Module - VI Terrorism

Insurgency and
Terrorism

22
Note
TERRORISM

You have till now studied the creation of armies from ancient times to the present day.
Armies and nations fought wars to protect their boundaries, territory and give security
to the people. It was always a fight between two nations for a cause. In this chapter
we will learn a new form of war fought by the nation's armed forces against people
who terrorise by committing acts of killing. It is called [Link] word Terrorism
means to terrorise, scare people. Terrorism is carried out by a group of people who
have political and idological aims. Such people are invisible and therefore difficult to
detect. The nations's army is often fighting against this invisible enemy.

Objectives
After learning this lesson, you will be able to:
 define the term 'Terrorism';
 describe the origin and types of Terrorism;
 suggest the tactics in the battle against terrorism and
 explain the impact of terrorism on India.

22.1 What is Terrorism?

Terrorism is an unlawful act of violence which is used by the terrorists to make people
afraid. It is used to threaten common public and governments. It is the deliberate act of
killing innocent civilians to create fear and make the Government to do what the terrorist
want. For example a terrorist may plant a bomb in a school bus and threaten to kill all
children if he does not get what he wants. Terrorism has become, an issue of growing
concern for many countries internationally. A group of people who adopt terrorism as
a method to get what they want are known as terrorists. Some of the examples of
terrorism are attack on the World Trade Centre at New York in 2001 and Mumbai
Attack 2008 etc. The main goal of the terrorists is fulfilment of their demands by the
government of a specific country/group. How is terrorism different from war between
nations?

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Terrorism Module - VI
Insurgency and
Characteristics of Terrorism Terrorism
 Has a political aim;
 Violent - bomb blast, suicide bombers;
 Targets civilians and army;
 Non state actors are involved; Note
 Religious and idealogical fanatics form groups to terrorise the population

Have you heard of the word Non State Actor?

Non-state actor is an individual or organization that has significant political influence
and may have support from particular country or [Link]-state actor is defined as
an organised group that has a command structure (Leader, Deputy leader etc), and
does not belong to any state or nation. They operate outside the state and use weapons
and ammunition to achieve their aim. Example of some of the terrorist organisations
are,Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohhamad, Hizbul Mujahidin etc. All
these organisations use extremism to perpetuate Terrorism. These groups use extremism
to motivate and enlish people is their fields.
Separatists. Terrorists call themselves as separatist or freedom fighters because their
aim is to separate from the established government of the country. There is a popular
saying that says, "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter"
Suicide Bomber Young people who are trained and indoctrirated to blow themselves
up and be used as human bombs. They are told to go to a public place like railway
station, malls etc to explode the bomb. Such people are called suicide bombers. The
first orgnisation to have used a suicide bomber are the LTTE of Sri Lanka.

22.2 History of Terrorism

Interestingly terrorism started in 1st Century A.D. A group of people in Judea killed
those who were friendly to the Roman rule. They were against Roman rule in Judea.
Such examples can be found during the French Revolution. However, the first organisation
which used modern techniques was the Irish Republican Brotherhood founded in 1858.
This group carried out attacks in England. They used modern, timed explosives with the
express aim of sowing fear in the very heart of metropolitan Britain, in order to achieve
political gains. Another early terrorist group was Narodnaya Volya founded in Russia in
1878. The group developed ideas-such as targeted killing of the 'leaders of oppression'.
Terrorism has also been classified into different types. These are:-
 Political Terrorism
Violent criminal behaviour designed primarily to generate fear in the community,
or substantial segment of it, for political purposes. E.g is of LTTE in Sri Lanka
which was using terrorism to get a separate Tamil state.

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Module - VI Terrorism

Insurgency and
 Non-Political terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism that is not aimed for political purposes but creates fear by terrorist
attacks to gain some other goals.
 State Sponsored Terrorism
It refers to nations that use terrorism as an instrument of state policy against
another nation. Usually such countries have this method as part of their foreign
Note
policy. Such countries sponsor terrorism by funding terrorist groups. Al Quaida
has major funding from countries in the Arab world. These countries also use
their official organisations to control, fund and direct terrorist organisations. E.g
is of Pakistan supporting terror groups such as JeM (Jaish e Mohammed). LeT
(Lashkar-e-tayyaba) etc.
 Narco Terrorism
Illegal trading in Narcotics such as Ganja, Charas etc. causes drug related
violence. This affects youth more and they are induced into doing violent activities
such as burning Government properties or killing people. People who do activities
in drug trafficking are called Narco-Terrorists and this act is called Narco
Terrorism.

Intext Questions 22.1

1. When did terrorism start in the world?
2. Name any three characteristics of Terrorism.

22.3 Tactics of Terrorism

Terror attacks are often aimed at maximising fear amongst the population and getting
maximum media publicity. Tactics used by terror groups can include the following:-
 Terror groups use explosives such as bombs and also poison or other chemical
substances.
 Every attack is planned months in advance.
 Under cover agents are used to gather information on security forces, police
and the target being attacked.
 Modern tele communications including mobiles and applications such as whatsapp
are extensively used.
 There are no rules of fighting and terrorists can use any means to kill including
use of nuclear weapons.
 Money is raised from local population by threats, kidnapping and other crimes.
 Use of Suicide bombers. They can be children, males or females. They are
trained, psychologically prepared before being used for an attack.

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Insurgency and
What measures can be taken in the war against Terrorism? Terrorism
 Use Army against Terrorists; Destroy terror bases and eliminate terrorists;
 Create special laws to deal with terrorists and their organisations;
 Develop infrastructure in the field of communication, create organisations to
detect, identify funding source etc;
 Work together with other countries in the fight against terror Note

22.3.1 Terrorism in India

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, there are different
types of terrorism in India. These are, Narco terroism, Left-wing terrorism and Ethno-
nationalist terrorism. You have learnt about the first two forms of terrorism. Let us see
what are the other types.

Left Wing Terrorism

It is a form of terrorism that wants to bring in communist ideologies in the governance
of people. Also called Marxist-Leninist terrorism it is found in many parts of the
world. Some examples of this type of terrorism in the world are:-
 Japanese Red Army,
 Naxalite group in India,
 Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
Ethno-nationalist Terrorism
Also called Nationalist terrorism, it is a type of terrorism where groups are seeking
more autonomy withn the state or want a separate nation for themselves. These
group of people feel that they are not getting enough from the state or denied their
rights. Some examples of such groups in the world are:
 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA)
 People’s Mujahedin of Iran (MKO)
 Tamil Tigers(LTTE)
 Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA)

22.4 Impact of Terrorism on India

Let us now see how India has been affected by [Link] states in India have
been affected by terrorism for a long time. These are Jammu & Kashmir, NE states of
Assam, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. We also saw the movement for creation of
Khalistan in the state of Punjab and assasination of our Hon'ble Prime Minister Smt

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Module - VI Terrorism

Insurgency and Indira Gandhi in 1984. Let us see examples of few incidents in different states that
Terrorism
could be linked to the various types of terrorism we just saw in the previous paras.
(a) Ethno Nationalist Terrorism -
This form of terrorism is associated with NE states were a number of groups
used terror methods to have independence and in some cases self-governance
or autonomy. An example is the claim for a separate Bodoland by the ULFA
Note (United Liberation Front of Assam).
(b) Left Wing Terrorism -
This type works on the ideology of following marxist thoughts on how the
economy of a state must run. The Naxals who follow this terror methods exploit
the poor tribes especially in Jharkhand and Chattisgarh and target the security
forces by using bombs and other weapons. It started in West Bengal where the
Communist parties were in power for a long time andthen spreadto Bihar,
Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Andhra [Link] objective of the Naxalites is to
wage an armed revolution, modelled on the lines of the Chinese Revolution,
which they call New Democratic Revolution (NDR), and bring in their own
form of government. Their aim is to raise an army and have bases in remote
areas and slowly expand the bases to bigger areas. Finally they want to overthrow
the Government and have their rule. These bases have come up where there is
no administrative staff present such as BDO, Village Development officer etc.
Some of the groups operating in the states of Central India are People's War
Group(PWG), Janasakthi, People's War and Bihar based Party Unity (PU). A
significant change came about with the merger of the Peoples War Group and
the MCC to form the CPI (Maoist) in 2004. The State Governments o their
part are now building infrastructure such as roads, electricity to remote villages
and increasing the police forces. A Left Wing Extremism Division has been set
up by the Ministry of Home Affairs to tackle the problem of Naxals.
(c) Narco Terrorism -
This type creates illegal narcotics traffic zones. Drug related violence is because
of such groups which supply drugs make the youth violent and make them commit
crimes. Drugs are often smuggled through Nepal and NE states and many crimes
are witnessed especially in North West India. There is a link between Narco
terrorists and terrorist groups because weapons are smuggled along with drugs.
Narco terrorists act as suppliers of weapons to terrorist groups. Therefore,
narco terrorism can be said to be linked to political terrorism.

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Terrorism Module - VI
Insurgency and
What You Have Learnt Terrorism

Terrorism is a new form of enemy for humanity. There are groups of people within us
who cause terror and fear among the population. You have learnt the basics of the
subject of terrorism as part of the military history subject. From ancient times till date
people have been fighting each other for some reason or the other. But wars were
fought between armies only and the civil population was not directly affected. Terorism
Note
is different because it directly affects people. The enemy or the terrorist is not seen. He
or she can strike anytime and from anywhere. The government has to be alert all the
time. Specific points that you should have understood from the lesson are as follows:-
 What is terrorism.
 What is the origin or history of terrorism
 Types of terrorism
 Tactic of terrorists and Counter measures to be taken in the fight against terrorism.
 Terrorism in India.

Terminal Exercises
1. What do you understand by the term Non State Actor?
2. Write a short note of 30 words on the history of Terrorism.
3. What are the types of terrorism found in India?

Answers to Intext Questions

22.1
1. 1 Century A.D.
2. Has a political aim; It is violent; Targets civilians children and armed forces.

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