Killing 'em Softly

By Praveen Das

There isn't much research in India into weapons that are meant to be just a deterrent,not devices that deliver death.

Apart from the politics of protest in Kashmir and its terrible consequences,what the tragic deaths of a dozen protestors in the Valley recently highlighted was the use of the so-called 'non-lethal weapons' (NLW) by Indian security forces.

Or rather the lack of.Notorious for equipment shortages,Indian paramilitary and police forces are no better when it comes to using newer methods to subdue rioters without killing some.

Water cannons,rubber bullet shotguns and even the humble lathi qualify as the most basic NLWs for riot control.But serious risks abound.Discretion is the key to using any weapon.

As all officers who've faced violent mobs would attest,prudence rapidly evaporates when rampaging mobs decide to charge.Technology could be the answer,though.

Long a neglected part of military research,NLW development kicked into high gear only in the last decade or so,mainly because the US realised - after an evacuation in Somalia in 1995 - that it needed to 'manage' better unruly crowds in foreign lands.

But all NLWs,however futuristic,will always come with considerable risks attached.Tasers,electro-shock devices that are now a fairly common feature of law enforcement in the West,are one cautionary example.

Many suspects have been inadvertently 'tasered' into cardiac arrest in several instances in the US and Canada over the last decade.

Chemical-based NLWs (mostly 'tear' gas,'calmative' gases and other 'malodorant' substances),thorny to use and trickier to produce,are more controversial.Various chemical agents - always termed 'harmless' by producers and mostly delivered by shotgun shells and grenades - have been used for over four decades to varying effects.

Several activists argue that the global Chemical Weapons Convention,normally meant to govern warfare,must be better defined to regulate 'law enforcement'. A worrying Russian tendency to overuse such deterrents is often cited.In the last such instance in 2002, Russian forces ended a terrorist siege in a Moscow theater by pumping in a mystery gas.

Over 120 hostages died - one reason global consensus now clearly favours 'kinetic' and 'directed energy' solutions for future NLW options.

Directed energy is a big NLW research area.America is said to be close to deploying an Advanced Denial System (ADS),a gadget that would focus high energy microwaves and cause skin temperatures to abruptly rise for a few seconds, immobilising but not harming victims.

Its manufacturer,Raytheon,is believed to have offered to sell them in India,even to the CRPF.Other microwave-based NLW systems are in development across the world.

Acoustic devices also hold promise as NLWs.Designed to disseminate sounds so loud that they cause confusion,devices with even longer ranges are in the works.Some examples have already been fielded by a few nations.Low-energy laser guns - nicknamed 'dazzlers' - that flash and disorientate victims are now being handed out to militaries and police forces across the globe.Blindingly bright lights – usually some variant of xenon lamps - are also being worked on in various laboratories.

Kinetic weapons are the other major NLW category.They encompass everything from rubber bullet shotguns to rubber-ball grenades and landmines,and even air guns that shoot everything from pepper spray projectiles to small bean bags.

Kinetic NLWs are currently the category of choice for security forces worldwide,usually in conjunction with tear gas.But,as the deaths in Kashmir show,they can prove disastrously fatal when fired incorrectly or at short range.

Immobilising sticky foam sprays,net guns and nanoparticlebased repellants are some other technologies being evaluated as viable NLW options worldwide.

Besides America and Europe,Israel,never a state to flinch from confrontation with its Palestinian minority,has also led NLW development.

From sonic booms (created by low-flying fighter aircraft going supersonic over unruly mobs) to newfangled acoustic weapons (one notorious example is nicknamed 'The Scream' by protestors) to compressed sand bullets,the Israeli establishment routinely courts controversy with its riot control tactics.

Indian government agencies appear to be no slouches in this regard however;even if only in conducting some cutting edge research.Coordination between different government departments,meanwhile,is another matter.India's premier weapons lab network, the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO),has recently developed Oleo-resin plastic hand grenades (partly derived from the potent Bhut Jholokia chilli found in north-east India),better tear gas shells and short-range laser dazzlers.

But much of its research,insiders stress,is aimed at meeting the requirements of its primary customer: India's military - not paramilitary or police forces that deal with civilian populations.

It's probably time for an urgent rethink.Considering how touchy an issue civilian casualties has been for central and state governments over the last two decades,and given how sensitive Kashmir and parts of the north-east are to them,such efforts must begin at the highest levels.