Terrorism – An Indian Perspective

Commodore Rajesh Sarin,

Indian Navy Consultant

  1. A common definition of terrorism is “The systematic use or threatened use of violence to intimidate a population or government and thereby effect political, religious, or ideological change.” The key element here is that a section of society wants to affect changes in the current equations in their existing society seeking a more equitable sharing of resources amongst all. Terrorism has existed in some form or another throughout history but it attracted global attention only after the world realised the magnitude of what modern terrorist threats can achieve, first post the attacks of September 11 in New York and then once again on 26 Nov 08 in Mumbai. Ever since, the study and understanding of terrorism has experienced a renewal of sorts, attracting unprecedented attention by both scholars and the mainstream public.
  2. India has remained exposed to some form of terrorism or the other ever since her independence in 1947. In the four conventional wars that India has fought since independence, the total number of security forces who lost their lives was 9,857. However over the past 15 years 62,221 civilians in India have lost their lives to terrorism a figure six times greater. Since 1998, more than 2,000 Indians have died in terrorist violence, and in 2008 alone there were 64 terror attacks across the country. The terrorist attacks though concentrated in one or two major cities, were preceded by nearly a dozen attacks in numerous Indian cities, including Ahmadabad, Delhi, Jaipur, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Gandhinagar, Guwahati, Varanasi and Lucknow. Even Parliament House, a symbol of Indian democracy, was not spared, suffering a deadly assault in 2001. The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) of the United States report for 2011 lists India as fourth in the world for terrorist attacks conducted and sixth for casualties suffered.  However Mumbai remains the preferred destination for terrorist attacks and has alone faced nine major terrorist attacks in the past twenty years accounting for two thousand deaths.
  3. India today has about 150 listed terrorist organizations that operate across the country. These have been listed by the Government and exist mainly in the North Eastern States (Assam, Tripura, Mizoram and Nagaland) and Kashmir. There are also the right wing Hindu and Muslim organizations that add to these numbers and complicate the issue.  The recent proliferation of the Maoist movement has made the entire central belt of India a hot bed of “red” activity and thus a new epicentre of an anti-state movement. The Maoists or the Reds as they are also referred to as actually control vast tracts of land in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Their control over the backward and internal hilly tribal areas is so complete, that they are virtually running a parallel government. India thus has big terrorism related issues which are physically dispersed and each distinctly different from the others, thus requiring each to be tackled differently. The issues involved in Kashmir are different from those in the North East and at complete variance from the North East of India.
  4. The situation is Kashmir is essentially now a separatist movement where some activists talk of forming an independent homeland while the others talk of merging with Pakistan. After independence from colonial rule India managed to take control over Kashmir, by getting the then Hindu King Hari Singh to sign the merger with the Indian Union. However since Jammu and Kashmir was a Muslim majority state and the very basis of partition of the Indian Union was religion, its secession to India was not acceptable to Pakistan.  India and Pakistan have thus constantly disagreed on the Kashmir issue even fighting a few wars on the issue. The dispute was taken to the UN where it still remains unresolved. Both countries hold some territory of Kashmir, accusing the other of being an occupier. The state enjoyed some political stability when it was ruled by Sheikh Abdullah, the first Chief Minister who ruled from 1951 to 1987. However after his death the machinations of the central government led to a series of alliances, counter alliances, sackings of elected governments and supposedly rigged elections, all of which saw Kashmir spiral into its current situation.  Pakistan saw an opportunity in this and has been supporting this cause from across the border since 1987. The situation in Kashmir has its ups but mostly downs, taking a great toll on the Indian security forces, both in terms of resources and manpower. Sporadic protests against Indian rule continue to date.
  5. The movement in the Punjab was about an independent homeland for the Sikhs. The movement was born out of a series of mishandled political situations in the state, by the central government. The Khalistan movement peaked in 1970s and 1980s. In 1971, Khalistan proponent Jagjit Singh Chauhan, proclaimed the formation of Khalistan while in the USA  and was able to collect millions of dollars. In May 1980, in London he announced the formation of Khalistan while simultaneously stamps and currency of Khalistan were released in India. The inaction of the authorities in Amritsar and elsewhere let the movement to grow out of control. In the 1980s, some of the Khalistan proponents turned to militancy, resulting in counter-militancy operations by the Indian security forces. In one such operation, Operation Blue Star (June 1984), the Indian Army forcibly entered the holiest Sikh Shrine, the Golden Temple to evict the occupying armed militants. This action resulted in physical damage to the temple and loss of life on both sides, leading to widespread criticism of the Indian Government. The Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards in retaliation. Following her death, thousands of Sikhs including those opposed to the Khalistan movement, were massacred in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, termed as a genocide by the Sikh groups. In January 1986, the Golden Temple was occupied by militants belonging to All India Sikh Students Federation and Damdami Taksal and on 26 January 1986, the gathering passed a resolution favouring the creation of Khalistan. Subsequently, a number of rebel militant groups in favour of Khalistan waged a major insurgency against the government of India. Indian security forces suppressed the insurgency in the early 1990s. Some Pro-Khalistan organizations such as Dal Khalsa (International) remain active outside India, supported by a section of the Sikh diasporas abroad who attempt on to reignite this movement.
  6. The terrorist movement which is sometimes referred to as an insurgency in the North East of India is essentially a fall out of post colonial secession movement which has its roots in colonial legacy of independence. Many of these states wanted to be independent (the Naga State had in fact declared independence on 14 Aug 1947, a day before India), over the years these aspirations have  developed new dimensions and newer aspirations which needs to be understood from the changing socio-political and socioeconomic context. For instance the Naga movement which started out with separatist ideologies have co-opted into a more institutionalized process which appears ready to become part of the political mainstream if their interests are served. But this fulfillment of one type of aspiration has inadvertently or otherwise impeded the interests of other groups creating new ethnic cleavages which in turn are increasingly determining the nature of insurgent violence. To add to this there are also others rebellions which have developed into virtual terror groups with huge financial empires and political nexus, almost criminal in nature. Further, unfulfilled aspirations, and gross regional social and economic imbalances which have resulted from historical isolation and neglect of the region besides the inability to ensure distributive justice has been largely responsible for creating a Frankenstein which has no easy solution, at least not in the foreseeable future.  The strategic location of the Northeast has added to the complications which, arguably arise out of a larger game plan of power play between these countries (primarily China, with support from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Burma) and India in the broader framework of South Asian politics. Perhaps it can also be argued that this game of power balance have been at the core of the continuing support which Northeast rebel groups have found in neighboring countries.
  7. The movement in the central Indian corridor is essentially a peasants movement in the old communist style, where the rural poor have organised themselves against the exploitation of their resources by the rich. They believe that the natural resources including land have been forcibly taken away from them without them being sufficiently compensated. The case is best illustrated as follows. A huge iron ore mine is discovered in the state of Orissa. The Government sells the mine to a private operator. Keeping the economic interests in mind, it is decided to construct a smelter plant in the vicinity to exploit the ore. The locals being uneducated are not employable in a meaningful role in the new plants, thus requiring outsiders to take up the jobs. So we have a situation where the resources, land and all available jobs in an area get taken by others leaving the locals feeling cheated. It is this phenomenon that pushes the local youth to participate in anti-state activities. The liberalisation of the Indian economy has seen handing over of vast tracts of mines/ land to private entities leading to greater marginalisation of the locals who then walk into the ‘naxalite Movement”.
  8. The Indian government now has three huge anti-state movements on (the Punjab issue now settled but threatening to rise again), each distinctly different from each other with its own sensibilities. What must be evident by now is that unlike in the rest of the world, the terrorist movement is not a religious based ‘Jihad” but rather the inability to resolve local issues. This large pool of unresolved local issues or a feeling of being left out and exploited. Mass movements then take advantage of the unemployed youth and others who fall easy prey to their indoctrination.  While there are some educated youth who IT openly take part in aiding terrorist activities, it is the uneducated and poor who are always at the front of such battles.  The poor are the ones that end up as human bombs.  So Terrorism is not about religion (Muslims????) only and their quest for Jihad.  India’s 140 million Muslims are a salutary negation of the facile thesis about Islam’s incompatibility with democracy.

Way Ahead

  1. India has survived as a civilisation over the past 5000 years and will survive for another 5000 years. Survival as a civilisation is therefore not an issue but to survive as a modern progressive state will require some urgent corrections in the way we do things. Inclusive growth and inculcating a sense of belonging are both vital to check the growth of terrorism. The following needs to be implemented immediately.
  2. Corruption.                  The issue most in focus today is corruption. It’s scary when the Prime Minister says that only 15 % of the aid designated for the poor actually reaches them. The issue of corruption is presently seeing an unprecedented rise against the government with the educated middle class now asking questions. A number of bureaucrats have tacitly joined this movement and they provide crucial information for the movement. The Government must take positive action to show that they are genuinely interested in eradicating corruption.
  3. Implementation of the Law. Despite having one of the best legal systems, India comes across as a state that is unwilling to act against terrorists. India earned its reputation as a soft state that can be intimidated into meeting terrorists’ demands.  The Indian foreign minister in Dec 99 personally escorted three terrorists freed by India in order to secure the release of passengers of a hijacked Indian Airlines flight to Taliban controlled Afghanistan. There are numerous such incidents that show the Indian nation to be weak and unwilling to take tough decisions.  We need to break out of this trap that we have imposed on ourselves.
  4. Protection of Democracy.      Democratic politics, political freedoms, civil liberties and religious tolerance must be protected at all costs.  The corruption and politicization of the police forces must be minimized.   Criminalization of politics and funding for elections must stop. Lack of accountability and Corruption, act as a fodder for these terrorists in many ways.  Terrorism prospers and thrives in such conditions.   The government needs to be tough in implementing reforms to maintain rapid economic growth and uplift the status of its downtrodden people.
  5. Integrate Populations through the Economic Route.         Terrorism breeds essentially in areas that get ‘left behind”. Uniform economic growth is the key. If within a country there is inequitable growth, especially at a time when the media and technology allow information to be travel quickly, then discontent can be expected from regions that get left behind.
  6. Education. Education levels remain abysmally low in rural India, resulting in large numbers of unemployable people who then fall prey to the many anti-nationalist movements. The mere prospect of being provided three square meals, shelter and a sense of belonging to a collective of people is sufficient to drive innocent unemployed youth to these movements. Better education and subsequent employment policies must be brought in to these backward regions to progress.
  7. Robust Intelligence Network. The Indian security agencies regrettably always work in the reactive mode rather than being proactive. It is time for the nation to pool all its intelligence resources under one head and create a strong, modern and capable intelligence network in place that can prevent the recurrence of any terrorist attack. The US has displayed as to what is possible in terms of anti terrorism activity, should the state so desire. This is a model India needs to emulate, after making the necessary modifications.
  8. Strong Political Leadership. Everything would be futile if it is not backed by a strong and capable leadership that understands the pulse of the people and is committed to protect them. The decisions of the leadership should be influenced only and only by the interests of India rather than factorising a whole range of international opinions and issues. India needs a leadership that values the life of each Indian and is willing to go the extra step to first protect these lives and if needed ruthlessly pursue and prosecute those who wish to harm this country.

Conclusion

  1.          India faces a number of ‘internal terrorist movements” in various parts of the country. These movements run because of some unfinished political agenda and can be resolved only politically. It is incorrect to blame these movements on outside support and control. In fact it is the outsider who has taken advantage of a failing political situation and is using the condition to cause India harm in any way they can. Resolving these political issues will restore normalcy in these areas. The Indian state should now focus on providing equitable growth across the country and ensure that all benefit from Economic reforms. Strengthening the education and intelligence mechanisms should also be a priority. Last but not the least, we need a leader who understand all of the above and implements it.