Causes of Terrorism-Why are the Causes of Terrorism So Hard to Identify?

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The Causes of Terrorism Change Over Time

From Amy Zalman, Ph.D.

The Causes of Terrorism Change with Political Winds

The causes of terrorism seem almost impossible for anyone to define. Here’s why: they change over time. Listen to terrorists in different periods and you’ll hear different explanations. Then, listen to the scholars who explain terrorism. Their ideas change over time too, as new trends in academic thinking take hold.

Many writers begin statements about “the causes of terrorism” as if terrorism were a scientific phenomenon whose characteristics are fixed for all time, like the ’causes’ of a disease, or the ’causes’ of rock formations. Terrorism isn’t a natural phenomenon though. It is name given by people about other people’s actions in the social world.

Both terrorists and terrorism’s explainers are influenced by dominant trends in political and scholarly thought. Terrorists—people who threaten or use violence against civilians with the hope of changing the status quo—perceive the status quo in ways that accord with the era they live in. People who explain terrorism are also influenced by prominent trends in their professions. These trends change over time.

Viewing Trends in Terrorism Will Help Solve It

Viewing terrorism as the extreme edge of mainstream trends helps us understand, and thus seek solutions, to it. When we view terrorists as evil or beyond explanation, we are inaccurate and unhelpful. We cannot ‘solve’ an evil. We can only live fearfully in its shadow. Even if it is uncomfortable to think of people who do terrible things to innocent people as part of our same world, I believe it is important to try. You will see in the list below that people who have chosen terrorism in the last century have been influenced by the same broad trends that we all have. The difference is, they chose violence as a response.

1920s – 1930s: Socialism as a Cause

In the early 20th century, terrorists justified violence in the name of anarchism, socialism and communism. Socialism was becoming a dominant way for many people to explain the political and economic injustice they saw developing in capitalist societies, and for defining a solution. Millions of people expressed their commitment to a socialist future without violence, but a small number of people in the world thought violence was necessary.

1950s – 1980s: Nationalism as a Cause

In the 1950s through 1980s, terrorist violence tended to have a nationalist component. Terrorist violence in these years reflected the post-World War II trend in which previously suppressed populations committed violence against states that had not given them a voice in the political process. Algerian terrorism against French rule; Basque violence against the Spanish state; Kurdish actions against Turkey; the Black Panthers and Puerto Rican militants in the United States all sought a version of independence from oppressive rule.

Scholars in this period began seeking to understand terrorism in psychological terms. They wanted to understand what motivated individual terrorists. This related to the rise of psychology and psychiatry in other related realms, such as criminal justice.

1980s – Today: Religious Justifications as a Cause

In the 1980s and 1990s, terrorism began to appear in the repertoire of right-wing, neo-Nazi or neo-fascist, racist groups. Like the terrorist actors that preceded them, these violent groups reflected the extreme edge of a broader and not-necessarily violent backlash against developments during the civil rights era. White, Western European or American men, in particular, grew fearful of a world beginning to grant recognition, political rights, economic franchise and freedom of movement (in the form of immigration) to ethnic minorities and women, who might seem to be taking their jobs and position.

In Europe and the United States, as well as elsewhere, the 1980s represented a time when the welfare state had expanded in the United States and Europe, the agitation of the civil rights movement had produced results, and globalization, in the form of multi-national corporations, had gotten underway, producing economic dislocation among many who depended on manufacturing for a living. Timothy McVeigh’s bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal Building, the most lethal terrorist attack in the U.S. until the 9/11 attacks, exemplified this trend.

In the Middle East, a similar swing toward conservatism was taking hold in the 1980s and 1990s, although it had a different face than it did in Western democracies. The secular, socialist framework that had been dominant the world over—-from Cuba to Chicago to Cairo-—faded after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and the death in 1970 of Egyptian president Gamal Abd Al Nasser. The failure in the 1967 war was a big blow—it disillusioned Arabs about the entire era of Arab socialism.

Economic dislocations because of the Gulf War in the 1990s caused many Palestinian, Egyptian and other men working in the Persian Gulf to lose their jobs. When they returned home, they found women had assumed their roles in households and jobs. Religious conservatism, including the idea that women should be modest and not work, took hold in this atmosphere. In this way, both West and East saw a rise in fundamentalism in the 1990s.

Terrorism scholars began to notice this rise in religious language and sensibility in terrorism as well. The Japanese Aum Shinrikyo, Islamic Jihad in Egypt, and groups such as the Army of Godin the United States were willing to use religion to justify violence. Religion is the primary way that terrorism is explained today.

Future: Environment as a Cause

New terrorism forms and new explanations are underway, however. Special interest terrorism is used to describe people and groups who commit violence on behalf of a very specific cause. These are often environmental in nature. Some predict the rise of ‘green’ terrorism in Europe–violent sabotage on behalf of environmental policy. Animal rights activists have also revealed a fringe violent edge. Just as in earlier eras, these forms of violence mimic the dominant concerns of our time across the political spectrum.

Causes of Terrorism Research

• Psychological Studies on Terrorism Causes
• Group Rhetoric May Shed Light on Terrorism Causes

Causes of Terrorism — Further Reading

• The Two Causes of TErrorism
• The Causes of Terrorism are Political

Causes of Terrorism — Questions & Answers

• Does Poverty Cause Terrorism?
• Does Religion Cause Suicide Terrorism?

Related Articles

• History of Terrorism- A Guide to the History of Terrorism
• What is It?
• Terrorism in America– Guide to the History of Terrorism in America
• Causes of Terrorism – Guide to the Causes of Terrorism
• Vengeance

Terrorism: Why Is It Happening Now?

Osho,
Would you talk on terrorism?

“Everything is deeply related with everything else that happens. The event of terrorism is certainly related with what is happening in the society. The society is falling apart. Its old order, discipline, morality, religion, everything has been found to be wrongly based. It has lost its power over people’s conscience.

“Terrorism simply symbolizes that to destroy human beings does not matter, that there is nothing in human beings which is indestructible, that it is all matter ― and you cannot kill matter, you can only change its form. Once man is taken to be only a combination of matter, and no place is given for a spiritual being inside him, then to kill becomes just play.

“Nations are irrelevant because of nuclear weapons. If the whole world can be destroyed together within minutes the alternative can only be that the whole world should be together. Now it cannot remain divided; its division is dangerous, because division can become war any moment. The division cannot be tolerated.

“Only one war is enough to destroy everything, and there is not much time left for man to understand that we should create a world where the very possibility of war does not exist.

“Terrorism has many undercurrents. One is that because of nuclear weapons, the nations are pouring their energy into that field, thinking that the old weapons are out of date. They are out of date, but individuals can start using them. And you cannot use nuclear weapons against individuals ― that would be simply stupid. One individual terrorist throws a bomb ― it does not justify that a nuclear missile should be sent.

“What I want to emphasize is that the nuclear weapon has given individual people a certain freedom to use old weapons, a freedom which was not possible in the old days because the governments were also using the same weapons.

“Now the governments are concentrated on destroying the old weapons, throwing them in the ocean, selling them to countries which are poor and cannot afford nuclear weapons. And all those terrorists are coming from these poor countries, with the same weapons that have been sold to their countries. And they have a strange protection: you cannot use nuclear weapons against them, you cannot throw atom bombs at them.

“They can throw bombs at you and you are suddenly impotent. You have a vast amount of atomic bombs, nuclear bombs in your hands ― but sometimes where a needle is useful, a sword may not be of any use. You may have the sword; that does not mean that you are necessarily in a superior position to the man who has a needle, because there are purposes in which only the needle will work ― the sword will not be of any use.

“Those small weapons from the old times were piling up, and the big powers had to dispose of them ― either drown them in the ocean…. That meant so much money, so much manpower, so much energy had gone to waste; economically it was disastrous. But just to go on piling them up was also economically impossible. How many weapons can you gather? There is a limit. And when you get a new way of killing people more efficiently, then the old simply has to be got rid of.

“It was thought that it would be better to sell them to poor countries. Poor countries cannot create nuclear weapons ― it costs too much. And these weapons were coming cheap ― as help; they accepted it, but these weapons cannot be used in a war. In a war these weapons are already useless. But nobody has seen the possibility that these weapons can be used individually, and a new phenomenon ― terrorism ― can come out of it.

“Now a terrorist has a strange power, even over the greatest powers.

“He can throw bombs at the White House without any fear, because what you have is too big and you cannot throw it at him. And these are the weapons sold by you! But the phenomenon was not conceived of, because human psychology is not understood.

“My understanding is that the way he has lived, man needs every ten to twelve years ― a war. He accumulates so much anger, so much rage, so much violence, that nothing short of a war will give him release. So, war after war, there is a gap of only ten to fifteen years. That gap is a kind of relaxation. But again you start accumulating, because the same psychology is working ― the same jealousy, the same violence.

“Man is basically a hunter; he is not by nature vegetarian. First he became a hunter, and for thousands of years he was just a meat-eater, and cannibalism was prevalent everywhere. To eat human beings caught from the opposing tribe you were fighting with was perfectly ethical. All that is carried in the unconscious of humanity.

“Religions have imposed things on man very superficially; his unconscious is not in agreement. Every man is living in a disagreement with himself. So whenever he can find a chance ― for a beautiful cause; freedom, democracy, socialism ― any beautiful word can become an umbrella to hide his ugly unconscious, which simply wants to destroy and enjoys destruction.

“Now the world war has become almost impossible; otherwise there would have been no terrorism. Enough time has passed since the second world war; the third world war should have happened around 1960. It has not happened. This has been the routine for the whole of history, and man is programmed for it.

“It has been observed by psychologists that in wartime people are more happy than in peacetime. In wartime their life has a thrill; in peacetime they look bored. In wartime, early in the morning they are searching for the newspaper, listening to the radio. Things may be happening far away, but they are excited. Something in them feels an affinity.

“A war that should have happened somewhere between 1955 and 1960 has not happened, and man is burdened with the desire to kill, with the desire to destroy. It is just that he wants good names for it.

“Terrorism is going to become bigger and bigger, because the third world war is almost impossible. And the stupid politicians have no other alternative. Terrorism simply means that what was being done on a social scale now has to be done individually. It will grow.

“It can only be prevented if we change the very base of human understanding ― which is a Himalayan task; more so because these same people whom you want to change will fight you; they won’t allow you to change them easily.

“In fact they love bloodshed; they don’t have the courage to say so. In one of the existentialist’s novels, there is a beautiful incident which can almost be said to be true.

“A man is presented before the court because he has killed a stranger who was sitting on the beach. He had never seen the stranger. He did not kill him for money. He does not yet know how that man looked, because he killed him from the back, just with a big knife. They had never met ― there was no question of enmity. They were not even familiar; they had not even seen each other’s faces.

“The magistrate could not figure it out, and he asked the murderer, “Why did you do it?”

“He said, “When I stabbed that man with a knife, and a fountain of blood came out of his back, that was one of the most beautiful moments I have ever known. I know that the price will be my death, but I am ready to pay for it; it was worth it. My whole life I have lived in boredom ― no excitement, no adventure. Finally I had to decide to do something. And this act has made me world famous; my picture is in every newspaper. And I am perfectly happy that I did it.”

“There was no need for any evidence. The man was not denying ― on the contrary, he was glorifying it. But the court has its own routine way ― witnesses still have to be produced; just his word cannot be accepted. He may have been lying, he may not have killed the man. Nobody saw him ― there was not a single eyewitness ― so circumstantial evidences had to be presented by the police.

“One of them was that possibly this man has killed according to his past life and his background. When he was young, his mother died. And when he heard that his mother had died, he said, “Shit! That woman will not leave me even while dying! It is Sunday, and I have booked tickets for the theater with my girlfriend. But I knew she would do something to destroy my whole day ― and she has destroyed it.”

“His mother has died and he is saying that she has destroyed his Sunday! He was going to the theater with his girlfriend, and now he has to go to the funeral. And the people who heard his reaction were shocked. They said, “This is not right, what are you saying?”

“He said, “What? What is right and what is wrong? Couldn’t she die on any other day? There are seven days in the week ― from Monday to Saturday, she could have died any day. But you don’t know my mother ― I know her. She is a bitch! She did it on purpose.”

“The second evidence was that he attended the funeral, and in the evening he was found dancing with his girlfriend in a disco. And somebody asked, “What! What are you doing? Your mother has just died.”

“He said, “So what? Do you mean now I can never dance again? My mother is never going to be alive, she will remain dead; so what does it matter whether I dance after six hours, eight hours, eight months, eight years? What does it matter? ― she is dead. And I have to dance and I have to live and I have to love, in spite of her death. If everybody stopped living with the death of their mother, with the death of their father, then there would be no dance in the world, no song in the world.”

“His logic is very right. He is saying, “Where do you draw the demarcation line? After how many hours can I dance? ― twelve hours, fourteen hours, six weeks? Where will you draw the line? on what grounds? What is the criterion? So it doesn’t matter. One thing is certain: whenever I dance I will be dancing after the death of my mother, so I decided to dance today. Why wait for tomorrow?”

“Such circumstantial evidences are presented to the court ― that this man is strange, he can do such an act. But if you look closely at this poor man, you will not feel angry at him; you will feel very compassionate. Now, it is not his fault that his mother has died; and anyway, he has to dance some day, so it makes no difference. You cannot blame this man for saying ugly things: “She deliberately died on Sunday to spoil my joy,” because his whole experience of life must have been that she was again and again spoiling any possibility of joy. This was the last conclusion: “Even in death she will not leave me alone.”

“And you cannot condemn the man for killing a stranger… because he is not a thief; he did not take anything from him. He is not an enemy; he did not even see who was the man he was killing. He was simply bored with life and he wanted to do something that made him feel significant, important. He is happy that all the newspapers have his photo. If they had published his photo before, he would not have killed; but they waited ― until he kills they will not publish his photo. And he wanted to be a celebrity… just ordinary human desires. And he was ready to pay with his life to become known to the whole world, recognized by everybody at least for one day.

“Until we change the basic grounds of humanity, terrorism is going to become more and more a normal, everyday affair. It will happen in the airplanes, it will happen in the buses. It will start happening in the cars. It will start happening to strangers. Somebody will suddenly come and shoot you ― not that you have done anything to him, but just, the hunter is back.

“The hunter was satisfied in the war. Now the war has stopped and perhaps there is no possibility for it. The hunter is back; now we cannot fight collectively. Each individual has to do something to release his own steam.

“Things are interconnected. The first thing that has to be changed is that man should be made more rejoicing ― which all the religions have killed. 

“The real criminals are not caught. These are the victims, the terrorists and other criminals. It is all the religions who are the real criminals, because they have destroyed all possibilities of rejoicing. They have destroyed the possibility of enjoying small things of life; they have condemned everything that nature provides you to make you happy, to make you feel excited, feel pleasant.

They have taken everything away; and if they have not been able to take a few things away because they are so ingrained in your biology ― like sex ― they have at least been able to poison them.

“Friedrich Nietzsche, according to me, is one of the greatest seers of the Western world; his eyes really go penetrating to the very root of a problem. But because others could not see it ― their eyes were not so penetrating, nor was their intelligence so sharp ― the man lived alone, abandoned, isolated, unloved, unrespected.

“He says in one of his statements that man has been taught by religions to condemn sex, to renounce sex. Religion has not been able to manage it; and man has tried hard but has failed, because it is so deeply rooted in his biology ― it constitutes his whole body. He is born out of sex ― how can he get rid of it except by committing suicide? So man has tried, and religions have helped him to get rid of it ― thousands of disciplines and strategies have been used. The total result is that sex is there, but poisoned. That word poisoned is a tremendous insight. Religions have not been able to take it away, but they have been certainly successful in poisoning it…

“The same is the situation about other things: religions are condemning your living in comfort. Now, a man who is living in comfort and luxury cannot become a terrorist. Religions have condemned riches, praised poverty; now, a man who is rich cannot be a terrorist. Only the “blessed ones” who are poor can be terrorists ― because they have nothing to lose, and they are boiling up against the whole of society because others have things they don’t have. Religions have been trying to console them.

“But then came communism ― a materialist religion ― which provoked people and said to them, “Your old religions are all opium to the people, and it is not because of your evil actions in this life or in past lives that you are suffering poverty. It is because of the evil exploitation of the bourgeois, the super-rich that you are suffering.”

“The last sentence in Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto is: Proletariats of the whole world unite; you have nothing to lose and you have the whole world to gain. “You are already poor, hungry, naked ― so what can you lose? Your death will not make you more miserable than your life is making you. So why not take a chance and destroy those people who have taken everything away from you. And take those things back, distribute them.”

“What religions have somehow been consoling people with ― although it was wrong and it was cunning and it was a lie, but it kept people in a state of being half asleep ― communism suddenly made them aware of.

“That means this world is now never going to be peaceful if we don’t withdraw all the rotten ideas that have been implanted in man. 

“The first are the religions ― their values should be removed so that man can smile again, can laugh again, can rejoice again, can be natural again.

“Second, what communism is saying has to be put clearly before the people ― that it is psychologically wrong. You are falling from one trap into another. No two men are equal; hence the idea of equality is nonsense. And if you decide to be equal then you have to accept a dictatorship of the proletariat. That means you have to lose your freedom.

“First the church took away your freedom, the God took away your freedom. Now communism replaces your church, and it will take away your freedom. And without freedom you cannot rejoice. You live in fear, not in joy. If we can clean the basement of the human mind’s unconscious… and that’s what my work is. It can be cleaned away.

“The terrorism is not in the bombs, in your hands; the terrorism is in your unconscious. 

“Otherwise, this state of affairs is going to grow more bitter. And it seems all kinds of blind people have bombs in their hands and are throwing them at random.

“The third world war would have released people for ten or, fifteen years. But the third world war cannot happen because if it happens it won’t relieve people, it will only destroy people.

“So individual violence will increase ― it is increasing. And all your governments and all your religions will go on perpetuating the old strategies without understanding the new situation.

“The new situation is that every human being needs to go through therapies, needs to understand his unconscious intentions, needs to go through meditations so that he can calm down, become cool ― and look towards the world with a new perspective, of silence.”

OSHO

The True Reasons for Terrorism, Why Terrorism Fails

It is often incorrectly believed that the purpose of terrorism is to cause fear and the eradication of people who do not share the same religious beliefs as the terrorists. While this belief has some truth, it greatly underestimates the true reasons for terrorism.

Terrorists believe that they have no alternative options for their political, economic, and/or religious grievances and oppression. As a result, terrorists kill and maim random civilians at random places and at random times to give publicity to their causes. In return, terrorist believe this publicity would cause more violence and uprisings. Eventually, terrorists believe this will ultimately force changes in favor to their political, economic, and/or religious demands.

The flaw with the logic of terrorism is that violence begets more violence. The oppressing group that is being terrorized will become even more oppressive and violent to the oppressed group and maybe even to other people; and in return, the terrorists will escalate their efforts too. Alternatively, if a violent terrorist group seizes power thus becoming the oppressors themselves, the newly oppressed group of people will then seek revenge. Either way, terrorism leads to more violence and killings without an end in sight.

Furthermore, most of the non-Muslims and some Muslims believe, to a certain extent, that Islam is a religion of hate, oppression, intolerance to others, and murder because of the beliefs, customs, and actions of religious Islamic extremists. Even each denomination of Islam, women, and other subgroups of people in Muslim countries are being brutally oppressed and even killed by other Muslims. For these reasons and many others, many people in the world associate the Muslim religion with terrorism.

What the Islamic society needs are other alternatives for change. Such as, it was Gandhi who taught and practiced peaceful resistance. This morale high ground caused several major changes including the peaceful liberation of India from the British Empire. Unfortunately, certain interpretations of the Muslim religion allow oppression, murder, and terrorism.

The only possibly option to change certain Muslim beliefs, and therefore terrorism, is for a fundamental change in the morality of the Islamic religion, just like what happened to the Christian religion. So far, exposure to Western and Eastern beliefs has not sufficiently influenced a lot of Islamic customs or beliefs. Only a major religious and/or civil rights movement from within the Middle East could influence the Muslim religion into being more peaceful and thus preventing future acts of terrorism.

The only method that I can imagine this working is if Muslims realize that terrorism does not work and therefore openly renounce Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism. Only after this internal change, could other revolutionary alternatives start to take hold both within and outside of the Muslim religion.
Source – by Phil B.

Terrorism in India

A terrorist is a person who creates fear panic among the organization to which he belongs. Terrorism usually is of two kinds. There is political terrorism which seeks to achieve its political end by creating fear and panic on a large scale. There is also criminal terrorism which indulges in kidnappings in order to extort huge amounts by way of ransom.

Political terrorism is much more dangerous and its consequences can be disastrous. Political terrorists are well organized and well-trained and it often becomes difficult for the law enforcing agencies to arrest them in time. They indulge in senseless violence on a large scale in order to intimidate the people and the government. Hijacking of aero planes, arson, robberies, murder of eminent personalities, shooting down of innocent people indiscriminately, use of transistor bombs and other explosives, spreading of rumors’ etc. are the various devices used by terrorist organizations in order to achieve their political ends. Terrorists constantly change their hide-outs and their tactics in order to escape arrest and punishment. When arrested, they try to commit suicide or are killed by their own close associates. They may think that they are patriots, but in reality they are antisocial or criminal elements who are exploited by clever politicians to achieve their own ends.

Terrorists are usually young, while the brains behind them are old, seasoned politicians who co-ordinate and guide their activities. They are fanatics and extremists who act with great fervor and zeal, but studies reveal that if apprehended alive, a terrorist loses his fervor as quickly as he had acquired it. When he has time to think, he feels he has been stupid or that he was misled. We have to disabuse our minds that terrorists who belong to the political class are patriots. All international studies consign them to the category of murderers, rapists or highway robbers. Terrorism has no place in a democracy which is based on the belief that all problems can be solved through negotiations. Government can also be changed through the ballot box.

Terrorism is a world-wide problem. It is there in the middle-east and in most countries of Europe. Very often it is seen that terrorist groups receive money, weapons, training and guidance, from other countries and this enables them to attain a high level of performance. In the case of the Punjab terrorists, there were no doubt they were receiving training, weapons, sanctuary and other forms of material assistance from Pakistan. It was not an easy job to seal the long border completely and prevent flow of arms to the terrorists, but through strong and determined steps, thus terrorists are completely flushed out and peace is restored in Punjab.

For dealing with these terrorists, the government had to arm itself with greater powers. The anti-terrorist act passed by the parliament provides for deterrent punishment for terrorist acts. The act also provides punishment for “disruptive activities” which have been defined as any action taken to disrupt the sovereignty or the territorial integrity of the nation. Earlier, the parliament had passed laws amending the arms act to curb unauthorized access to arms and ammunition. The act lies down that possession of unlicensed or unauthorized arms in disturbed areas will entail a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a period of three years. The minimum punishment earlier provided in the act was merely six months. The national police commission, in its report, had rightly advocated the enactment of a new arms act to provide for stricter conditions for the issue of licenses and enhanced responsibilities on the part of the licenses for security and accountability of ammunition. Laws have also been enacted to prohibit the use of religious places for political purposes or for hiding and sheltering anti-social elements. Stringent punishment is to be meted out in case of misuse of a religious place.

The series of bomb blasts in Delhi and neighboring states and spate of murders of eminent personalities show how difficult it is to curb terrorist activities. The Punjab terrorists were an organized group working to achieve ‘Khalistan‘ or a separate Sikh state under the guidance and inspiration of late Sant Bhinderawale and others like him. After “operation blue star” it was hoped that the extremist activities in Punjab would be successfully encountered, as it was through that without a protected sanctuary it would become difficult for the extremists to carry on their acts of sabotage and violence. However the assassination of late Mrs. Indira Gandhi was the direct consequence of “operation blue star”. After the “operation blue star” the terrorists again re-grouped and entrenched themselves in the golden temple. However “the operation black thunder” was a complete success and terrorists and anti-social elements were flushed out. The sanctity of the golden temple was restored again.

Terrorism could not, and it cannot, be curbed by the law enforcing agencies alone. It was the tact, prudence and sagacity of the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sant Longowal which, after protracted negotiations, resulted in the historic Punjab accord which not only gave a knockout blow to terrorism but also saved the nation from disintegration. No doubt, the Sant paid for it with his life, but it ushered in an era of cooperation instead of confrontation in Punjab and Kashmir. However, elections have been held successfully in the state, and a popularly elected chief minister is now at the helm of affair. The terrorists have lost the sympathy and co-operation of the people and they stand isolated. Let us hope that the country would be entirely free from this menace very soon.

 

SOURCE - AATISH PALEKAR

PC hopes anti-terror body will get nod by yr end

Source : Hindustan Times

The National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) — the proposed superstructure to coordinate anti-terror activities — could get the government’s nod over the next 10 days.

Home minister P Chidambaram told Lok Sabha on Tuesday that the final note for setting up NCTC had been sent to the Cabinet
Committee on Security.

“I sincerely hope that the decision will be taken before the end of this calendar year,” he said, replying to supplementaries in Parliament.
But it is not clear how far the ministry has been able to convince other stakeholders to step back and place their units under the proposed NCTC.

Chidambaram had mooted the concept of NCTC in end-2009 to create an overarching body to counter terrorism.

This goal included placing necessary paraphernalia under the centre to prevent a terrorist attack, contain possible terrorist attack, and responding to a terrorist attack by inflicting pain upon the perpetrators.

In response to a query by Congress MP Manish Tewari on allowing the Research & Analysis Wing to intercept phone calls, Chidambaram said the authorisation to intercept phone calls to R&AW was limited to the mandate of the agency.

Six get life term for Bangalore terror attack

 

Source :Indo-Asian News Service

Six people, suspected to be members of terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, were on Monday sentenced to life imprisonment by a Karnataka court for a terror attack at the prestigious Indian Institute of Science here in 2005 that killed a retired professor. Fast track court Judge VR Revankar awarded the punishment to Mohammed Riaz-ur-Rehman of Andhra Pradesh, and Afzar Pasha, Mehboob Ibrahim Saab Chopdar, Noorulla Khan, Mohammed Irfan and Nazim Uddin alias Munna, all from Karnataka.
The attack was the first major terror strike in Bangalore, the nation’s tech hub housing well-known educational and research institutions, Indian and foreign IT firms, giant public sector factories and scores of BPOs, call centres and other IT-enabled services.

In the attack on the evening of Dec 28, 2005, delegates coming out of an international conference at the famed science institute in north Bangalore were fired on, leading to the death of M.C. Puri, a retired professor of Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi, and injuries to four people.

Police arrested seven people Jan 14, 2006, and charged them with sedition, terrorism and creating religious disharmony.

One accused was acquitted while the other six were found guilty by the court Saturday.

All the seven were in central prison at Parappana Agrahara in east Bangalore.

Terrorism in India

Source – WIKIPEDIA

Terrorism in India is primarily attributable to religious communities and Naxalite radical movements.^{[citation needed]}

The regions with long term terrorist activities today are Jammu and Kashmir, Mumbai, Central India (Naxalism) and the Seven Sister States(independence and autonomy movements). As of 2006, at least 232 of the country’s 608 districts were afflicted, at differing intensities, by various insurgent and terrorist movements.^[1] In August 2008, National Security Advisor M K Narayanan has said that there are as many as 800 terrorist cells operating in the country.^[2]

Western India

Maharashtra

Mumbai

Mumbai has been the most preferred target for most terrorist organizations, primarily the separatist forces from Pakistan.^{[citation needed]} Over the past few years there have been a series of attacks, including explosions in local trains in July 2006, and the most recent and unprecedented attacks of 26 November 2008, when two of the prime hotels, a landmark train station, and a Jewish Chabad house, in South Mumbai, were attacked and sieged.^{[citation needed]}

Terrorist attacks in Mumbai include:

• 12 March 1993 - Series of 13 bombs go off, killing 257
• 6 December 2002 - Bomb goes off in a bus in Ghatkopar, killing 2
• 27 January 2003 - Bomb goes off on a bicycle in Vile Parle, killing 1
• 14 March 2003 - Bomb goes off in a train in Mulund, killing 10
• 28 July 2003 - Bomb goes off in a bus in Ghatkopar, killing 4
• 25 August 2003 - Two Bombs go off in cars near the Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar, killing 50
• 11 July 2006 - Series of seven bombs go off in trains, killing 209
• 26 November 2008 to 29 November 2008 - Coordinated series of attacks, killing at least 172.
• 13 July 2011 - 13 July 2011 Mumbai bombings

Pune

Terrorist attacks elsewhere in Maharashtra:

• 13 February 2010 – a bomb explosion at the German Bakery in Pune killed fourteen people, and injured at least 60 more

Jammu and Kashmir

Main article: Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir

Armed insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir has killed tens of thousands to date.^{[citation needed]}

Northern and Northwestern India

Bihar

The existence of certain insurgent groups, like the CPI-ML, Peoples war, and MCC, is a major concern, as they frequently attack local police and politicians. Poor governance and the law and order system in Bihar have helped increase the menace caused by the militias. The State has witnessed many massacres by these groups. The main victims of the violence by these groups are helpless people (including women, children, and the elderly) who are killed in massacres. The state police is ill-equipped to take on the AK-47s and AK-56s of the militants with their vintage 303 rifles. The militants have also used landmines to kill ambush police parties.

The root cause of the militant activities in the state is huge disparity between the caste groups. After Independence, land reforms were supposed to be implemented, thereby giving the low caste and the poor a share in the lands, which was until then held mostly by high caste people. However, due to caste based divisive politics in the state, land reforms were never implemented properly. This led to a growing sense of alienation among the low caste.

Communist groups like CPI-ML, MCC, and People’s War took advantage of this and instigated the low caste people to take up arms against establishment, which was seen as a tool in the hands of rich. They started taking up lands of the rich by force, killing the high caste people. The high caste people resorted to use of force by forming their own army, Ranvir Sena, to take on the naxalites. The State witnessed a bloody period in which the groups tried to prove their supremacy through mass killings. The police remained a mute witness to these killings, as they lacked the means to take any action.

The Ranvir Sena has now significantly weakened with the arrest of its top brass. The other groups are still active.

There have been arrests in various parts of the country, particularly those made by the Delhi and Mumbai police in the recent past, indicating that extremist/terrorist outfits have been spreading their networks in this state. There is a strong suspicion that Bihar is also being used as a transit point by the small-arms, fake currency and drug dealers entering from Nepal and terrorists reportedly infiltrating through Nepal and Bangladesh.

In recent years, these attacks by various caste groups have come down with better government being practised.

Punjab

The Sikhs form a majority in the Indian state of Punjab. During the 1970s, a section of Sikh leaders cited various political, social, and cultural issues to allege that the Sikhs were being cornered and ignored in Indian Society, and Sikhism was being absorbed into the Hindu fold. This gradually led to an armed movement in the Punjab, led by some key figures demanding a separate state for Sikhs.

The insurgency intensified during the 1980s, when the movement turned violent and the name Khalistan resurfaced and sought independence from the Indian Union. Led by Jarnail SinghBhindranwale who, though not in favour in the creation of Khalistan, was also not against it, they began using militancy to stress the movement’s demands. Soon things turned extreme with India alleging that neighbouring Pakistan supported these militants, who, by 1983-84, had begun to enjoy widespread support among Sikhs.

In 1984, Operation Blue Star was conducted by the Indian government to stem out the movement. It involved an assault on the Golden Temple complex, which Sant Bhindranwale had fortified in preparation of an army assault. Indira Gandhi, India‘s then prime minister, ordered the military to storm the temple, who eventually had to use tanks. After a 74 hour firefight, the army successfully took control of the temple. In doing so, it damaged some portions of the Akal Takht, the Sikh Reference Library, and the Golden Temple itself. According to Indian government sources, 83 army personnel were killed and 249 were injured. Militant casualties were 493 killed and 86 injured.

During the same year, the assassination of Indira Gandhi by two Sikh bodyguards, believed to be driven by the Golden Temple affair, resulted in widespread anti-Sikh riots, especially in New Delhi. Following Operation Black Thunder in 1988, Punjab Police, first under Julio Ribeiro and then under KPS Gill, together with the Indian Army, eventually succeeded in pushing the movement underground.

In 1985, Sikh terrorists bombed an Air India flight from Canada to India, killing all 329 people on board Air India Flight 182. It was the worst terrorist act in Canada’s history.

The ending of Sikh militancy and the desire for a Khalistan catalyzed when the then-Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, handed all intelligence material concerning Punjab militancy to the Indian government, as a goodwill gesture. The Indian government used that intelligence to put an end to those who were behind attacks in India and militancy.

The ending of overt Sikh militancy in 1993 led to a period of relative calm, punctuated by militant acts (for example, the assassination of Punjab CM, Beant Singh, in 1995) attributed to half a dozen or so operating Sikh militant organisations. These organisations include Babbar Khalsa International, Khalistan Commando Force, Khalistan Liberation Force, and Khalistan Zindabad Force.

New Delhi

2011 High court bombing

Main article: 2011_Delhi_bombing

The 2011 Delhi bombing took place in the Indian capital Delhi on Wednesday, 7 September 2011 at 10:14 local time outside Gate No. 5 of the Delhi High Court, where a suspected briefcase bomb was planted.[5] The blast killed 12 people and injured 76.

2007 Delhi security summit

Main article: 2007 Delhi security summit

The Delhi summit on security took place on 14 February 2007 with the foreign ministers of China, India, and Russia meeting in Hyderabad House, Delhi, India, to discuss terrorism, drug trafficking, reform of the United Nations, and the security situations in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and North Korea.^[3][4]

2005 Delhi bombings

Main article: 29 October 2005 Delhi bombings

Three explosions went off in the Indian capital of New Delhi on 29 October 2005, which killed more than 60 people and injured at least 200 others. The high number of casualties made the bombings the deadliest attack in India in 2005. It was followed by 5 bomb blasts on 13 September 2008.

2001 Attack on Indian parliament

Terrorists on 13 December 2001 attacked the Parliament of India, resulting in a 45-minute gun battle in which 9 policemen and parliament staff were killed. All five terrorists were also killed by the security forces and were identified as Pakistani nationals. The attack took place around 11:40 am (IST), minutes after both Houses of Parliament had adjourned for the day. The suspected terrorists dressed in commando fatigues entered Parliament in a car through the VIP gate of the building. Displaying Parliament and Home Ministry security stickers, the vehicle entered the Parliament premises. The terrorists set off massive blasts and used AK-47 rifles, explosives, and grenades for the attack. Senior Ministers and over 200 Members of Parliament were inside the Central Hall of Parliament when the attack took place. Security personnel sealed the entire premises, which saved many lives.

Uttar Pradesh

2005 Ayodhya attacks

Main article: 2005 Ram Janmabhoomi attack in Ayodhya

The long simmering Ayodhya crisis finally culminated in a terrorist attack on the site of the 16th century Babri Masjid. The ancient Masjid in Ayodhya was demolished on 5 July 2005. Following the two-hour gunfight between Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists based in Pakistan and Indian police, in which six terrorists were killed, opposition parties called for a nationwide strike with the country’s leaders condemning the attack, believed to have been masterminded by Dawood Ibrahim.

2010 Varanasi blasts

Main article: 2010 Varanasi bombing

On 7 December 2010, another blast occurred in Varanasi, that killed immediately a toddler, and set off a stampede in which 20 people, including four foreigners, were injured.^[5] The responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Islamist millitant group Indian Mujahideen.^[6]

2006 Varanasi blasts

Main article: 2006 Varanasi bombings

A series of blasts occurred across the Hindu holy city of Varanasi on 7 March 2006. Fifteen people are reported to have been killed and as many as 101 others were injured. No one has accepted responsibility for the attacks, but it is speculated that the bombings were carried out in retaliation of the arrest of a Lashkar-e-Toiba agent in Varanasi earlier in February 2006.

On 5 April 2006 the Indian police arrested six Islamic militants, including a cleric who helped plan bomb blasts. The cleric is believed to be a commander of a banned Bangladeshi Islamic militant group, Harkatul Jihad-al Islami, and is linked to the Inter-Services Intelligence, the Pakistani spy agency.^[7]

Northeastern India

Main article: Insurgency in North-East India

Northeastern India consists of seven states (also known as the seven sisters): Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland. Tensions exists between these states and the central government, as well as amongst the tribal people, who are natives of these states, and migrant peoples from other parts of India.

The states have accused New Delhi of ignoring the issues concerning them. It is this feeling which has led the natives of these states to seek greater participation in self-governance. There are existing territorial disputes between Manipur and Nagaland.

There is a rise of insurgent activities and regional movements in the northeast, especially in the states of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Tripura. Most of these organisations demand independent state status or increased regional autonomy and sovereignty.

Northeastern regional tension has eased of late with Indian and state governments’ concerted effort to raise the living standards of the people in these regions. However, militancy still exists in this region of India supported by external sources.

Nagaland

The first and perhaps the most significant insurgency was in Nagaland from the early 1950s until it was finally quelled in the early 1980s through a mixture of repression and co-optation. The National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM), demands an independent Nagaland and has carried out several attacks on Indian military installations in the region. According to government officials, 599 civilians, 235 security forces, and 862 terrorists have lost their lives between 1992 and 2000.

On 14 June 2001, a ceasefire agreement was signed between the government of India and the NSCN-IM, which had received widespread approval and support in Nagaland. Terrorist outfits such as the Naga National Council-Federal (NNC-F) and the National Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) also welcomed the development.

Certain neighbouring states, especially Manipur, raised serious concerns over the ceasefire. They feared that NSCN would continue insurgent activities in its state and demanded New Delhi scrap the ceasefire deal and renew military action. Despite the ceasefire, the NSCN has continued its insurgency.^{[citation needed]}

Assam

After Nagaland, Assam is the most volatile state in the region. Beginning in 1979, the indigenous people of Assam demanded that the illegal immigrants who had emigrated fromBangladesh to Assam be detected and deported. The movement led by All Assam Students Union began non-violently with satyagraha, boycotts, picketing, and courting arrests.

Those protesting frequently came under police action. In 1983 an election was conducted, which was opposed by the movement leaders. The election led to widespread violence. The movement finally ended after the movement leaders signed an agreement (called the Assam Accord) with the central government on 15 August 1985.

Under the provisions of this accord, anyone who entered the state illegally between January 1966 and March 1971 was allowed to remain but was disenfranchised for ten years, while those who entered after 1971 faced expulsion. A November 1985 amendment to the Indian citizenship law allows non-citizens who entered Assam between 1961 and 1971 to have all the rights of citizenship except the right to vote for a period of ten years.

New Delhi also gave special administration autonomy to the Bodos in the state. However, the Bodos demanded a separate Bodoland, which led to a clash between the Bengalis, the Bodos, and the Indian military resulting in hundreds of deaths.

There are several organisations that advocate the independence of Assam. The most prominent of these is the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). Formed in 1979, the ULFA has two main goals: the independence of Assam and the establishment of a socialist government.

The ULFA has carried out several terrorist attacks in the region targeting the Indian Military and non-combatants. The group assassinates political opponents, attacks police and other security forces, blasts railroad tracks, and attacks other infrastructure facilities. The ULFA is believed to have strong links with the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN),Maoists, and the Naxalites.

It is also believed that they carry out most of their operations from the Kingdom of Bhutan. Because of ULFA’s increased visibility, the Indian government outlawed the group in 1986 and declared Assam a troubled area. Under pressure from New Delhi, Bhutan carried a massive operation to drive out the ULFA militants from its territory.

Backed by the Indian Army, Thimphu was successful in killing more than a thousand terrorists and extraditing many more to India while sustaining only 120 casualties. The Indian military undertook several successful operations aimed at countering future ULFA terrorist attacks, but the ULFA continues to be active in the region. In 2004, the ULFA targeted a public school in Assam, killing 19 children and 5 adults.

Assam remains the only state in the northeast where terrorism is still a major issue. The Indian Military was successful in dismantling terrorist outfits in other areas, but have been criticised by human rights groups for allegedly using harsh methods when dealing with terrorists.

On 18 September 2005, a soldier was killed in Jiribam, Manipur, near the Manipur-Assam border, by members of the ULFA.

On 14th march 2011 militants of the Ranjan Daimary-led faction ambushed patrolling troop of BSF when on way from Bangladoba in Chirang district of Assam to Ultapani in Kokrajhar killing 8 jawans. ^[8]

Tripura

Tripura witnessed a surge in terrorist activities in the 1990s. New Delhi blamed Bangladesh for providing a safe haven to the insurgents operating from its territory. The area under control of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council was increased after a tripartite agreement between New Delhi, the state government of Tripura, and the Council. The government has since brought the movement under control, and the government of Tripura has so far succeeded to limit the terrorist activities.

Manipur

In Manipur, militants formed an organisation known as the People’s Liberation Army. Their main goal was to unite the Meitei tribes of Burma and establish an independent state of Manipur. However, the movement was thought to have been suppressed after a fierce clash with Indian security forces in the mid 1990s.

On 18 September 2005, six separatist rebels were killed in fighting between the Zomi Revolutionary Army and the Zomi Revolutionary Front in the Churachandpur District.

On 20 September 2005, 14 Indian soldiers were ambushed and killed by 20 rebels from the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) terrorist organization, armed with AK-56 rifles, in the village of Nariang, 22 miles southwest of Manipur’s capital Imphal. “Unidentified rebels using automatic weapons ambushed a road patrol of the army’s Gorkha Rifles killing eight on the spot,” said a spokesman for the Indian government.

Mizoram

The Mizo National Front fought for over two decades with the Indian Military in an effort to gain independence. As in neighbouring states the insurgency was quelled by force.

South India

Karnataka

Karnataka is considerably less affected by terrorism, despite having many places of historical importance and the IT hub of India, Bengaluru. However, recently Naxal activity has been increasing in the Western Ghats.

Bengaluru

Also, a few attacks have occurred, major ones including an attack on IISc on 28 December 2005 and serial blasts in Bengaluru on 26 July 2008.

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh is one of the few southern states affected by terrorism, although of a far different kind and on a much smaller scale.^{[citation needed]} The terrorism in Andhra Pradesh stems from the People’s War Group (PWG), popularly known as Naxalites.

The PWG has been operating in India for over two decades, with most of its operations in the Telangana^{[citation needed]} region in Andhra Pradesh. The group is also active in Orissa andBihar. Unlike the Kashmiri insurgents and ULFA, PWG is a Maoist terrorist organisation and communism is one of its primary goals.^{[citation needed]}

Having failed to capture popular support in the elections, they resorted to violence as a means to voice their opinions. The group targets Indian Police, multinational companies, and other influential institutions in the name of the communism. PWG has also targeted senior government officials, including the attempted assassination of former Andhra Pradesh Chief MinisterChandrababu Naidu.

It reportedly has a strength of 800 to 1,000 well armed militants and is believed to have close links with the Maoists in Nepal and the LTTE of Sri Lanka. According to the Indian government, on an average, more than 60 civilians, 60 naxal rebels and a dozen policemen are killed every year because of PWG led insurgency. Also, one of the major terrorist attacks was the 25 August 2007 Hyderabad Bombing.

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu had LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) militants operating in the Tamil Nadu state up until the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. LTTE had given many speeches in Tamil Nadu led by Velupillai Prabhakaran, Tamilselvan, and other Eelam members. The Tamil Tigers, now a banned organisation, had been receiving many donations and support from India in the past. The Tamil Nadu Liberation Army is a militant Tamil movement in India that has ties to LTTE.^{[citation needed]}

1998 Coimbatore bombings

Tamil Nadu also faced terrorist attacks orchestrated by Muslim fundamentalists. For more information, see 1998 Coimbatore bombings.

Kerala

For a long time, Kerala was considered as a terror free state and model of tolerance and prosperity. The wake-up call came in October 2008, when four young Malayalis were killed by Indian security forces in an alleged jihadi training camp in Kashmir. Last July a different threat emerged when a group of young Muslims cut off the hand of a Christian professor, condemning him for writing an exam question they said insulted the Prophet Muhammad. According to Time Magazine, migrants to the Persian Gulf were taking extremist ideology to Kerala.^[9]

In popular culture

Terrorism has also been depicted in various Indian films, prominent among them being Mani Ratnam‘s Roja (1992) and Dil Se (1998), Govind Nihlani‘s Drohkaal (1994), Santosh Sivan‘sThe Terrorist (1999), Anurag Kashyap‘s Black Friday (2004) on the 1993 Bombay bombings, Fanaa (2006), and recently Sikandar (2009) on Terrorism in Kashmir. Raj Kumar Gupta‘sAamir (2008) and Amal Neerad‘s Anwar (2010) are other examples.

See also

• Bombay Blasts
• Communalism (South Asia)
• Hindutva Terrorism
• Islamic terrorism
• Lashkar-e-Tayyaba
• List of films about terrorism in India
• List of terrorist organisations in India
• Naxalites
• Operation Blue Star
• Pakistani state terrorism
• Terrorism in Kashmir
• Sikh Extremism

References

1. ^ India Assessment – 2007
2. ^ “800 Terror Cells Active In Country”. The Times Of India. 12 August 2008.
3. ^ ‘Big three’ hold key Delhi talks BBC News
4. ^ Foreign Ministers of India, China, Russia meet to take forward strategic ties New Kerala
5. ^ Varanasi bomb blast kills toddler - CBC News, December 7, 2010
6. ^ Child killed, 20 injured in Varanasi blast: IM claims responsibility
7. ^ “Indian Police Arrest Islamic Cleric for Blasts”. Reuters. 05/04/2006. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
8. ^ “8 BSF jawans killed by Bodo militants in Assam”. IBNLive.com. Retrieved Mar 15, 2011.
9. ^ Thottam, Jyothi, Shades of Radicalism Thursday, July 21, 2011

Notes

• ^ ”Sleeping over security”. (26 August – 8 Sep) Business and Economy, p 38

External links

• Vandana Asthana, “Cross-Border Terrorism in India: Counterterrorism Strategies and Challenges,” ACDIS Occasional Paper (June 2010), Program in Arms Control, Disarmament, and International Security (ACDIS), University of Illinois
• Islam, Women, and the Violence in Kashmir between India and Pakistan
• Scholars respond to the attacks in Mumbai
• Inside a jihadi training camp in Azad Kashmir, Radio France Internatioinale in English
• 3 quốc gia báo động âm mưu khủng bố ở Ấn Độ
• Dossier on the Mumbai attacks by Radio France Internationale’s English-language service
• South Asia Terrorism Portal

Q+A-Ten years on, who are the Taliban today?

By Chris Allbritton and Martin Petty

REUTERS – A decade ago, when American bomber jets and special forces forced the Taliban regime from power in Afghanistan, the movement which was born in the religious schools of Pakistan’s tribal belts seemed shattered, never to return.

Since then, the various groups and factions of the Taliban — which means “students” in Arabic and Pashto — have split, regrouped and coalesced into an effective if diffuse guerrilla movement operating in two countries.

They believe Afghanistan and Pakistan should be ruled by strict Islamic law. They are likely to have a prominent voice in any peace settlement on the future of Afghanistan, and have already helped destabilise Pakistan.

Here are some questions and answers about who the Taliban factions are, and how the fight against them is going:

WHO ARE THE TALIBAN?

The Taliban include several loosely allied factions in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. The biggest are the Afghan Taliban, the Haqqani network and the Pakistani Taliban.

The Afghan Taliban rose to prominence in 1994 under the leadership of Mullah Omar, a former imam and mujahideen guerrilla, whose army of young and fanatical fighters seized power in Afghanistan in 1996 but were ousted by U.S.-backed forces five years later.

Often referred to in shorthand as the Quetta Shura because of its leadership’s base in exile, it prefers to call itself the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

The Pakistani Taliban, or Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), is an umbrella organisation of about 13 groups in Pakistan’s northwest and western tribal areas. Established in December 2007, it is blamed for many suicide bombings across Pakistan. It has also struck American targets in Afghanistan, and it shares some resources and ideology with the Afghan Taliban.

The Haqqani network, based in the lawless tribal areas of the porous Afghanistan-Pakistan border, is perhaps the most politically worrying for the United States. The Haqqanis are battling for control over their traditional power base in eastern Afghanistan, spread over Khost, Paktia and Paktika provinces.

Leader Jalaluddin Haqqani rose to power as a mujahideen leader in the fight against Soviet troops in the 1980s. He allied with the Afghan Taliban after Omar seized Kabul.

Mullah Omar is still the nominal head of the entire Taliban movement and most other factions in both Pakistan and Afghanistan swear loyalty to him as Amir-ul-Mu’minin, or “Leader of the Faithful.”

HOW DO THESE GROUPS OPERATE?

Given the dispersed nature of the groups, the Taliban factions often act like franchises, comprised of myriad regional cells that operate independently at the local level, but which follow the grand strategy and Islamic principles of the movement’s shadowy leadership — primarily Omar’s.

A Taliban cell at village level might typically have 10-50 part-time fighters and plenty more local mercenaries.

All three major factions share an ideology of jihad, or holy war. They often share resources, safe houses and fighters, with the Haqqanis often serving as the communications channel.

WHERE ARE THE TALIBAN BASED?

Militant cells are scattered all across both countries but in Afghanistan are particularly strong in the south, southwest and the eastern frontier with Pakistan, where coalition forces have struggled to flush them out.

In Pakistan, they operate in the borderlands known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and in the northwest of the country bordering Afghanistan.

The leadership of all three factions is likely to be in Pakistan. Mullah Omar is believed to be based in Quetta, a Pakistani city about 130 km (81 miles) from the Afghan border, but both the Afghan Taliban and Islamabad deny this.

The Haqqanis are primarily active in North Waziristan in Pakistan, and Paktia, Paktika and Khost in Afghanistan. This central area allows them to funnel men and ammunition into Afghanistan from Pakistan, and their wounded back to safe havens on the eastern side of the border.

Sirajuddin Haqqani, the operational leader, recently told Reuters his group is no longer based in Pakistan but is secure in Afghanistan.

The TTP is based in South Waziristan and throughout the tribal areas. The Pakistan military has been attacking their positions, but attacks and suicide bombings are still relatively common. Some TTP fighters operate in Afghanistan alongside the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqanis.

HOW MUCH SUPPORT DO THESE GROUPS HAVE?

In many parts of Afghanistan, and particularly among ethnic Tajiks and Hazaras in the north and northeast, many of whom suffered under their rule, the Afghan Taliban are reviled.

To some Pashtuns, however, they are seen as defenders of Islam, battling foreign invaders. This view of the Afghan Taliban is also widely held in Pakistan.

The TTP enjoys very little support in either country, however, because it is blamed for killing up to 35,000 Pakistan civilians, troops and policemen.

Many Afghans and American officials accuse Pakistan’s spy agency, the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), of providing support to the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network.

Pakistan denies this, but admits to “contacts” with the Haqqanis and other groups. The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point report says Pakistan often uses the group as a conduit between the TTP and the Afghan Taliban leadership.

Analysts say Pakistan maintains contact and possible support because it wants to limit Indian influence in Afghanistan after NATO forces leave.

WHAT’S THE STATE OF THE FIGHT AGAINST THE AFGHAN TALIBAN?

NATO-led and Afghan forces have reported success in securing parts of the country but there is no guarantee they can keep the Taliban at bay, especially beyond the planned withdrawal of foreign combat troops by the end of 2014.

Last month’s assassination of former president and Afghanistan’s top peace negotiator Burhanuddin Rabbani was a blow to a fledgling reconciliation process that the government and much of the international community had hoped would lead to dialogue with the Afghan Taliban.

The involvement of Pakistan, with its influence over the Taliban, is seen as crucial to any negotiation process but as long as ties with the United States remain strained, it is unlikely the different parties can come to the table any time soon.

WHAT’S THE STATE OF THE FIGHT AGAINST THE TTP?

Pakistani leaders said after an all-party meeting attended by top military and intelligence officials last month they would seek reconciliation with militants to end the insurgency.

This led the TTP to say it would consider talks with the Pakistani government if an Arab country such as Saudi Arabia were involved.

Previous peace agreements with militants have usually resulted in Pakistan ceding control over swaths of territory to them with a pledge to maintain the peace, agreements almost always broken by the militants.

(Sources: Reuters, Council on Foreign Relations, Military Review, Combating Terrorism Center at West Point)

(Editing by Daniel Magnowski)

Terror in India: who is to blame?

 Source : MOSCOW TIME

Kudashkina Ekaterina

Sep 9, 2011 15:37 Moscow Time

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Interview with Ved Marwah, the Chairman of Task Force, National Security and Criminal Justice System at the Ministry of Home Affairs with the Government of India.

This time it was the judiciary who seemed to have been targeted…

Yes, there have been two or three cases. They attacked the courts twice in Uttar Pradesh, not with an explosion of this intensity – but the courts have been targeted. But I think we should not take these targeting things too seriously, that they’d only confine themselves to attacking the judiciary or the courts. They do this periodically to attract attention – today this is judiciary, tomorrow they will hit some other target and then say that institution is the target. So, this goes on and the basic motive of these explosions is to create panic and to destabilize the country.

Do I get it right that one of the theories of the investigation is that Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami is behind those attacks?

They sent an email claiming responsibility for it and the latest reports say that in Jammu and Kashmir they have traced this email to a cybercafé.

Do you think we can tell a little bit more to our listeners about what kind of organization is that?

HuJI, as it is called, is a terrorist organization, it has links with al-Qaeda and there is another branch of HuJI which is called HuJI Bangladesh which is specifically targeting India. They have been involved into a number of terrorist acts in the past and they all were suspected and in this particular case also they are certainly under suspicion. And there are also reports about their links with some of the Indian groups, which have been created and supported and sponsored by the foreign jihadi groups.

When we are talking about foreign jihadi groups, this organization – Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami – is it based in Pakistan or in Kashmir?

It has its headquarter in Pakistan but it is also headquartered in South-East Asia ‑ in Philippines, in Indonesia; it is spread over all South-East Asia and, as I said, in Bangladesh there is a special section of it, operating from there.

What are its aims?

It seems there were al-Qaeda’s aims such as establishing the rule of the caliphate and destabilizing the countries which they think are their enemies.

From a string of media reports you can get an impression that the number of terrorist attacks in India has been growing. Is this impression correct?

We have them periodically, but I would say that it’s a growing countdown. There were a number of objectives – they want to destabilize the country, to create division between various communities, to demoralize the instruments of the state – all these things they are doing periodically and they have these serial explosions, but the 26/11 attack in Mumbai was the most odious one so far and the attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001.

Do you think that recent attacks are somehow connected with the start of peace negotiations between India and Pakistan?

Not so much between India and Pakistan as between India and Bangladesh. Prime Minister was in Bangladesh and, as I said, there is a HuJI section operating from Bangladesh. One cannot rule out the possibility at this stage to say which particular group they are linked to – all this is in the realm of speculation, but that line also needs to be proved.

India is generally perceived as some sort of model society with centuries-old tradition of co-existence of different ethnic and religious communities, but how well-grounded are fears that India could break along sectarian or ethnic lines?

When India got independence in 1947 things were worse than they are today; India is more united today than in was in 1947, all because of the Indian democratic system which gives space to every community, every ethnic group to live their life to the best of their own identity and ability.

Do you in India feel some impact of the worsening security situation in Pakistan?

Yes, definitely, because the Indian geographical location is such that the real epicenter of the jihadi terrorism is at Afghan-Pakistani border and in various other countries around India. Naturally, they are a great source of danger to the security of our country.

How about the assessment of security situation in the South Asia? One might get an impression that it is deteriorating.

I would say that only for the Pakistani and Afghan side because things are improving in Sri Lanka, they are improving in Bangladesh, they are improving in Thailand, in Malaysia, in Philippines, in Indonesia, but I think they are deteriorating in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

And is that the reason why the US has been pressing so hard recently for the resumption of peace negotiations between India and Pakistan?

The US has its own compulsion and obviously the US government is looking after its own interests and they are pressing India, whether they really mean it or they want to please their Pakistani friends that they are doing their best to press India because. It is not that these talks have not taken place earlier, the only thing is that they have not led anywhere because the gap between the two countries is so huge and the attitude of the Pakistani ruling establishment is such that they want secession of a part of the territory from India to Pakistan, which is obviously not negotiable and a non-starter.

But has their attitude changed somehow with the change of the government?

Not at all. The whole Pakistani ruling establishment – the army, all political parties, religious organizations ‑ they are absolutely united in this.

So, just to sum it up, do I get it right that you see those blasts not as an indication of a new trend of the worsening of security situation in India?

Yes, you have got it right. But it is a serious situation which needs to be addressed.

Is there any way the government should act?

The government should put its own house in order, it must put the security establishment in proper shape, it should be able to get their politicians act together in such a way that politics were affecting this fight against terrorism.

Delhi Bomb Blast 7th September 2011 Pictures & Photos

SOURCE : NEWS BEATS .IN

After a biggest 3 serial bomb blast at Mumbai now a effective bomb went off outdoors the Delhi High Court at 10.17 am on Wednesday. No less than twelve persons are confirmed dead, whilst more than 55 other people are injured.

Union Property Secretary RK Singh stated the blast was of “medium to substantial intensity” and produced a “deep crater” in the Place.

Questioned no matter whether the blast was a terror strike, Singh stated, “It had all of the makings of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) create by a terror group.”