Terrorism A Worldwide Concern
Terrorism means the policy of striking terror in the minds of the people by violent methods to achieve some selfish ends. In recent years, it has become the main tool of the propagandists.
Terrorism is not just a word, it is a hazard for mankind. The world faces the problems of poverty, over-population, hunger and illiteracy. But the spread of terrorism is the most frightening of them all.
Be it in the small countries like Ireland and Israel, or in the big ones like Russia and USA, terrorism has become the main challenge for most of the governments today. It is a paradox that although terrorism kills relatively few people, compared to other forms of violence, and the statistical probability of any of us being killed by terrorists is minuscule, we are preoccupied with terrorism, and governments pay extraordinary attention to combating it.
Why? First, terrorism provokes deep fear and insecurity—more than any other form of violence. Terrorists strike innocent civilians, often randomly, and without warning. We think we can protect ourselves against other forms of violence, but we feel defenceless against the unprecedented terror strikes. Terrorists know this, and they seek to use intimidation to impose their political or other agendas.
Killing is only a means to that end. By creating fear and panic, terrorists try to extort concessions or to weaken and discredit governments by showing that they are unable to protect their citizens. Terrorism is also used as low-cost strategic warfare, sometimes by rogue states using surrogates, and sometimes by groups motivated by ideology, religion, or ethnicity to overthrow governments and change the course of history.
Terrorists also use violence in a less focused way to express protest and rage, to advance messianic and fanatic religious agendas, and for even more obscure pathological reasons.
In a country like India, terrorism plays a major role in harming the economy. The Kashmir area has been for a very long time at the target of terrorists and many incidents are reported there, sometimes on a daily basis. But now, such activities have started to take place in other parts of the country too.
A lot of money goes into beefing up the military to take countermeasures. It becomes a waste of resources. Then travel and tourism also takes a big hit after terror strikes and adds to the woes of the economy. Moreover, it leaves a deep psychological terror among the people of the areas that have suffered the attack. Hence, we need to combat terrorism effectively.
Terrorism today is far more devastating than in the past because of – the mass media. No story plays better, or longer than a terrorist attacks. Today’s media, especially television, multiplies the fear effect of terrorism by vividly conveying its horror. This greatly increases our collective sense of vulnerability.
Terrorists seek to exploit media coverage to put us and our governments on the psychological defensive. Therefore, the media must stop glorifying terrorist activities. Secondly, it has often been decried that even though the warning of the attack, had been long given, no measures were taken against it. This lax attitude must be shunned away.
The intelligence network must be made more effective so that the act can be countered even before it is about to take place. Combating terrorism is no easy task and it is something that cannot be done overnight. It will be a long struggle that could be quite dangerous. When a terrible act occurs, it is important that the act does not go unpunished.
If the terrorists believe that they can successfully attack us and escape without harm, they will become more bold and dangerous. It is important to stop them quickly. It can be done when everyone comes together and does his/her part to ensure the country’s safety.
