Terrorism: The Changing Face

“Terror terror burning bright, striking the world with all its might!!” This word sends chills down the spine of each & every single human being. Today, it is the most talked about phenomenon across the world. These terrorists have gained considerable power over the years & are today in a position to run a govt. on their own. These minnows of the past have become belligerent giants which are ready to engulf whole of the world and are poised to end the human race if something is not done very soon.

Tracing its origins, etymology takes us to the Latin from where the word Terrorism has been derived. In Latin, it means ‘Fear’ and that is the nucleus around which whole concept of Terrorism revolves. If there is no fear, there will be no Terrorism. The terror gurus know this and that is why they keep on striking in one part of the world or the other to fuel their aspirations and to remind us of their presence. Now when we try to define the term Terrorism, it becomes very difficult in modern context due to various connotations which have evolved over the years by many of our Ignited Minds. Traditionally, anyone resorting to unlawful use of force or violence to coerce any other towards fulfillment of their own goals is termed as an act of Terrorism. But some sections of people argue that “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” Going by this definition, no one is a terrorist then. Strange?? But its true. If we consider use of force as an act of terrorism, then what will happen to our martyrs-the freedom fighters? The likes of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru & Sukhdev- all of them will then be branded as terrorists. Therefore, it will be apt to define terrorism as Premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine state agents, usually to influence an audience. Now, shocks of this influence have been felt all over the world through the large scale attacks carried out in order to make their presence felt.

The first example of large-scale terrorism was the 1972 attack on Israeli athletes when all of them were killed. There are loads of other such examples like 1976 Raid on Entebbe, 1979 Assassination attempt against General Alexander Haig by the RAF & the latest 9/11 attack on WTO, New York which clearly describe the wrath which mankind has to bear due to such violence. Going by these incidents, some very important questions arise as to ‘Why these terrorists do this?’ ‘What do they want?’ The answer lies in the fact that these notorious crime masters want publicity & Attention. And what a spectacular way to grab it. The criminal acts are executed by informing the media in advance so as to get a live, spectacular coverage which is viewed by millions across the world. It helps in disseminating their ideology among the frightened, the lonely people who, after watching it, either become insecure or turn towards this heinous profession.

What Next??

The last century has witnessed a phenomenal growth in terrorism & related activities. But the 21st century has more in store! It is standing on the brink of a vicious web of many inter connected terror attributes like WMD, Asymmetric warfare & Information warfare. WMD or the Weapons of Mass Destruction consists of a whole arsenal of Atomic & Hydrogen Bombs and other sophisticated weaponry which are the most serious threat to the human race. USA’s intrusion in the soil of Iraq was backed by the theory of WMD only. Asymmetric warfare is nothing but indirect warfare. It goes by the philosophy that if you cannot defeat your enemy directly, give it a thousand cuts & bleed it white. This is again a very widely used philosophy these days by some of the weaker nations to take on their mighty opponents. And lastly, Information warfare is a pre-cursor to the Cyber war. As almost all of the information today is kept on PCs, so intruding your PC & taking out vital chunks of information is a very good way to make the other side bargain in accordance with your terms and conditions.

Thus, it is seen that once the traditional field of Guns & Bombs, terrorism, has progressed leaps & bounds to reach a level where it has become imperative for whole of the human race to quickly think of some effective measures to stopping spreading of this dreaded plague and give our future generation a better place to live.