The political apex as represented by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) and the various branches of the executive symbolised by the NSA, need to have a Plan B — and in the event they do — then the populace must be reassured in this crucial limbo. Most importantly the massmedia, particularly television, must evolve its own Plan B to deal with another Mumbai-like challenge.

Higher national security management in a democracy calls for consensus and continuity between the elected representative who assumes ministerial responsibility and the apex of the bureaucracy — some of who are political appointees — as is the case of the NSA. India is a country where the prevailing strategic culture does not allow for a designated number two — and though we acquired nuclear weapons in May 1998. Opacity is not the desired texture at this point of time. Appropriately transparent contingency planning for a range of exigencies that could dramatically impact national security is imperative. The nation is at war — a low intensity proxy war that began in 1990 — and this must be recognised.

The writer was formerly director, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses