Perception management key to fighting terror, adopt transparent media policy: Doval to security agencies

National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Monday said perception management is a key part of fighting terrorism and advocated adoption of a transparent media policy by security agencies.

Addressing a conference of the chiefs of the Anti Terrorism Squads (ATS), Doval said that without publicity, terrorism cannot sustain for long and will meet its end.

"Media is a very important organ to fight terrorism. As Margaret Thatcher (former British prime minister) said, if terrorists take action and the media is quiet, the terrorism will end. Terrorists terrorise people. If media does not write, nobody would come to know. If somebody's son is kidnapped and killed while going to school and that is not reported by the media, people will not come to know," he said.

Therefore, Doval said, there should be a transparent media policy and the media should be taken into confidence.

"It is a very important organ to fight terrorism. Take the media into confidence. Since we don't tell them many things, probably, they speculate and write. So give them information so that people prepare themselves against terrorism," he said.

The NSA said that perception management is an important part of fighting terrorism and "somebody should be trained to handle media and give information on it".

"Why it (terror) has happened, how did it happen and what can be done, and what the government is doing. Probably they (media) would be very supportive. Whenever you take them into confidence, they are very very supportive. Frame a media policy," he said.