How do Americans fight terror? Post-9/11, both in conducting diplomacy and fighting terror on ground zero (AfPak soil), they have followed the dictum: When the situation gets tough, the tough get going. India must take a leaf out of the American book and follow suit. Whether Americans like it or not, India must affirm by action its commitment to zero tolerance for terror. 

Americans despaired when the twin-tower tragedy befell them; people were shell-shocked and fear-stricken; so much so they preferred bullock cart to aeroplane for travel. But the spontaneity of "karma" (action in adversity) took over with immediacy of purpose. The NYPD (New York police department), the civic authority and the federal government swung into action before it was too late.

"Make no mistake, the terrorists will be brought to book," was the message, terse and stern and it did the trick. The operations began in right earnest: Allied tanks rode into Iraq with little or no resistance; deadly warplanes pounded the Afghan badlands - a nightmare for the towering Taliban, whose diabolic leadership (with Mullah Omar's exception as he fled for life) was seen crawling, manacled as they were, in the Gitmo bay.

India, on the other hand, shamed the nation as it capitulated to the same Taliban during the Kandhar plane-hijack crisis. The infamous diplomatic fuddle at the site of the hijacked plane in Kandhar, compounded by a vacillating political leadership at the Centre, saw the release of three dreaded terrorists/ideologues who later wreaked havoc on India.

The United States successfully precluded another 9/11 on its soil, no mean an achievement. India has had major terrorist strikes on its soil; so myriad, one fails to recall the number. Where does the rot lie? Obviously, in India's lack of resolve and inaction to fight terror.

A lesson for India to learn: the ongoing Marja operations by America to take the Taliban head on in its den, the Helmand province. Improving upon the faults and fallacies in their Afghan operations, Americans broke into the hitherto unified ranks of the Taliban by creating an illusory division between the good and bad Taliban. Thus, denting the ideological solidarity and strike capability of the enemy, they approached Marja from all directions, leaving little room for the ferocious Taliban to flee alive. Home-to-home searches with background checks were carried out and the ammunition dumps of the enemy seized.

Americans chalked out a strategy before they went in for a pernicious strike in Helmand: this time round, they were going to stay put - unlike on the earlier occasions when the Taliban would resurface once the Americans had pulled out of a province after clearing it of the rogue elements - with the legitimate Afghan army taking over, and the coalition forces helping the government in development work. Whether or not it works the way Americans have planned it, one thing is certain: they have a strategy - an innovative one - in place.

It is time India unveiled its strategy, only if it has one, to fight terror in a manner the US and Europe have been fighting it. Such a strategy needs to be in place as the Commonwealth Games are in the offing. And threats to sabotage the games are coming thick and fast from Pakistan-based terror outfits and their proxies. Though such threats may turn out to be a mere hoax, they can not be treated as hogwash.

The recent Pune blasts have once again exposed the chinks in gathering and processing intelligence inputs, and eventually busting the sleeper cells of terror modules. A pre-emptive strike of potential modules after their identification could certainly have prevented the German Bakery tragedy, more so when early-warning intelligence alerts were available well in advance.

This brings to the fore the crucial element of "actionable intelligence". In a rapid flow of intelligence inputs from the state, Central and foreign agencies, the functional system - both technical and human - must scan every bit of information and act upon it with due diligence.

The process includes a host of factors such as the surveillance of suspects over a reasonable period of time, use of informants with discernment, raids at possible hideouts of terror suspects, their sympathisers and, more importantly, those who are known to provide them with shelter and logistical support.

It is now more obvious than ever before that Batla House-like locations and suspects have not to be treated with kid gloves. Here, action sans dirty politics is called for. The composite intelligence apparatus, recently set up by the Union home ministry, must get its act together and deliver in a manner expected of such professional bodies elsewhere in the world.

Home minister P Chidambaram must flex his muscle and lend the Midas touch to his premier agency. The insight he has had into the functioning of the world's best anti-terror mechanism during his recent visit to the US must reflect in the set-up under his auspices back home.

Neighbourhood policing plays an important role in the identification of suspicious characters and objects in any locality. It must be fortified and made result-oriented. Background checks need to be made precise and mandatory.

Electronic surveillance must be made stringent at important installations, public transit systems and frequently visited public places such as malls, eateries, theatres, stadia, etc.

The use of biometrics and other electronic data available with private or public authorities must be scrupulously accessed to pre-empt the ploys by nefarious elements. This helps in unearthing the funding sources of anti-national organisations. Funds choked, an outfit is rendered non-functional.   

Though threats by HuJI and LeT may be aimed at creating a fear psychosis in the country, their ideological outfits back home such as the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), Indian Mujahideen (IM) and others of their ilk must be kept on a tight leash. Recent arrests across the country have unmistakably pointed to their immense potential for deadly mischief as they are the most likely carriers for terror virus from across the border.                      

Let sloth and inaction be bygones in India's anti-terror policy. A proactive foreign policy, specially vis-a-vis Pakistan, must include gunboat diplomacy and an active military doctrine.

The enemy, whether state-sponsored or a "non-state" actor, must be scorched by its own heat.