Terrorism in India

[Sandeep]

[tscii:ba7cb5e8bc]I. Does terrorism, in fact, even warrant the attention it gets?

It is possible to argue otherwise. According to data published by the Loss Prevention Association, in 2000
80,118 people died in road accidents
5,555 people died because of terrorism (2,063 civilians+837 security force personnel+2,655 terrorists)

Given that an overwhelming majority of these fatalities took place in a single State, Jammu and Kashmir, it is tempting to dismiss terrorism as a peripheral problem and to assert that it simply does not justify the enormous financial, military, economic, intellectual and media resources now committed to the problem.

II. Wrong it does warrant our attention

2 powerful arguments

a) The existence of multiple problems does not justify ignoring one or other.
b) Terrorism, despite its small scale, holds out very real threats to India. It has been ably used by fundamentalists both as a pretext for specific incidents of communal violence and to legitimize their fascist agenda.

The best example is the al-Sabbah's campaign (1092 A.D). Al-Sabbah's fidayeen claimed the life of a single man, the Seljuk Wazir Nizam-ul-Mulk. The state apparatus Nizam-ul-Mulk had built over 30 years disintegrated with his death and the Seljuk Empire never quite recovered its unity. It is precisely this kind of outcome that terror group’s hopes its low-grade attacks against the Indian state will one day bring about.

What is it that terrorists groups actually want?

a) In its own publications, the Lashkar is remarkably clear: the destruction of a state it sees as a predatory Hindu entity, and the creation of a caliphate that would stretch from China to Spain.

b) As the scholar Stephen Cohen has noted, the "goal of the terrorist is to use an extreme act to change the way in which this group [civil society] sees reality".

c) Hassan Ibn al-Sabbah (the brilliant 11th century mystic who founded the fidayeen as a means of resistance against anti-Shia chauvinism) terror was an end, not just a means.

III. Social conditions and crises that have enabled terrorist organizations to recruit cadre.

a) Frustration and anger among young people at the failure of the state, and society to deliver justice against perpetrators of communal violence
b) Anger at the economic marginalization of their community.

IV) Medias influence

a) The conservative view muslims as five-wives fanatics while the liberals generally represents Muslims as victims. Both versions objectify the community and obscure the vibrant political life and contestation within it.

V) Security forces (from police, paramilitary to the security guard at the gate) and Intelligence department

1) They are never given credit for successes against terrorist groups: the many occasions that bombings and assassinations are prevented. Everyday we read about weapons seized, terror plans spoiled but still we see security activities as failure.
2) Successive governments have failed in giving India the police apparatus that modern counter-terrorism work requires. Unlike any other country of significance, India still does not possess a national database on terror groups and suspects accessible to forces across the country. Most police stations don’t even have basic facilities (vehicles, phones)

VI) Issues addressed by a Group of Ministers after the Kargil War.

Their recommendations

a) India would have had a new Police Act by 2003.
b) State police forces would have benefited from improved working conditions and support technologies.
c) Intelligence Bureau would have been freed from the supervisory control of the Ministry of Home Affairs bureaucrats.
d) Its new Multi-Agency Centre would have had newly raised technical staff and sophisticated computer systems similar to those used by Western intelligence organizations.
e) Border fencing

Bar some progress on border fencing the implementation scorecard is zero.

Its easy to play the blame game, buts what’s needed and what is difficult is a practical solution to the problem.
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[Chappani]

Terrorism can only be solved with a Socio-Economic solution to the Problem. It cannot be tacked by the Military means OR by just having elections; be it in Jammu and Kashmir, be it in Eeelam.

Terrorism is a result of the deep hurt the people in those section feel, having been marginalised, not treating them on par with the other groups and exploiting their resources. Take an example of a family where the parents treat one child in a good way and another child in a different way, this would result in dissatisfaction and hence lead to spliup in families. Think as a Minority and you can very easily find solutions...

When we talk about people of Jammu and Kashmir/ any other disturbed part, if we think as our fellow citizens who are having some dissatisfaction then it will lead to solutions. Wouldn't we have our Dissatisfied son/ brother move out and lead a happy life elsewhere than lead a troubled life with us. Such bold decisions will have peace and prosperity everywhere.

Any young person would like to lead a happy life, have good job, get settled in life, have family etc.. If such young minds take up Arms knowing very clearly that it would lead them to disaster then there is definetly some grave problem they are facing and needs to be addressed.

One thing is very clear: we cannot forcibly make people to stay together, it should be inborne. And its the responsibility of the caretakers to create a environment where all are treated well, all have equal oppertunities and all have equal say.

[Sundar12345]

May be we must find out the reason for terrorism first.

[Shakthiprabha.]

Just a pondering thought?

Does anyone think SECULARISM is the primary reason for terrorism? (remember we also find terrorism in other countries)

I find foll reasons for terrorism.

1. secularism
2. caste/creed discrimination
3. social status or economic discrimination
4. political issues

LAST BUT NOT LEAST.......

5. FREEDOM.... liberalisation... from unpleasant issues.

[Chappani]

SP, What is Secularism to do with Terrorism???

its only in J&K we have terrorism not in any other part of India - if we have secularism to blame for this...

Just go back to J&K history and see the sequence of events that have unfold. The situation as of 1947, what we promised them, what has actually happened, What is the ground reality there, what our fellow Indian's there think and want....

Just think over, Subhash Chandra Bose who wanted to get freedom to India is a Bharat Ratna for us but British labelled him a terrorist and his outfit the India National Army a terrorist outfit. If we then had the right to ask for Independence from the Greater Britian, then what's wrong with the people of J&K asking from greater India???

Can anyone name a few issues that made us to think we have to be out of British empire and need to have a self rule... Just hear to what people of J&K tell...

[Sundar12345]

I was not asking the reason for terrorism in India I know it is due the INDO-PAK clash the terrorists play a chance in her.
but what about the rest of the world.

[Sandeep]

I was not asking the reason for terrorism in India I know it is due the INDO-PAK clash the terrorists play a chance in her.
but what about the rest of the world.

I believe economic backwardness to be the most common reason.

Ofcource we have doctors, proffesors and other also involved in it, but by and large it seems like economy.

[Sundar12345]

Can you explain in detail?
How terrorism meets their needs?
But all the economically backward people do not take this decision though it is PAK or AFGHAN

[Sandeep]

Can you explain in detail?
How terrorism meets their needs?
But all the economically backward people do not take this decision though it is PAK or AFGHAN

Who said there is no terrorism in PAK and AFGHAN. AFGHANISTAN terrorism has become so widespread that it became a full fleaded war. Afgans fought for years against USSR, then after Taliban came local warloads kept fighting (though taliban crushed them).

Pakistan the govt doesnt have any control in north western province. You must have read about baluchistan details last week, they had to use airforce plains within the country. Think of Indonesia (Largest population of Muslims who also make up the majority). There also there is terrorism.

[Sundar12345]

No what I wanted to say is all the pakistanis and afghans do not become terrorists right.

Pakistan is like the INDIAN parliament fights continue within.

[Sandeep]

Most (not all) people will not get into conflict if they have something to lose. When you have nothing to lose and you have nothing to do then thoughts start. I am not talking about the brains behind terrorism but about the lakhs who agree to take up arms listening to all the bullshit.

Remember the old saying "An idle brain is the devil's workshop".

[Sundar12345]

Yes absolutely correct. That's what happens most of the time.

[Lambretta]

Who said there is no terrorism in PAK and AFGHAN. AFGHANISTAN terrorism has become so widespread that it became a full fleaded war. Afgans fought for years against USSR, then after Taliban came local warloads kept fighting (though taliban crushed them).

Pakistan the govt doesnt have any control in north western province. You must have read about baluchistan details last week, they had to use airforce plains within the country. Think of Indonesia (Largest population of Muslims who also make up the majority). There also there is terrorism.
Yup, also not to mention the terrorism tat US is spreading around in Iraq in the name of fighting terrorism! :evil: :roll: 'wonder how long tats goin to continue there....!

[Sundar12345]

US is now becoming a hub for the terrorists

[Lambretta]

US is now becoming a hub for the terrorists
True! :P
Bush was apparently so psyched out abt "smokin' out" terrrorists hidden in the Mid.East, he failed to realise tat the terrorists r burrowing holes in his country itself!

[Sundar12345]

Bush does not realise a hole in his pot and laughes at other's pot holes.

[Lambretta]

Bush does not realise a hole in his pot and laughes at other's pot holes.
good one! :lol: :thumbsup:

[Sundar12345]

Thank you :wink: :clap: :notworthy:

[Sandeep]

Kolkata, West Bengal and North East Terrorist hot beds

Always overlooked there is a growing Terrorist activity in West Bengal and rest of North East.

I. Bangladesh factor

The growth of fundamentalism in Bangladesh, with covert blessings from the ruling dispensation, inevitably has ripple effects in West Bengal and the rest of eastern India.

Alarming rise of jehadi fundamentalism in Bangladesh has vowed to create an Islamic state in Bangladesh. Bangladesh has become an international haven for Islamic fundamentalist extremist groups from all over the world like Pakistani groups Lashkar (LeT), Jamayath (JeM). In addition 172 Islamic militant camps are operating in Bangladesh, including members of the Jemaah Islamiyah (responsible for the Indonesian bombings).

II. Liberation movement of 1971

Much of the Islamic militancy in Bangladesh is anti-India. It is a sentiment that goes back to the opposition to the "liberation movement" of 1971. Fundamentalist groups have been noted to draw support from families that had in some way opposed independence from Pakistan.

Much of the violence targets the Opposition Awami League, now led by Sheikh Hasina, which led the liberation war. Several, secular politicians, progressive writers and intellectuals opposed to the militancy were killed.

III. Illegal migration

Every day, 1000s of Bangladeshis cross the border into India.These migrations have support of ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its alliance, 2 fundamentalist groups, Jamaat-e-Islami and the Islami Oikyo Jote, oversee the infiltration into India with the purpose of changing the demographic pattern. A senior Army officer "The demographic changes are very disturbing."

The number of Bangladeshi immigrants in
West Bengal - 79 lakhs.
Assam - 50 lakhs;
Bihar + Jharkhand - 4.75 lakhs
Tripura - 3.75 lakhs

The illegal Bangladeshi migrants are in a position to influence the outcome in the following no: of the total Assembly seats
32% (40 out of 120) in Assam,
18% (52 out of 294) in West Bengal.

This heavy influx, especially in the NE region, has been creating pressure on land and employment, resulting in clashes between the immigrants and the local people.

IV. Then why Kolkata is relatively calm

West Bengal, Kolkata in particular, has reportedly become a safe haven for jehadis and other extremists because of its high density of population. That is perhaps one of the reasons why, in spite of everything - location, illegal immigrants, fundamentalist sympathisers - there is near-complete absence of "performance violence".

V. Whats at stake
(a) West Bengal, particularly its northern part, provides one of the easiest passages for smuggling arms and explosives.
(b) The Siliguri Corridor forms a kind of chicken neck connecting the northeastern region with the rest of the country. The feeder highways of NH 31 and 31A and the North Frontier Railway liness run through it
(c) Vital installations such as the airfields of Bagdogra and Hashimara and oil pipelines are located here.

VI. What are the terrorists doing

(a) The chief of HuJI-BD, Showkat Osman alias Sheikh Farid, was a key signatories to Osama bin Laden's call for jehad against the West, Israel and India in 1998.
(b) HuJI's was responsible in the attack on the American Centre, Kolkata
(c) 7 HuJI terrorists were arrested by the Delhi Police in July the same year when they came down on an assignment to assassinate President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam & kidnap cricket stars.
(d) Another HuJI-BD militant was arrested earlier that year along with three Pakistani militants for the abduction of a businessman and other subversive activities in West Bengal.
(e) 3 HuJI-BD militants were arrested in Delhi in connection with the bomb attack on the Special Task Force (STF) office in Hyderabad. They revealed plans of attacking prominent politicians of Andhra, software parks in Hyd and Bangalore, and marketplaces and railways stations.

Much of the Muslim populations on both sides of the border are outside the pale of militancy, more concerned with the business of everyday life than with religious ideologies. Yet the spectre of militancy is a threat to civil society, of which those populations are a part.

[Sundar12345]

sandeep can you give the link from where you get the info?

[Lambretta]

A senior Army officer "The demographic changes are very disturbing."

The number of Bangladeshi immigrants in
West Bengal - 79 lakhs.
Assam - 50 lakhs;
Bihar + Jharkhand - 4.75 lakhs
Tripura - 3.75 lakhs

Yea, very disturbing indeed! They seem to've atleast finally disturbed our national forces from their slumber afa cheking the sneaking in of illegals across the WB/Bangla border is concerned! :roll:
I was once told by a friend from Calcutta tat illegal immigs. from Bangla. can easily sneak into india via Calcutta jus by pressing money into the (Indian) Border police's hands! :evil:

[Sandeep]

sandeep can you give the link from where you get the info?

http://www.flonnet.com/fl2301/stories/20060127006201100.htm

[Sandeep]

Is Indian Terrorism rooted in resentment ?

"It does not take much to target misguided youth and set up modules in any place," says a senior intelligence officer. However, intelligence circles concede that there is no general tendency in the local population to succumb to external machinations. The average Muslim youth condemns acts of terror.

Nadeem Hasnain, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Lucknow, several erroneous ideas about Islam and Muslims are allowed to flourish. As an example, he narrates how soon after 9/11 people rushed to buy copies of the Koran as if the answers on terrorism and hijacking lay in it.

He says that an important distinction between the Indian Muslim and Muslims elsewhere is the presence of democratic outlets to express dissent in India. "Why is it that an organisation like Al Qaeda had to emerge from within a totalitarian regime? Also, why have Muslim youth from India not joined their ranks if the ideological attraction was so great?" asks the professor.

Poverty and politics have no religion.

At Barabanki in UP, it is said that if a youth is given a pair of black sunglasses, Reebok shoes and a pair of jeans, he would be ready to do anything in return.

Its heartening that Muslims in UP have not voted for any communal outfits. They voted for mainstream parties even in districts where they constitute the majority. "This shows that the average Muslim has faith in democratic structures and institutions," Hasnain says. Even in some districts in Kerala where muslims are in majority (80%) parties with alleged links in terrorist activities have never one even a panchayat.

But it is important that economic issues must be resolved, for all sections.

The process of recruiting young men for acts of terrorism begins with the offer of a job, either abroad or close to home. Most of them do not know the real reasons for the offer. One of the methods is to give a young man some money, ask him to start a business with and tell that his services would be called for at a future date.

But despite the poverty and the problems it brings, intelligence agencies have been able to identify very low percentage of local involvement in militancy.

Approach is needed not only from the point of view of internal security but also for identifying long-term solutions. It is time to get out of the rigid "war on terror" framework.