Serial bombings in India and Intelligence failure?

24 blasts in two days and India was left asking the usual question -- Intelligence failure?

The series of serial bombings in the last few months surely involved a lot of planning. Jaipur, Bangalore and Ahmedabad had many similarities. Even the same group claiming responsibility for two of the serial blasts.

So what ails our security apparatus and why is India so vulnerable? Are we a weak nation when it comes to responding to terror? Or are we simply not bothered, worried more about our yo-yoing markets and the political climate?

Think the answer lies within. Within us all. Intelligence is all about gathering information, ideally prior information, on anything around us which can have a bearing on our lives.

Information culled the routine way, by-the-way or even, any-which-way.

And that calls for human interaction. Conversations with the chaiwallah, postman, dhobi. Cultivating sources, talking, listening, having conversations -- gathering information intelligently.

But over the years, our Intelligence agencies have been forced to fall back on technology rather than human bodies for intelligence gathering. The reasons could be many and I am not an expert to comment but wise enough to understand this – HUMINT is the best way to gather intelligence -- still.

Technology will assist but cannot become the primary source of gathering intelligence. Penetration at the lowest level and cultivating sources cannot be ignored, a cost we pay now.

But then why blame our Intelligence agencies for ignoring the bare basic? Do we ourselves not rely on technology to gather news or information we need? Leave alone conversations, do we even remember the face of our postman, dhobi or our chowkidar? People, who generally have all the dope. So reliable, that within days of a Stork delivery, Eunuchs are at your door to bless the new born.

Intelligence gathering can be simple and yet be effective. Intelligence gathering need not be the domain of the agencies only. We all can chip in. How?

Know our immediate network well, socialise beyond our Facebook and Orkut friends or contacts -- and know our neighbors too.

It helps.

UPA 275, Sensex 838

So the UPA government scored 275 not out in a closely contested limited hours match.

Opposition cried foul alleging match fixing, UPA carried on playing in spite of bad light.

And in the end, the biggest gainer was India's markets which gave a resounding welcome to the final score. The benchmark BSE Sensex gained 838 points yesterday which many experts say is based on the belief that with the Left out, the government will be able to push through economic reforms.

But, even as I write this (11.55 am), the market is trading in negative territory having opened up over one percent.

Sliding markets was playing havoc with investor sentiments. It was said that political uncertainty was robbing the markets of all its past glory.

Was it?

Purists say invest based on the valuations of a company and the health of their balance sheets. Purists also said that this was a bear market and the question is no longer to hold long or short. The question is -- Is it the right time to invest in markets?

Some experts are still questioning yesterday's surge, looking for an overnight change in valuations and balance sheets.

So is our market overbought on sentiments than fundamentals?

Think the answer lies in a colleague's Facebook post -- "The markets behave in their own mast ways."