Strike at the roots of terrorism: PM

By Harish Khare

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 14. The Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, today demanded that ``the world must join hands to overwhelm (terrorists) militarily, to neutralise their poison'' and called upon the nation that ``every Indian has to be a part of this global war on terrorism''.

Addressing the nation for the first time since the horrendous attacks on Tuesday, Mr. Vajpayee sought to paint India as a decade-long victim of the kind of terrorism that had manifested itself so viciously in New York and Washington. He noted that ``what happens in Mumbai one day is bound to happen elsewhere tomorrow, that the poison that propels mercenaries and terrorists to kill and maim in Jammu and Kashmir will impel the same sort to blow up people elsewhere''.

Without mentioning Pakistan, he virtually invited the international community to recognise Islamabad's role in aiding and abetting terrorism. ``We must strike at the roots of the system that breeds terrorism. We must stamp out the infrastructure that imparts the perverse ideological poison by which the terrorist is fired up. We must hold governments wholly accountable for the terrorism that originates from their countries. In other words, to get at the terrorists the world community must get at their organisations, at those who condition, finance, train, equip and protect them.''

Making his message clear, Mr. Vajpayee asserted that ``to get at the organisations, the world community must isolate, and thus compel the States that nurture and support them to desist from doing so''. Though Mr. Vajpayee stopped short of offering assistance in any military steps the U.S. might be planning, he did tell the nation that he had told the U.S. President, Mr. George Bush, that India was not only prepared to help in the investigations but also ``to strengthen our partnership in leading international efforts to ensure that terrorism never succeeds again''.

At the same time, he warned against any invocation of religious animosity in the fight against terrorism. ``It is necessary that we bear in mind that no religion preaches terrorism. The fringe elements of society, which seek to cloak terrorism in a religious garb, do grave injustice to both their faith and its followers.'' He ended up his speech by calling upon the countrymen to ``maintain peace and communal harmony''.

Harsh economic measures

The Prime Minister also warned that because of the attacks and the planned U.S. retaliation, there was bound to be certain amount of economic dislocation and ``heightened costs''. He observed, ``We have to prepare ourselves for harsh measures in the coming months.'' Noting that the global economy was experiencing a slowdown, he used the occasion to prepare the country for a stiff dose of harsh economic measures, especially if the price of oil was to go up in the international market.

Though his address came three days after the terrorist attacks, Mr. Vajpayee made up for the delay by his restraint and thoughtfulness. While proclaiming India's determination to fight terrorism, he prudently took care to keep any majoritarian notes out of his address.

He has convened an all-party meeting tomorrow, where a national consensus will be evolved over India's response in the changed situation.

The Prime Minister's Principal Secretary and National Security Adviser, Mr. Brajesh Mishra, called on the President, Mr. K.R. Narayanan, to brief him about the post-New York developments.

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