Terrorism- What It Means And Why It Originates

India is a secular state with unity and integrity which is kept at stake through the activities of terrorism. It is not a new strategy in this world adopted for threatening people and achieving a certain set goal. Terrorism prevails in the society since long.

Terrorism is a threat to humanity, through which people or a group of people spread violence, burglaries, bombings, kidnapping, murders etc. It is a strategy that includes one or the other kind of political, social or religious motive behind it. It can be motivated by the religion as seen in Islamic terrorism or can be in the view of politics. for eg: in 1995 the Oklahoma City bombings were held to send a message to the US government about the FBI operations.

A few of the major causes of terrorism are mentioned below:

• Production of fire arms in large quantities

• Population growth

• Dissatisfaction regarding a particular issue

• Social, political or economical

Many believe that terrorism is a result of illiteracy which is not the case.

• Yakub Menon- one of the major suspects of 1993 Mumbai attacks is a CA by profession

• Osama-bin laden- did terror attack on US in 1998 was a civil engineer.

• Afzal Guru's terror attack on Indian Parliament in 1991 completed MBBS in Jhelum and prepared for other competition exams.

• Khalid Sheikh Mohammad - mastermind behind 9/11 attack is a graduate in BSC from US.

Terrorists are not psychopaths or mentally ill. In fact a psychological approach to terrorism is insufficient to understand what motivates terrorists to take such path. Each terrorist group has a different mentality reflecting the ideology of their leaders. Terrorist activities could be a result of social, religious, economic and political factors.

Major terrorist activities that occur in India are due to:

• India-Pakistan border which is in dispute since partition. 2/3rd of the attacks that occur in india are supported by Pakistan.

• Andhra Pradesh along Bay of Bengal where Naxalites are linked. These individuals are classified as caste opressors or class enemies which operate in the name of backward areas including Adiwasis and Dalits.

A number of intelligence and military organisation work to contribute for counter terrorism.

• RAW- research and analysis wing- external intelligence agency

• IB- intelligence bureau- division of home ministry affairs-inside india

In 2002 antiterrorism legislation- POTA- prevention of terrorism act was passed in India under which government can bring under custody any terrorist suspect without any trial.

These steps definitely help in curbing terrorism and preventing it from spreading.