Union home minister P. Chidambaram pointed out towards a “new phenomenon” which he called as “saffron terrorism”. The home minister warned that there has been no let up in attempts to radicalise the youth. “There is no let up in the attempts to radicalise young men and women in India. Besides, there is recently uncovered

phenomenon of saffron terrorism that has been implicated in many bomb blasts of the past,” he said while speaking at the annual DGPs conference organised by the Intelligence Bureau on Wednesday. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will address the conference on Thursday.
Mr Chidambaram’s comments come in the backdrop of the investigations by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the CBI into bomb blast cases such as the 2007 Ajmer Dargah bomb blast, Hyderabad Mecca Masjid blast of 2007, Malegaon blasts, 2008 bombing in Modasa in Gujarat, and the 2009 Goa blast throwing up evidence of involvement of radical Hindu outfits.
Mr Chidambaram said through 2009 and in the first eight months of 2010, the security situation was severely challenged by forces inimical, both within and outside the country.The home minister said that except for the Pune blast , the last 21 months have been remarkably free of any terrorist attack. He confessed that the blast at the German bakery in Pune was indeed a blot and “hoped” that the suspects will be apprehended soon.
The home minister referred to the setback suffered by security forces on the Naxal front. He admitted that it would take several years to contain the CPI (Maoists) and roll back their offensive.
“I think the people of India understand — even if the critics do not — that the conflict will be a long-drawn one, that patience is the key, that mistakes will be made, and that the security forces need material and moral support to carry out their tasks,” he said.
“We have called upon the CPI (Maoist) to abjure violence and come up for talks. I regret to say that there has been no direct and credible response to our offer of talks,” the home minister said.
This year alone so far 424 civilians have been killed and of these 192 were killed after being named “police informers”.
Puting emphasis on modernisation of police forces, Mr Chidambaram mooted an idea of bringing the Central-run scheme funds under the DGP.

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IB raises red flag on Sikh militancy
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI

Aug. 25: The Intelligence Bureau on Wednesday warned of attempts to revive Sikh militancy and said that “inimical agencies” from “international bases” were trying to revive Sikh militancy in Punjab by forging an alliance between Sikh militant groups and LeT.
“The attempts to revive Sikh militancy using international bases is another worrisome trend,” IB director Rajiv Mathur said addressing the two-day conference of the DGPs of the state police here. He said that “there have been clear attempts by inimical agencies abroad to reactivate Sikh terrorist elements, forge nexus between LeT and terrorist groups like Babbar Khalsa International and the Khalistan Zindabad Force and mobilise their resources for planning terrorist violence in Punjab and elsewhere in the country.” Earlier this month, minister of state for home affairs Ajay Maken had also warned against attempts by Sikh groups to revive militancy.