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Yet five years of repressive counterinsurgency measures had triggered moral outrage at police misconduct without improving security. Indian civil rights organizations and international critics had publicized extensive torture and summary killings by security forces. The U.S. State Department and influential non-governmental organizations exposed brutal counterinsurgency measures in reports that might discourage foreign investors. Two Muslim Ministers threatened to quit the cabinet unless the government repealed repressive legislation that violated minority rights.
The Janata Dal party and some non-Congress state governments opposed repressive anti-terrorist measures. Legal reform might help undermine support for the terrorists, retain the non-Hindu votes Congress needed for reelection, and restore India's international reputation as a liberal democracy.
