Essay on terrorism

August 2, 2020 by Dr. Gaurav J. Sontake

What is terrorism?
In the most comprehensive sense, terrorism is an intentional use of
indiscriminate violence as a mechanism to create terror or fear in order to
achieve a political, religious, or ideological objective. Terrorism is a form
of asymmetric warfare. It is the use of violence against innocent civilians
or non-combatants. The word terrorism has gained popularity following
the attacks on the World Trade Centers New York in September 2001 also
referred to as the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
History of terrorism
The nuisance of terrorism is as old as the Roman Empire. The roots and
practice of terrorism can be traced back at least to the first century AD.
The word terrorism itself was used for the first time to describe the acts of
the Jacobin Club during the reign of terror in the French Revolution.
Types of terrorism

 
                                                            Types of terrorism
State-Sponsored terrorism
It is pursued in order to achieve such clearly stated foreign policy
objectives. Massive-scale state-sponsored terrorism reemerged in
international politics in the 1960s and 1970s. Now, along with religious
terrorism, state-sponsored terrorism has greatly altered the design of
terrorist attacks around the world. Since its independence, India has been
having the same problems from Pakistan.
Ideology-oriented terrorism 
Ideology-oriented terrorism is typically categorized into two: left-wing and
right-wing terrorism. 
Left-wing terrorism 
It is violence against the ruling class, mostly by the lower classes,
motivated by leftist ideology. These include the Red Army faction or the
Baader Meinhof Gang in former West Germany, the Red Brigades in Italy,
the Maoist groups in India and Nepal. 
Right-wing Terrorism 
Right-wing groups tend to seek to protect the status quo or to return to
some past situation that they feel should have been preserved. Examples of
this include: fascism in Italy, nazism in Germany, white supremacist
movements in the USA known as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).
Religious terrorism
Terrorist groups are notably motivated by religion. Religious terrorism is
more destructive in nature. These groups are motivated either in whole or
in part by a religious imperative that considers violence as a sacred duty.
The theology of ISIS is in accordance with the Wahabi theological
ideology. 
Criminal Terrorism 
Terrorist activities are used to aid in crime and criminal profit. For
instance, in narco-terrorism, narcotics traffickers attempt to influence the
policies of the Government by systematic threat or use by violence.  
Ethnic terrorism
It is deliberate violence by a subnational ethnic group to advance its cause.
Such violence usually focuses either on the creation of a separate state or
on the elevation of the status of one ethnic group over others. Tamil
Nationalist groups in Sri Lanka, insurgent groups in North East India, and
the Khalistan movement are examples of ethnonationalism terrorist
activities.
Reasons behind the terrorism
There are many reasons which make people or a group terrorist. Those
reasons are political, religious, poverty, and lack of education.
Political 
The main cause of terrorism is perceived socio-political or historical
injustice and a belief that violence will lead to change. People who choose
this path when they have been stripped off their land or rights are denied
the same. Examples- Hamas group of Palestine, Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam ( LTTE), Maoists and the United Liberation Front of Assam
(ULFA) 
Religion
Terrorist groups use a specific religious ideology to inspire people to join
terrorist groups. For example, ISIS and Al-Qaeda use Islamic ideology
making people follow them. 
Socio-economic
Many people who join terrorist groups are illiterate and poor. Terrorism
can spread like a virus in vulnerable and marginalized communities. These
people can easily be pursued by terrorism groups. 
A lack of employment and unequal growth encourages unemployed youth
to indulge in criminal acts and narcotics.
However, the above arguments are partially true. Of the 9/11 conspirators,
eight were engineers by education. Osama bin Laden’s father owned the
largest construction company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. So,
terrorism is not always a result of illiteracy and poverty.
Intolerance 
Because of the increasing population and decreasing resources, intolerance
is growing in society. Increasing globalization of the society come to
transcend national boundaries spreading terrorism. 
Governance
The ineffective anti-terrorism legislation and misplaced judicial activism
are somehow also responsible for growing terrorism. 
Structural issues
There are structural inadequacies in the state apparatus namely weaknesses
in the intelligence structure -human as well as technical, inadequate
modernization of police paramilitary forces and the Armed Forces,
unimaginative media management and coverage, reactive response, and
slow government decision-making lack of clear strategy and policy on
internal security.
In the Indian context, the reasons over the past few years have been
numerous. Our consolidation as a secular, federal, and democratic state is
still evolving and the fundamentalist forces often exploit a diversity of our
multi-ethnic and multi-religious society. 
Role of technology
Terrorism is spreading fast in the modern era as technology is now available to
conduct acts of terror and the targets of terrorism are more widespread than
ever before. Sophisticated means of communications such as electronic media,
print media, social media, and the Internet help terrorists to quickly promote
their ideology and hate campaign and exploit cyber terrorism. There are
secure and encrypted messaging apps like Telegram. It is the very messaging
platform at Isis used to claim responsibility for attacks. For instance, the
PlayStation primarily is a gaming device. Experts believe that ISIS terrorists
use PlayStation to communicate. One can send private messages via the
PlayStation Network. The FBI and the CIA believe that potential terrorists
have been communicating via these networks. In the case of 26/11 Mumbai
attacks, the terrorists came armed not just with guns and grenades but also
carrying cell phones, GPS devices, and other high-tech gear. This level of
sophistication is worrying. In the Christchurch massacre of New Zealand, the
attack was not reported by bystanders or by security cameras at mosques. This
had been live-streamed by the shooter himself on Facebook.

Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2019

This report is annually released by the Sydney-based Institute for
Economics and Peace. As per this report, India as the seventh-worst
terrorism affected the country. Jammu & Kashmir is India’s most affected
region by terrorism in 2018. Most of these attacks were perpetrated by the
Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and Lashkar-e-
Taiba (LeT). 8,437 Indians have lost their lives since 2001 at the hands of
terrorists.

terrorists at Mumbai 
Why is India a victim of terror? 
India is suffering from ethno-nationalist, religious, left-wing, and narco-
terrorism. Some well-known examples of terrorist activities in India are
Mumbai attacks of 26/11, 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts, attack on
Akshardham temple in 2002, Mumbai train blasts 2006, Parliament attacks
of 2001 attacks on Armed Forces camps in Pathankot and Uri. 
Location
India is geographically located between Asia’s two principal areas of illicit
opium production -the Golden Crescent and the Golden Triangle. This
leads to a heavy influx of drugs and arms. 
Pakistan and China
India has a hostile neighbor in the form of Pakistan with a land border of
3,400 kilometers. Pakistan sponsors state terrorism and fundamentalist
forces, particularly through its inter-services intelligence, also known as
ISI.
Also, India has unresolved border issues with China. And China has active
military and nuclear cooperation with Pakistan. 
Porous border
India shares a contiguous and porous border with smaller SAARC nations
such as Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka. Accompanying
problems such as illegal migration and smuggling in the border belt and
resulting social tensions create a conducive environment for terrorism.  
Sea border
India has a long sea border of more than seven thousand kilometers prone
to pirating and smuggling. During the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, terrorists had
used sea routes to enter the country.
Terrorism has no religion
Another troubling trend is that the so-called war on terror is seen as a war
against Islam. This is irrational and dreadful for Muslims, as they now face
religious discrimination and are socially disadvantaged. The Koran clearly
says, ‘let there be no compulsion in religion’. Nothing could be more explicit
than this. So, the entire mythology of the spread of Islam through the sword is
unjustified. There is no sanctity of the Koran to spread the faith with the
sword.   If it was about religion, Christchurch would not have happened.
Brenton Tarrant was a white supremacist and part of the alt-right. The dark
face of terrorism neither has religion nor nationality. The religious
interpretation is idiosyncratic. There are other political and social factors.
These things are complex and this is where nuance is necessary.

Impact of terrorism
Human cost
According to ourworldindata.org, over the past decade, terrorists killed an
average of 21,000 people worldwide each year. Terrorism accounted for
0.05% of global deaths in 2017.
Education
Schools have been bombed and burned in Gaza, Syria, Somalia, Nigeria,
and elsewhere across the world in the last decade. Teachers were killed,
and students were recruited as child soldiers. 
Foreign investment
Terrorism affects FDI in many ways. Terrorism leads to insecurity and
uncertainty in the country. This causes a lack of trust in foreign investors,
forcing them to divert their resources from the host country to other,
peaceful countries. Costly security measures decrease the returns on FDI.
Terrorism also harms local infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, and
communications. It prohibits foreign investment by raising the costs of
doing business.
Domestic investment
Terrorism also reduces domestic investment as it becomes difficult for
domestic investors to invest in a panic-ridden environment. In addition,
public investment is also severely damaged as government projects such as
roads, highways, canals, dams, bridges, highways, hospitals, and school
construction also brought to an end in the presence of terrorist activities.
Tourism
Tourists usually avoid visiting the city that has been attacked. For tourism-
dependent economies, terrorist attacks can hit even harder.
A recent example is Sri Lanka (Easter bombing). Sri Lanka has made
significant progress thanks to a tourism boom post  25-year civil war
ended. However, the Easter bombing changed the picture. Among those
killed in bombings were 45 foreigners. Tourists fled: the number of
arrivals dropped. For several days following the attack, many businesses
remained closed. A huge share of jobs was lost in the tourism sector. 
Similarly, in Kashmir, tourism is the biggest source of livelihood in the
state. But, terrorism ruined the tourism industry. The owners of hotels,
guest houses, and houseboats, whose business is entirely dependent on the
influx of tourists, suffer huge economic losses. By threatening visitors
from visiting Kashmir, the terrorists are strangling a major source of jobs
and making those who have become unemployed potential recruits to
Pakistan-inspired separatism by violence.
Government spending
Terrorist attacks also increase defense and security spending and this
reduces economic growth. If the cost of terror decreases, more money
could be allocated to spending on infrastructure and that would lead to
higher growth.
Steps already taken to combat and end terrorism
India has already achieved progress on various institutional and legislative
mechanisms aimed at combating terrorism.
NIA
After the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, a national investigation agency also
known as the NIA was formed to counter terrorist acts in the future.
NATGRID
The National Intelligence Grid also known as NATGRID is an integrated
intelligence grid. It will link the databases of several departments and
ministries of the government of India. NATGRID aims to gather detailed
intelligence patterns that intelligence agencies can readily access. It
collects and collates a variety of data from government databases such as
tax and bank account information, credit card activity, visa and
immigration records, and itineraries of train and air travel. 
MAC
India has a multi-agency center also known as MAC for counterterrorism
with a mandate of sharing terrorism-related intelligence inputs on a day-to-
day basis. 
LAWS
Various legal frameworks are created such as the Terrorist And Disruptive
Activities Act and the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 2002, along with the
Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the NIA Act of 2008. 
How to overcome terrorism?
From the understanding of the nature of international terrorism that we are
facing today, it is clear that a long term strategy is required to fight against
terrorism. It has to be comprehensive on all fronts.
Core strategy
The strategy needs to be evolved to protect core values. These core values
are to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity, to consolidate as a
secular, federal, democratic state with freedom of speech, equality, and
justice, to promote socio-economic growth and development.
Socio-economic dimension 
Socially, India must continue to promote liberal and secular polity by
media, intelligentsia, and religious institutions. 
There is a need to develop all regions more evenly throughout the country
with greater development effort in the remote weaker sections of the
society. Economic empowerment of the poor especially in areas like J&K
and the Naxal belts would automatically drive out the extremist elements
and their ideologies would be abandoned.
Education reforms
Education is the antidote against terrorism. Education provides the
confidence and analytical skills youngsters need to condemn hatred and
violence. We must teach values of peace, non-violence, fraternity. So, no
one will be able to brainwash young minds. 
Also, there is a tendency to brand students from madrasas as terrorists.
This further, alienate Indian madrasas. There is an urgent need to de-
stigmatize madrasas as a breeding ground for terrorism and address the
outdated education system in the Madrasahs by modernization.
Upgrading communication systems
There is also a need to develop our communication networks so that
television and telecommunication can spread to remote and border areas
which are currently under the constant reach of Pakistani propaganda. 
Military strategy
India should clearly spell out a counterterrorism doctrine. This should
address the causes and not the symptoms alone. The aim of military
operations is to create a secure and suitable environment so that social,
economic, and political issues can be addressed effectively. 
Effective border surveillance and management is also required to check
infiltration. This should be achieved through technical means of
surveillance backed by highly mobile specialized forces the other than the
present system which is manpower intensive. 
Foreign-based terrorists must be targeted at the bases, training camps, and
sanctuaries to end the surrogate terrorism or the proxy wars. 
Diplomacy
India must leverage its improved ties with the first world countries.
Platforms of multinational bodies like the UN, G20, BRICS, and the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization should be utilized to further India’s
agenda of anti-terrorism.
International cooperation
International terrorism can not be confronted alone successfully as has
been our experience so far. All nations must join hands to combat it.
Countries have to cooperate by intelligence exchange, joint operations, and
investigations. 
Pakistan sponsored proxy war 
It must be further exposed and international pressure should be applied.
We have to convey more vigorously the justness of our cause and
Pakistan’s support for terrorism by both state and non-state actors, as well
as trying to isolate Pakistan within the international community. A strong
message must be conveyed to Pakistan. 
Lessons from other nations
We have to learn from the experiences of other nations. However, at the
same time, we need to realize clearly that a situation is particular to us and
there are no direct lessons to learn except a revaluation of our own
experience. 
A strategy must be pragmatic and cannot be similar to the US model of
global capacity or the Israeli strategy of massive and immediate retaliation,
as the respective environment and capabilities are different.
Media
Dr. Salman Farsi was said to have been involved in the Malegaon blasts.
He was acquitted eight years later. By this time, he had nothing to fall
back upon. He is a qualified Unani doctor. But, he even took to rearing
goats to meet his needs. These outcomes can be easily avoided. The media,
instead of calling each accused a terrorist, may perhaps restrict itself to
calling them only an accused, and avoid displaying their photographs as if
they have been convicted.
Other steps
There is a need to adopt proactive policies to confront the terrorists at the
roots of the ideology of fundamentalists social evils and sources of terror
funding like narcotics and drug trade. 
India also needs to strengthen its anti-terrorism laws. There is a need to
modernize and enlarge intelligence networks, State Police and paramilitary
forces in training equipment and ethos. 
There should be enough preventive measures against nuclear biological
and chemical attacks as well as cyber terrorism.
Conclusion
This unconventional war can not be won by conventional methods. It can
only be won by showing that our values are stronger, better, fairer, and
more humane than the alternative. The values that will rule the future of
humanity are those of peace, tolerance, liberty, respect for diversity, and
not those of reaction, discord, and hatred.