Throughout history, man is involved in violence, bloodthirst and desire to rule. This has been proven time and again by a trail of battles fought throughout mankind. The world has witnessed a series of wars - World War I & II, Crucifix War, the nuclear holocaust of Hiroshima & Nagasaki.
Observing the last 70 years of Man's checkered history, the duration will be rightfully said to be peaceful. However, this is also the period when, in the name of religious hatred and God, international/religious terrorism raised its evil head and began to swallow innocent life. Lets read about this in detail.
Terrorism: Causes, Effects & Way Out
What exactly is meant by terrorism
Terrorism does not have a specific definition. It can mostly widely be defined as the use of violence by non- state actors in pursuit of some political, religious or social belief. Terrorists are usually people, who tend to target a certain spectrum of society.
The US code perhaps has the most comprehensive definition of terrorism. As defined in Chapter 38 of the code “premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents.
However, a lot of countries have been unable to reach a consensus regarding a comprehensive definition of terrorism. This has mainly been due to the different concepts of national liberation. The origin of the word terrorism comes from the Latin word “terror” which translates to great fear.
Causes of Terrorism:
The cause of terrorism depends on its genesis and may depend on political history, modern politics government policies, ideological reasons, cultural tensions and economic trends.
Terrorism may be briefly classified into the following categories:
Ethno-Nationalism:
The desire of a group of people in society to separate themselves from the current government and to form their new country can cause terrorist organizations to be created. Examples are LTTE in Sri Lanka, IRA in Ireland.
Terrorism due to Alienation
Many groups of people who migrate for jobs or education from their homeland to other nations and eventually get settled there. Many times, these citizens, face discrimination from ethnic citizens of the nations. Examples are - Chakma tribes controversy in Northeast, Rohingya Tribe issue in Myanmar.
Religion
Religion is regarded as an important terrorist cause. While religion is not the main cause of terrorism, it plays a significant part in terrorism throughout the globe.
The religious head attracts the youth by stating that after God's death they would be rewarded and make them ready for suicide bombing. Example - ISIS, Khalistan Movement,
Socio-Economic Status
Terrorism can also be triggered by differences in economic standards of rich & poor.
Political Grievances
Grievances against a specific policy or absence of political involvement in the country may also be a prime reason for joining or forming terrorist groups.
The Left and right-wing terrorists are examples of this type of terrorism. It is akin to ethno-nationalist terrorism, but in this, the demand is not to create a new state but to change the political policy within the nation.
Effects of Terrorism:
The effects of terrorism are dreadful. Apart from the destruction of Property, the loss of life is irrecoverable. Following are the effects of terrorism:
- In economics terms, direct loss by destruction of property. Indirect loss is the impact on the GDP of the country. The effect of indirect loss far outweighs the effect of direct loss.
- The social impacts of terrorism also cause a ripple effect on various societies, like after 9/11 and ISIS there has been an ever increase of “Islamophobia”.
Terrorism in India
India too has been struggling with violent and brutal terrorist attacks.A lot of the terrorist groups have their base in Pakistan.
The most infamous of attacks in Mumbai include the 1993 blasts, in which 13 bombs were set off all over the city, killing over 250 people.
The 26/11 Mumbai attacks that shook the country to its core still haunt people who were face to face with the tragedy
Considering India's geography, complicated ethno-religious framework, multilingual and social organizations, overpopulation and poverty, unfriendly neighbours, Pakistan & China, one can still argue that India's general approach to combat homegrown terrorism was satisfactory but still a lot of work is still to be done.
Communalism
There are many Indian intellectuals who do not have any notion of nationality, geopolitics, geoeconomics or national interest. They work solely towards self-interests. This leads to communal tensions between various communities. Through communal harmony and maturity, the issue of communal harmony can be eradicated.
Prohibition of illegal arms & ammunition:
There is concern about the flow of arms and light weapons in the hands of terrorists.
The UNDP has estimated that in Pakistan there is US$ 2.5 billion worth of drug cash, most of which is laundered by the ISI to finance the purchase of jihadists of weapons. This money is also used to fund terrorism in Kashmir Valley.
This can be tackled by appropriate security checks to prevent cash inflow. Also strengthening ties with countries to put pressure on countries which support terror outfits.
Conclusion
Terrorism is a severe Challenge, not only to India but also at a global level. The challenge cannot be met by a single county, this is a proven truth.
The only solution is through a unanimous approach in which countries will help each other to combat terrorism.
Through MoU’s such as LEMOA and counter-terrorism exercise with friendly nations, terrorism can be uprooted from its core.
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