Terrorism

“Any terrorism is an attack on liberation values.” – P.J. O’Rourke

“Terrorism” is used to describe “violence” that may or may not be “political” but is only selectively used to depict some such instances. It is a heinous exploitation of civil liberties and human rights, and is an act every nation should come together to end.

Its origins can be traced back to the eighteenth century when the new French state, following the uprisings of 1789, used organized and systematic terror to deal with its enemies. The word "terrorist" was first used in 1794 by François-Noël Babeuf, a French philosopher, who denounced Robespierre's regime as a dictatorship, during the French Revolution. The Brunswick Manifesto had threatened that the city of Paris would be subjected to military punishment and total destruction. But this threat only increased the Revolution's will to abolish the monarchy. 

Prior to the French Revolution, ancient philosophers mentioned tyranny to be the greatest political threat to Greco-Roman civilization. 

Medieval philosophers were similarly obsessed with the concept of tyranny. The specific aim was to cause extreme levels of fear among opponents. Many would argue that terror must be a key component to any definition of terrorism. 

As Richard English, an expert on the IRA (Irish Republican Army) and author of the insightful book, Terrorism: How to Respond, has asked, 

“Is the deliberate creation and use of terror actually more central to what we usually consider terrorist violence than it is to other kinds of politically related, violent acts?” 

He points out that the “Shock and Awe” assault on Iraq in 2003 would have been far more terrifying that an ETA or IRA bombing. Moreover, he suggests that there is much more to terrorist forms of violence than just terror. Propaganda, political mobilization, and destruction of economic structures are all significant. The word terrorism fails to capture these broader dimensions of political violence and distorts the understanding of the different forms of this catastrophe.

What is the real reason behind terrorism?

The real reason for the existence of terrorism is the use of violence for a certain cause. This cause may be due to the perceived social and political injustice, or simply a belief that violence can lead to change. Usually, perceived injustice or anger against a certain social conditions are the main causes that foster terrorism. Many people join terrorist groups because of poverty, or to extract personal revenge againt authority. There are millions of young people around the world who want to create change by using violence as the tool for social upheaval. 

So, in order to counter these extremists we need to give them alternatives to violence which can prove beneficial for them.

Countries which are greatly affected by terrorism include Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan and Syria, which suffered the largest number of terrorist attacks in 2014. This is the reason 2014 is often called the year of terrorism. It has been recorded that these five countries were the major victims of 78% of all attacks that happened that year. Apart from these countries, there are 39 countries which suffered from a huge number of attacks, and their index ranking is calculated against the severity and frequency of attacks they experienced.

The Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 was an Act passed by the Parliament of India in 2002, with the objective of strengthening anti-terrorism operations. The Act was enacted due to several terrorist attacks that were being carried out in India, especially in response to the attack on the Parliament. 

“Terrorism isn't a crime against people or property. It's a crime against our minds, using the death of innocents and destruction of property to make us fearful. Terrorists use the media to magnify their actions and further spread fear. And when we react out of fear, when we change our policy to make our country less open, the terrorists succeed -- even if their attacks fail. But when we refuse to be terrorized, when we're indomitable in the face of terror, the terrorists fail -- even if their attacks succeed.” - Bruce Schneier