* The slow response from the Centre as well as the

Maharashtra government to threat perceptions speaks volumes about the malaise plaguing our system. It’s time the political establishment took up security reform on war footing: modernising the police forces, augmenting NSG capabilities and overhauling the reconnaissance and intelligence gathering mechanisms for better

coordination amongst Centre and states.

—Shubhodeep Chakrabarti, Kolkata

Collective guilt

* After every crisis, we habitually blame politicians and forget the remedies after the mourning. This attitude costs India dearly. We must understand that the Indian state is a willing association of its citizens and we all are stakeholders in it. And the politician, whom we denounce as the fount of all wrongs inflicted on the country, is one of us. It is we who have sent them there and, moreover, they reflect attitudes across the social spectrum. We often condemn the divisive politics in India but fail to understand that such divisiveness and sectionalism are rooted in us.

—Rajeev S. Mishra, New Delhi

Tough laws?

* The idea of setting up a federal agency to fight terror is good but that alone is not enough. In the absence of stringent laws any agency would prove ineffective in tackling terrorism. It is also clear that the Congress-led UPA government, for whom repealing POTA was an achievement, is unlikely to do anything towards this end.

—Manoj Parashar, Noida

Security for all

* At a demonstration by Mumbai Citizens near the Taj Hotel on November 30, one placard read, “When will the citizens have Z-Plus security?”. This one placard amply summed up people’s exasperation with the ruling elite. While they are seen to move about flaunting their importance, surrounded by security personnel, they forgot to secure the life of the “aam aadmi”. It is time our politicians and their bureaucrats understood the public sentiment. Accountability and responsibility must be incorporated into the governance of this vast country.

... contd.