On 26/11 anniversary, Dr. Aparaajita Pandey stresses that India and South Asia must learn from past terror attacks, strengthen maritime and urban security, and foster regional cooperation against evolving threats.
By Dr Aparaajita Pandey: On the anniversary of the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, it is imperative that as a society and a region, we assess and re-visit what was revealed by the attacks on that fateful day. While the human tragedy is unquestionably horrific, the larger picture lies in unearthing what such an attack was indicative of in the region. The security architecture that needed to be bolstered, and the socio – economic fabric that allowed for the exploitation of people on both sides of such attacks. In a region as politically entwined and historically vulnerable and fractured as South Asia, 26/11 was more than a terror strike; it was a display of the follies of our security architecture. The tragedy revealed not only institutional lapses but also the human cost of strategic neglect.
As South Asia as a region enters an era of renewed rivalries and shifting alliances, heightened tensions, and new tragedies like the recent one in New Delhi; the lessons from the tragedy need to be revisited, re- evaluated, and contextualised in the current framework of evolving security concerns, and national interests.
A Regional Tragedy, Not an Indian One
The 26/11 incident was not a standalone event, but the proverbial sum that was greater than its parts. The tragedy was symptomatic of the bigger problem of the region whose origin, and implications often transcends borders. The South Asia faultlines can be traced back to the cleavages forged by the colonial rule. The perpetuation of this problem cab be attributed to the use of transnational networks, maritime infiltration routes, and ideological ecosystems that are fed, funded, and flourish across borders.
South Asia has long struggled with the blurring of lines between non-state actors and state strategies. The strategic status of certain non-state actors that has been acknowledged in the past has only added to the large plethora of security concerns for the region. The root of the problem of counter – terrorism strategies in South Asia lies in the fact that while the nature of terrorism is regional if not international, the responses are national in nature. This is not to discount that fact that these responses are shaped by the historical disputes and lack of trust among the nations of the sub-continent and a collective effort is next to impossible but to emphasise that the lack of collaboration against such threats only aggravates the problem further.
The emphasis on Maritime Security
26/11 incident brought to fore a problem that India has perhaps regarded as a second priority which was ensuring maritime security. The incident displayed that securing your maritime borders was as important as the importance India puts on its land borders. The pathway that the attackers took not only revealed the importance of patrolling the Indian coast, it also pointed to a future where the Indo – Pacific would become a region with of great strategic importance and a theatre for larger conflicts in the region.
It is important to also acknowledge that this negligence of coastal patrolling was not unique to India but rather a trend in South Asia, where the vast coastlines were often left under- patrolled and the majority of deployment was among the land borders.
26/11 though an unfortunate and devastating tragedy, forced South Asia in general and India in particular, to take cognizance of the growing importance of the Indo – Pacific, and the emerging and changing nature of the security threats. IUU fishing, smuggling, political instability in the island states in the region on one hand, and the larger battle for influence and expansion in the region between in India and China on the other hand. As the BRI, QUAD, and AUKUS become tools of flexing muscles in the Indian Ocean Region, Indo – Pacific has gained more prominence for India and South Asia.
However, no great strides have been made in regional cooperation on maritime security.
Urban Vulnerability: The Human Face of Security Gaps
This article has talked about the larger implications of the 26/11 incident but that is not to take away from the human cost of such an act. The lives that were lost on that day also highlighted that lack of urban security in megalopolises across South Asia. Most large cities across South Asia, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Karachi, Lahore, Colombo, and Dhaka suffer from similar problems.
Vastly high density of population, large areas that were build in an unorganised and unplanned manner, uneven distribution of public amenities, and a population that rapidly outgrows infrastructure and infrastructure development that can never catch- up. While most people and authorities have become apathetic to these problems and take them to be a part and parcel of their lives, it is during such events that the lack of preparedness or support for urban security gets underscored. The expansion of mega – cities across South Asia has happened without any concern for security infrastructure, emergency response infrastructure, surveillance systems, and/or even coordinated command and control centres.
This became a problem when Indian forces began their response to the terror attack. Not much has changed in the planning and expansion of these cities, and while other aspects of security are being given due consideration, the planning and expansion of cities across South Asia, management of their population and infrastructure, and evaluation of their vulnerabilities often is not considered the first priority when it comes to ensuring security against acts of terrorism.
The Changing Landscape: Radicalisation Has Gone Digital
It is also important to acknowledge that the terror realm has taken to the online domain as well as any other sector in the world. While 26/11 happened in a more traditional fashion of terror activities, presently they have evolved to incorporate encrypted platforms, gaming communities, and social media networks. It has never been easier to spread extremist thoughts and ideas and have a greater reach than ever in the past. From easily digestible memes to content that sows the seeds of discord through misinformation; the terror networks have identified the vulnerabilities of low digital literacy in of the South Asian region.
Countries across South Asia are not equipped to handle the spread of extremism through this method. This again needs a collective response which would be even harder to deliver given the mistrust among communities, nation, and states across the region.
The Governance Deficit: Fertile Ground for Instability
It has become even more apparent in the recent past that there is a lack of stability in governance infrastructures around India. The root cause is the similar which ranges from high unemployment among youth, political polarisation, corruption, a growing dissatisfaction in society due to lack of social mobility, and easy access to ideas of extremism due to the expansion and accessibility of the cyber domain.
The recent political vacuum that has been created the neighbouring states of India and the resulting instability that has been growing is not only reiterated the vast chasms in south Asian societies and has resulted in greater polarisation of polities. This sort of instability has a great chance of spilling into India via our porous borders both in the form of actual exodus of people looking for a safe asylum in India and through the transcendence of ideas from media.
Instability in one country in the region should ring alarm bells across the sub-continent. It has been the pattern that violence anywhere impacts the stability of social fabric everywhere. There is a need for collaborative effort to pre-empt and tackle these problems; however, there is a clear lack of willingness and structural processes for any such collaborative effort despite the presence of regional organisations.
26/11 was a national trauma, but it was also a regional warning one that continues to echo across South Asia today. As geopolitical tensions deepen and new threats emerge, the region cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the past.
Security must be understood as a shared responsibility: between states, between institutions, and above all, with citizens whose lives are at risk when systems fail. If South Asia is to chart a safer, more stable future, it must move beyond reactive security doctrines and invest in cooperation, capacity building, and human-centred policy.
(The author is an Assistant Professor at Amity Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, at Amity University Noida.)
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