perhaps lies in the proposal of the Home Ministry. According to the Home Minister, making the police chiefs of the respective states into the managing body of the NCTC is one step to mitigate the fears of the states. Also involving the Chief Minister’s office before carrying out any field operation, can be another positive step towards this objective. It would ensure the twin objective of placing law and order in state’s hand and the independence of NCTC remains intact.

The effectiveness of NCTC can only be speculated. Only time can prove its effectiveness. However one aspect of NCTC is its ability to carry-out field operations. Untill the NCTC is endowed with the field-operation option; it will still remain a significant proposal in the pipeline. Creating a state level NCTC with direct link to the chief minister’s office and totally controlled by the central NCTC would certainly increase its effectiveness. Also the NCTC needs to arm itself with the latest technologies and the gadgets available in the market. 

In this regard, it needs to remain two steps ahead of the terrorists in order to prove its mettle. Also the NCTC must have the capability to access the database of Research & Analysis Wing, the famed external intelligence agency of India. Since most of the terror plots are hatched overseas with the help of our arch-enemy neighbours, information collected by R.A.W would prove to be vital.

The proposed NCTC, though being sent to back-burner, is a proposal whose time has come for implementation. A political willingness and courage on the part of central government can help the NCTC to be a dreaded organization in the Terrorist circle. Else it would end up as a joke and a waste of public funds.

Pratyay Sarkar is a Civil Services aspirant and has a degree in Electronics Engg. He is a member of Trademark IAS.