The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Reforming governance

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Friday, Dec 12, 2008
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Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Reforming governance

The article “Fighting terrorism by reforming governance” (Dec. 11) presents a number of good suggestions to combat terrorism and deal with crisis situations. The Mumbai terror attack was a result of intelligence failure and there is an immense need to enhance the intelligence machinery.

The corrupt, bigoted police system too is also responsible for the attack. It is necessary to get to the root cause of terrorism before taking any measure to combat it. Elimination of poverty and unemployment is a must.

Mahmood Alam Siddiqui,

New Delhi

Mr. Raj Kumar’s observation on institutionalised corruption in India, affecting the country’s ability to effectively ensure national security is so appropriate. Those arguing for the emulation of post-9/11 U.S. actions in India fail to acknowledge that though the U.S. is not immune to corruption, it would not play with public security. The article misses the important aspect — the role of civil society. We need to change the public perception that intelligence activities are the assigned duty of certain select individuals alone. The surveillance mechanism will be more effective only when civil society is involved.

M.B. Zaman,

Malappuram

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