Introduction
Terrorism, indeed, has become a global phenomenon posing
major threat to international peace, security and stability. Access to advance technology, including
cyberspace, sophisticated communications, global funding and military grade
weapons has given such groups enormous strength. It is no wonder; therefore,
that terrorism constitutes one of the principal challenges at the global,
regional and national levels and has become a key factor in national security
planning. Terrorism is fundamentally an attack on the state. The rise of
religious fundamentalism has introduced a new ideology which sanctifies ‘Jehad’
(holy war) and ‘Fidayeen’ (suicide) attacks. This exploits the situation of
‘backwardness’ and economic disparity of the frustrated youth of society. Terrorism
today, therefore, has been transformed into a trans-national, high-tech, lethal
and global phenomenon. The response to terrorism needs to be structured
accordingly and the decision making process also needs to be modernised.
In the recent few years, perception of ‘Global Terrorism’
has undergone a massive makeover with the rise of violent armed terror groups
especially in the Middle East, South Asia and African continent. This
phenomenon could be attributed to the diminishing control in the terror space
of the Al-Qaeda leadership, which just a decade ago was the face of terrorism.
The shift of AQ Network from the Middle East to South Asia is a phenomenon,
which is of serious concern to India. The Boko-Haram-IS alliance primarily
seeks to enhance the idea of global jihad with an aggressive brand of terror
and footprint of Caliphate into Africa, through innovative measures. International
Terrorism also implies that such terrorist groups, e.g. JEI, Al Qaida, etc.
have an organisation/ network/ linkage in a number of countries. For instance,
we have identified terrorists who are nationals from 16 countries, currently
operating in J&K.
The New Face of Terrorism
The new face of global terrorism can be most vividly seen
in the dramatic change and growth in its infrastructure. The terrorist movement
has come a long way from selective recruitment in secret cells to mass
recruitment. In addition, the source of
recruitment and training is no longer confined to the affected areas but spans
the entire globe, with a phenomenal up gradation of weaponry. Funds and finance
channels are no longer confined to resources locally mobilized through
individual contributions, extortion and crime.
State-of-the-art communication systems are available to
the terrorist which is at times better than the ones being used by the
counter-terrorist agencies. Access to advanced technology including
cyber-space, Internet, electronic mail, etc. has provided terrorist groups with
a global communication system. It has also provided such groups with an
immensely destructive tool which can be potentially crippling for technology
based economies.
Another relatively new dimension is the networking of
terrorist groups with the criminal underworld including organized crime gangs,
gunrunners, smugglers, drug peddlers, with hawala and parallel banking channels
being used for ensuring global flows of finance. It has enabled global terrorist groups to
use the infrastructure and terrain knowledge of local outfits for launching
attacks in countries, despite having no presence in the area.
Emergence of India at the global level is also being
challenged by the terrorist groups, due to its vibrant economy and plural
character. Devising a strategy to
counter these diverse trends is an extremely complex task, which I expect this
Conference to debate. India has taken steps for setting up of Joint Working
Groups (JWGs) on counter-terrorism/security matters with key countries.
Bilateral treaties on Mutual Legal Assistance (MLATs) in Criminal matters to facilitate
investigation, collection of evidence, transfer of witnesses, location &
action against proceeds of crime etc. have been signed with other countries.
The Government has to placed security and safety as its
top priority.
·
To identified several key areas and allocated
enough budgetary resources to address this issue,
·
To boosted the security-related infrastructure
at the border management by launching new schemes,
·
To minimize cross-border-infiltration
·
Allocated substantial funds to the police modernisation
programmes all over the country with a view to ensure quick and better response
mechanisms.
·
To raised Regional Hubs of NSG battalions in
important strategic locations, to meet any unforeseen challenges.
Having realized the importance of funds and the necessity
to curb its flow, this Government introduced Demonetization, to choke the
funding patterns of various terrorists outfits and effectively curbed the
expansionist designs of these outfits.
Terrorism
Terrorism is usually understood as the use or threat of
violence to further a political cause. There is no universally agreed
definition of terrorism making it a difficult object to quantify. The use or
threat of action designed to influence the government or an international
governmental organisation or to intimidate the public, or a section of the
public; made for the purposes of advancing a political, religious, racial or
ideological cause; and it involves or causes:
·
serious violence against a person;
·
serious damage to a property;
·
a threat to a person's life;
·
a serious risk to the health and safety of the
public; or
·
Serious interference with or disruption to an
electronic system.
India subdivides terrorism in four major groups:
1. Ethno-nationalist
terrorism - This form of terror focuses either (a) on
creating a separate State within India or independent of India or in a
neighboring country, or (b) on emphasising the views/response of one ethnic
group against another. Violent Tamil Nationalist groups from India to address
the condition of Tamils in Sri Lanka, as well as insurgent tribal groups in
North East India are examples of ethno-nationalist terrorist activities.
2. Religious
terrorism - This form of terror focuses on religious
imperatives, a presumed duty or in solidarity for a specific religious group,
against one or more religious groups. Mumbai 26/11 terror attack in 2008 from
an Islamic group in Pakistan is an example of religious terrorism in India.
a.
Left-wing
terrorism - This form of terror focuses on economic ideology,
where all the existing socio-political structures are seen to be economically
exploitative in character and a revolutionary change through violent means is
essential. The ideology of Marx, Engel, Mao, Lenin and others are considered as
the only valid economic path. Maoist violence in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are
examples of left wing terrorism in India.
b.
Right-wing
Terrorism- Right-wing groups generally seek to maintain the status-quo or
to return to some past situation that they feel should have been conserved.
Sometimes, groups espousing rightist ideologies might assume ethnic/racist
character too. They may force the government to acquire a territory or to
intervene to protect the rights of an ‘oppressed’ minority in a neighboring
country (i.e : the Nazi Party in Germany).
3. Narcoterrorism - Narco-terrorism
is an interesting concept, which can fall in the category of either ‘Types of
Terrorism’ or ‘Means of Terrorism’, depending on how it is defined. This form
of terror focuses on creating illegal narcotics traffic zones. Drug
violence in northwest India is an example of narco-terrorism in India.
4. State-sponsored Terrorism: State-sponsored
terrorism or warfare by proxy is as old as the history of military conflict.
Walter Laqueur notes that such established practices existed in ancient times.
In recent times, some countries have embraced terrorism as a deliberate
instrument of foreign policy. One distinction of state sponsored terrorism from
other forms of terrorist activity is that it is initiated to obtain certain
clearly defined foreign policy objectives rather than grabbing media attention
or targeting the potential audience.
International Terrorism:
India's Long Term Strategy and Concerns
Geo-Political
Environment and Threat Assessment
It is necessary to examine the environment, both internal
and external that exists in India. The prevailing internal environment has a
direct bearing on the growth of terrorism in the country, and should be
examined first. The realities in our context are:
·
The fact that our consolidation as a secular,
federal and democratic state is still evolving; and that the diversity of our
multi-ethnic / multi religious society is often exploited by fundamentalist
forces.
·
The absence of sufficient employment and unequal
development, the resultant poverty and the accompanying frustration, which has
encouraged unemployed youth to take up criminal acts and narcotics.
·
Ineffective Anti-Terrorism legislation/ legal
frame-work and misplaced judicial-activism.
·
"Structural" inadequacies in the state
apparatus, namely:
— Weaknesses in the intelligence
structure – human as well as technical.
— Inadequate modernisation of
Police, PMF and Armed Forces.
— Unimaginative media management
and coverage.
— Reactive response and slow
governmental decision-making, lack of clear strategy and policy on Internal
Security.
Amongst the existing external environment, the regional /
sub continental realities that merit consideration are:
·
Our situation between the ‘Golden Crescent’ and
the ‘Golden Triangle’ leading to a heavy influx of drugs and arms.
·
A hostile nuclear Pakistan with a land border of
3,400 km, who sponsors ‘state-terrorism’ and fundamentalist forces.
·
The unresolved border with China (5,800 km), a
country that has active military and nuclear co-operation with Pakistan.
·
A long sea border (7,700 km), prone to pirating
and smuggling.
·
A contiguous and porous border with unequal
smaller SAARC nations such as Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka, with
accompanying problems such as illegal migration, trade and smuggling in the
border belt and the resultant social tensions. Because of its size and
capabilities, India is perceived as a big brother whose active cooperation is
denounced as so-called ‘intervention’ and lack of it, as ‘indifference’.
On the larger international scene, the factors that
impact on terrorism are the following:
·
Globalisation has made geographic borders
transparent to the flow of ideas, people and also turmoil.
·
Technology has extended the reach and
capabilities of the terrorists at the global level.
·
Economic interests of national and
multi-national corporations (MNCs) pre-dominate all other interests. Therefore,
unfriendly acts by some of our neighbours are not questioned.
·
The lack of international cooperation to
undertake anti-terrorist action till the 11 September incident. However, unless
implemented and enforced, it is of little use. This, therefore, needs to be
converted into an international convention and adopted by all nations.
LONG TERM STRATEGY
Following from the above understanding of the nature of
international terrorism that faces us today, it is clear that a long-term
strategy is required to counter terrorism. It has to be comprehensively
addressed on all fronts, political, economic, social and military. This
strategy needs to be evolved from our national aims and objectives to protect
‘core values’. These core values are:
·
Consolidate as a secular, federal democratic
state with freedom of speech, equality and justice.
·
Protect sovereignty and territorial integrity.
·
Promote socio-economic growth and development.
Political /
Diplomatic Strategy: International terrorism cannot effectively be fought
alone, as has been our experience so far. All nations must join hands to combat
it, as is being done for Osama bin Laden and Al Qaida. Pakistan sponsored
‘proxy’ war must be exposed and international pressure applied. A strong
message needs to be conveyed to Pakistan, that we mean business, demonstrated
by deeds/actions. All steps to convey this must be implemented such as
diplomacy, trade, sports and military.
Internal Strategy:
Our policy of meeting political / economic aspirations has succeeded in
many cases through the creation of new states and autonomous councils with
limited military containment. However, it has not succeeded where ‘internal
support’ has been potent. Therefore, need to move from a policy of appeasement
and accommodation to firm action, before the problem spreads:
·
Adopt proactive policies to confront the
terrorists militarily, and at the roots of terrorist ideology –
fundamentalists, social evils and sources of terrorism e.g. narcotics / drug
trade.
·
Enact effective anti-terrorist laws and legal
framework.
·
Modernise and enlarge intelligence networks.
·
Modernise state Police and Para Military Forces
in training, equipment and ethos.
Economic Dimension:
Spread the fruits of development more evenly throughout the country. Locate
some of the Public Sector Units in the remote areas even if they are non-profit
making.
·
Put in a greater developmental effort in the
remote, weaker sections of society – which, though a stated policy is not
visible at present.
·
Reduce demographic displacement resulting in
social / ethnic tension such as in Assam and Tripura, through the joint
development of sensitive border belts along Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
·
Enhance our economic and military capabilities
so as to widen the gap between India and Pakistan sufficiently, and act as an
economic and military deterrence for Pakistan, which would then realise the
futility of trying to catch up.
Social Environment:
Promote moderate and secular polity by media, intelligentsia and religious
institutions. The path of developing a composite culture as already developed
in the Armed Forces may serve as a useful role model.
·
Address the outdated education system of
Madrassas by quality modernisation and laying down guidelines for uniform
syllabii. We cannot continue to recognise religious education such as those in
the Madrassas as an entrance-system for universities. Suitable alternatives
have to be created.
·
Upgrade our communication systems so that
television and telecommunication spreads to our remote and border areas, which
are currently under constant reach of Pakistan propaganda.
·
There should be realistic psychological and
information warfare so that the will of the anti-national elements is
suffocated and the hearts of the populace are won.
Military Strategy: Need to clearly
spell out our counter terrorism strategy / doctrine. This should tackle the
causes and not just the symptoms. For example J&K is only a symptom of
terrorism and NOT the cause. The direction of military strategies should be as
under:
·
The aim of military operations should be to
create a secure and suitable environment, so that social, economic and
political issues can be addressed effectively. Seeking political solutions to
accommodate the aspirations without fully eliminating the terrorists, their
structure and support bases only results in a ‘fire fighting’ situation and
actually prolongs terrorism. This results in enormous costs, militarily and
economically.
·
The evolution of a superior Intelligence System
is imperative. This should encompass human, technical, electronic intelligence,
as also modernisation of data processing and dissemination – both
external and internal.
o The
first step should be to build-up the military forces and their capabilities
(which are not adequate currently), and thereafter consolidation of these
capabilities and finally destruction of the militants.
o A
reactive response is not the answer. A reorientation of armed response is
required so as to launch proactive and specific surgical military operations.
o An
important element of a proactive effort is to increase the costs of proxy war
to Pakistan, by undertaking ‘Hot Pursuit Strikes’ across the LoC and into
Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK).
·
Effective surveillance and management of the
borders to check infiltration (International Border/ Line of Control), is also
necessary. This should be achieved through technical means of surveillance,
backed by highly mobile, specialised forces as ‘Reaction capability’ rather
than the present system, which is manpower intensive.
·
Foreign-based terrorists have to be hit at their
bases, training camps and sanctuaries to end the surrogate terrorism or the
proxy war by Pakistan. Special Forces both overt and covert, need to be
employed for this task.
·
Preventive measures against nuclear, biological
and chemical (NBC) and cyber-terrorism.
Conclusion
At present, there is a lack of a consistent and
comprehensive policy at the national level. ‘Collective Action’ to fight by
international cooperation is a must, as the economic costs of combating
terrorism by a single nation are colossal. Such collective action had not come
about till the American-led coalition forces in Afghanistan operated against
the Taliban. Collective action is not confined to active combat alone.
Simultaneously, foreign sponsors of international terrorism have to be
identified and tamed. Collective Action is required continue with the present
situation where the Armed Forces bear all the responsibility of dealing with
anti-national elements, while other members of society, from the safety of
their homes, advocate what they deem to be politically correct measures. A
democratic polity and a diverse society such as India do not support stringent
measures and anti-terrorist legislation, even when necessary.
Technology enhancement, NBC, cyber-terrorism have given
the terrorists unlimited powers and to counter these, we must modernise our
security apparatus. There is also a necessity to have institutional security,
through an overall improvement in intelligence interception and police
efficiency as the list of political targets continues to grow in the urban and
industrial field. The citizens of the country also have to be energised to feel
responsible for the well-being of the nation and state apparatus alone will not
suffice. Ultimately, the roots of terrorism have to be removed through good
governance. Political corruption and lack of good governance is a basic
contributor to frustration setting in into a society, which is then exploited
by unfriendly nations. Needless to say, this has to be addressed immediately by
striving to achieve economic well-being, social justice and political
aspirations of the populace. The Govt.
of India in tandem with the State Governments, has adopted a multi-pronged
approach to deal with the emerging situation.
What we need is a sustained united effort, to identity the terror
modules operating in the Globe and neutralise them.
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