Skip to main content

NCTC : An Analysis

Basics: 
CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) is the intelligence agency of USA meant for combatting external threat.
FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) is the one which is responsible for combating internal threat.

MI5 (Military intelligence 5) works for UK the same way the CIA works.
MI6 works the way FBI works.

IB (Intelligence Bureau) is India's intelligence agency which keeps and eye on internal threat.
RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) is India's intelligency agency taking care of external threat.
CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) is the criminal investigation body of India.
NIA (National Intelligence Agency) is a federal agency to combat terror in India.

Story goes like this:
Before 9/11 United States CIA had Counter Terrorism Center (CTC) for terrorist threat. It was actually meant for external threat.

On the same ground, Bajpayee Govt. formed CTC under an executive order as a part of IB and named it Multi Agency Center (MAC). As IB itself was a clandestine body and MAC was a clandestine part of it, it possessed no leagal power.

After 9/11 Bush Govt. set up NCTC (National Counter-Terrorism Center) in 2004 as there was a serious gap in the functioning of CIA and CTC. NCTC was not put under CIA and was made independent under the Director, National Intelligence who is part of President's personal staff.

While US gave up CTC, it kept functioning in India under IB. Saxena Task Force, which was set up to analyse the impact of 9/11 gave recommendation but it was not taken into notice by any Govt.

The Govt. woke up after similar attack as 9/11 took place in 26/11. The gap in functioning in MAC came into light. Flow of preventive intelligence and follow-up action on even the limited available intelligence was unsatisfactory.

In its wake, Home Minister P. Chidamabaram decided to setup NCTC after a visit to US. But his model of Indian NCTC is different from US version in two respects. The US NCTC is an independent institution not under control of any existing agency. In India it will be made a wing of IB and will work under DIB.

In US, NCTC is a legal institution but it does not have any legal power to act on its own in matter such as arrest, detention, interrogation, searches etc.

In India, NCTC has been set up under executive notification under UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) of 1967. This has obviated the need for fresh legislation and fresh political consultation at the Center and with the States.

More seriously, Indian NCTC is to be given powers of arrests and searches as part of its preventive powers. Granting these powers to NCTC could have two undesirable consequences. First there may be allegations of misuse of the IB for harassing political opponents.

Secondly, the IB's role as cladenstine intelligence collection organisation may get affected. The IB will be preoccupied with defending its arrest before the courts and against allegations of human rights violations.

Today, the IB enjoys protection from the RTI Act. If it has these powers and adds policing to its functions, it may no longer be able to enjoy this protection.

The Home Ministry had two options:
  1. If it felt the NCTC must have the powers of search and arrest, it could have made it an independent agency.
  2. If it felt that it must work under the IB, it could have made it a division of the agency without giving it these powers.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The legacy of Srinivasa Ramanujan

His work has had a fundamental role in the development of 20th century mathematics and his final writings are serving as an inspiration for the mathematics of this century On a height he stood that looked towards greater heights. Our early approaches to the Infinite Are sunrise splendours on a marvellous verge While lingers yet unseen the glorious sun. What now we see is a shadow of what must come. Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, 1.4 The story of Srinivasa Ramanujan is a 20th century “rags to mathematical riches” story. In his short life, Ramanujan had a wealth of ideas that have transformed and reshaped 20th century mathematics. These ideas continue to shape mathematics of the 21st century. This article seeks to give a panoramic view of his essential contributions. Born on December 22, 1887 in the town of Erode in Tamil Nadu, Ramanujan was largely self-taught and emerged from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential mathematicians of the 20th c...
Post a Comment
Read more

Landmarks in the Constitutional Development of India

Regulating Act, 1773 It was the first attempt by the British Parliament to regulate the affairs of the East India Company Governor of Bengal became Governor General for all British territories in India Governor General had a Council of 4 members to assist him in administration Bombay and Madras Presidencies were subordinated to Bengal Presidency Supreme Court was set up at Calcutta having jurisdiction over British subjects Amending Act, 1781 Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court was defined Governor-General-in-Council was made the final court of appeal from provincial court. Pitt's India Act, 1784 East India Company's Court of Directors (consisting of 24 members) was left with the responsibilities of only commercial affairs of the company Board of Control consisting of 6 Parliamentary Commissioners was constituted to control civil, military and revenue affairs of East India Company in India. Court of Directors had to comply with the orders and directio...
Post a Comment
Read more

India's stake in Arctic cold war

Will it be the next geopolitical battleground or remain the common heritage of humankind? A retired Rear Admiral of the Chinese PLA Navy, Yin Zhuo, caused a major stir in March 2010, when in a speech to the Chinese Peoples' Political Consultative Conference, he declared: “The Arctic belongs to all the people around the world as no nation has sovereignty over it.” China, he said, must also have a share of the region's resources. Resources, reserves The five nations which ring the Arctic Ocean, namely the U.S. Canada, Denmark, Norway and Russia, disagree, though they themselves have competing territorial claims. The stakes are enormous: The Arctic Circle encloses 21 million square kilometres of land and 13 million sq.km of mostly ice-bound seas. By way of comparison, India's total land area is 3.3 million sq.km. It is estimated that the region may hold over 40 per cent of the current global reserves of oil and gas. There may also be significant reserves of co...
Post a Comment
Read more