It was always expected that elements hostile to India would seek to raise a security scare in relation to the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Exactly a fortnight before the Games begin in New Delhi, the shooting at a tourist bus near the city’s historic Jama Masjid on Sunday morning injuring two Taiwanese tourists may be deemed to be the materialising of that unpleasant prospect. The planners were clearly banking on scare-mongering shortly before the big event. Were it not for the upcoming Games, a criminal incident of the nature and type seen near Jama Masjid would not have attracted the kind of attention it did on Sunday in any major city of the world — the matter would at best be of concern in the police district in which it occurred. But with the Games just ahead, the chances are that the matter will be discussed in countries that are taking part, and it is not just the tabloids that will show an interest in it. This is likely to meet the objectives of those who planned and executed the shooting. More than anything else, it is the propaganda value of the episode that interests them.
An outfit that calls itself the Indian Mujahideen, composed chiefly of Indians trained under a special project in Karachi by the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, the principal instrument of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence charged with organising subversion inside India, has claimed responsibility. If there is any substance to the claim, the Jama Masjid incident is a weak effort to draw relatively wide attention. By the IM’s own standards, the incident was minor. In the past, the outfit’s operatives have organised bomb explosions in several cities in India, killing people in crowded places. This was two years ago. Since then the IM has suffered demoralisation on account of the attention paid to it by the authorities. Its top leaders are in the lockup or on the run.
It is, of course, entirely possible that the inspiration for the crime lay elsewhere and not with the IM. It is the job of the security agencies to investigate every possible angle and sound the appropriate level of alert not only in India’s capital but in other major centres as well. Nevertheless, it is well to keep a sense of balance about the threat actually posed to the Games. It is not unlikely that as we get nearer the event, there could be more scares and possibly near-misses. But people in this country don’t get deterred easily and this spirit of resilience was reflected in the busloads of tourists — including foreigners — who continued to visit the crowded Jama Masjid area hours after the shooting episode.
Security in the Indian capital and the surrounding areas is reported to be extraordinarily tight. It should be no surprise if those involved in the shooting were apprehended in a matter of days. It is more than a fair bet that they will be low-level criminals, whatever their provenance. Nevertheless, the government will do well to do a fresh round of briefing of the diplomatic representatives of the participating countries so that their athletes and officials are not unduly demoralised. Unfortunately, the Delhi Games have been dogged by criticism on account of multiple lacunae. This is likely to have reduced international observer interest in any case, if hotel occupancy reports suggest anything. If the security threat were seen to be credible, another unfortunate dimension will be added to the preparations. It is for the organisers and the Indian government to dispel needless anxiety. We should remember that in spite of all the scare talk, the Beijing Olympics went off without a hitch in 2008, and no one should be surprised if security scares are intensified in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics in London.