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India has a ‘Zero Tolerance Approach’ towards terrorism. It has been historically affected by this menace due to its multicultural identity and strategic geopolitical location. To tackle it, the primary legislation is the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) which in 2004 became India’s primary anti-terror law. It has provisions for special investigation and prosecution of terrorists for speedy redressal and ensuring national security. The chief terror investigating agency i.e. National Investigation Agency (NIA) has the power to investigate terror related offences.
A multi-cultural, liberal and democratic country like India, given its geopolitical situation, is particularly vulnerable to acts of terror. Terrorism is spreading rapidly in India and is a threat across the world as well due to technological advancements. Use of social media has allowed remote recruitment, training and planning of attacks for extremist organisations. The interconnected globalised world has allowed terrorists to seamlessly travel internationally and even gather international support. Increasing inequalities are also leading to radicalisation of youth due to poverty, lack of education, oppression, religious extremism etc. People who are trapped in conflict zones are prone to taking up terrorism. Organised crime syndicates from one country can cause terror trouble in another by laundering money for terror activities. Access to weapons has become easy and as States fail, internal turmoil leads to terror states like Taliban in Afghanistan and Hamas in Palestine. Hence, national and international coordination is needed to effectively tackle terrorism.
Terrorism means acts committed with the objective of seriously intimidating a population, destabilising or destroying structures of a country or international organisation or making a government abstain from performing actions. Data compiled by the US state department shows that India faced more terrorist attacks in 2020 than the previous year. The US data reveals that the states in India that experienced the most terror incidents were Jammu and Kashmir with 257 incidents (37.8%), Chhattisgarh with 145 incidents (21.4%), and Jharkhand with 69 incidents (10.2%).
The term "Reign of Terror" refers to a period from September 1793 to July 1794 during the French Revolution. During this time there was extreme political repression and mass voilence. As a result, the monarchy in France was overthrown and the First French Republic was established.
UAPA provides special procedures to deal with terrorist activities, among other things; the central government may designate an individual/organization as a terrorist/terrorist organization
As per the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Annual Report Terrorism in India can be broadly classified into four major categories:
Just like companies, terrorist groups compete for influence and resources, controlling "land" (territory), recruiting "labor" (members), acquiring "capital" (funding), and demonstrating "entrepreneurship" through new tactics and offshoots like franchises. This constant innovation and competition in methods and reach makes them a persistent and complex threat.
Indian government has taken a strict stance against terrorism. True to its ‘Zero Tolerance for Terror Approach’ Indian government is using swift military retaliation to immediately demolish the terror outfit. Surgical strikes are being undertaken for targeted action on specific target to neutralise without causing much collateral damage to civilians. Not only that, military forces have been given directions to chase and undertake hot pursuit of terror groups beyond the borders of country in compliance of international law. With biological warfare being recognised as a looming threat to the world, Indo-US joint exercise TARKASH has for the first time included response to Biological terror attacks
Central Government updated the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in August 2019 to allow the designation of individuals as terrorists, expanding from just organizations. Utilizing this amendment, the government labeled 53 individuals as terrorists. These proactive legislative and administrative measures have helped India to get ahead of terror issues.
While strict action against terror outfits is required, it should be ensured that civilian people do not suffer. Where democratic benefits and development does not reach the people, there will be space for radicalisation and extremist ideologies to take root. By winning the confidence of people, we can hope to secure our country from terrorism.
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