In June, I had the opportunity to travel out of Delhi a few times and noticed that the airports and airlines were running at full capacity to accommodate holiday travellers headed for destinations within India and abroad.
Elsewhere, at the seaside resort of Sousse, Tunisia, on the 26th of June, while many tourists were enjoying their vacation soaking in the refreshing Mediterranean environment, the tranquillity was shattered when a man opened gunfire that claimed the life of 39 foreigners, mainly Britons, before being shot dead by the police. This was yet another terrorist attack.
It may not be out of place to also mention that in 2009, Tunisia, a fast modernising Muslim dominated democracy, was ranked the most competitive economy in Africa. According to an analysis of the incident by IHS, around 800 persons are believed to be fighting for the Islamic State, and the attacks were part of a broader and coherent strategy that the Islamic State has developed for Tunisia. The Islamic State works towards undermining Tunisia’s economy which has been growing at 5% annually by targeting its tourism sector, which accounts for 14.5% of the GDP and employs approximately 400,000 people. Apart from seriously denting Tunisia’s revenues from tourism this attack also eroded public confidence in the government’s ability to provide security. The security forces were also criticised for not responding more quickly to the attack.
This clearly points to the Caliphate trying to dominate and force its will on independent nations that are made up of open minded Muslims. This is an increasingly dangerous trend that aims at destabilising nations, disrupting world order and stopping the economic progress of Islamic nations that are liberal. Tunisia’s new constitution recognises the issue of discrimination and violence against women and targets gender equality.
Our cover story this month is based on the overflowing prisons of India and the impact that this is having on their security levels. Authorities are finding it extremely difficult to maintain order and secure prisoners inside the jails. Under-trial prisoners languish there for years as an extremely slow justice system takes years to condemn or exonerate them. This often results in innocents and delinquents turning into hardened criminals as they are subjected to humiliation and abuse. Reportedly in Uttar Pradesh’s Dasna jail, 13 men serving sentences in different cases got together to form the Gore Khan gang which pulled off a sensational heist at a Tanishq showroom in Chandigarh in 2011!
As the official media partner of UBM, the organisers of Security & Fire Expo 2015, being held at Chennai from July 1-3, SECURITY TODAY will cover the first time show. We shall bring you the detailed coverage in our August issue.
Till we meet next month, stay safe!
Cheers & Happy Reading
G B Singh
Email: editor@securitytoday.in
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