Monday, January 25, 2016

[Editorial # 49] Alert, fair, transparent : The Hindu

[Following editorial has been published in The Hindu on 25th January 2016. Read through it and try to answer the questions that follow. Please do not copy and paste answers. The objective of this exercise is to get you in the groove of answer -writing. Try to write in your own words. Don't hesitate to write in a bulleted-format, if you are uncomfortable in writing in paragraph form.]

The arrest and detention of at least 18 people from across the country by the National Investigation Agency and the Delhi Police over the last few days for their alleged terror plans and sympathies to the Islamic State is a stark warning that the authorities need to be on heightened alert. The Delhi Police caught four young men from Uttarakhand, while the rest have been arrested by the NIA from across India. Both groups are accused of planning to carry out major terrorist attacks. The NIA believes that the 14 men in its custody were in the process of organising a training camp to prepare for multiple attacks against domestic and foreign targets. Officials say that both the arrested groups had been in touch with Shafi Armar alias Yusuf, who heads a terrorist group named Ansar-ul-Tawhid that is aligned with the Islamic State and has former members of the Indian Mujahideen in its ranks. This is a clear indication that the IS is no more a danger lurking in some distant land. In fact, next-door Bangladesh has already witnessed a few lone-wolf attacks suspected to have been carried out by IS sympathisers.


The authorities now have the challenge of identifying terrorist modules, and possible lone wolves, without allowing any attendant excesses. Real-life investigations are painstaking tasks, and the Indian agencies have often failed in due diligence on that front. Therefore it is important that the government keep a close watch to ensure that the NIA and the Delhi Police carry out transparent and professional investigations into the recent arrests. That will ensure public safety and also protect the individual liberty of those accused of terror, but pending a fair trial. Experience worldwide has shown that the perception game is practically won or lost while dealing with terrorist suspects. The investigations must be time-bound and chargesheets must be filed within a reasonable timeframe. A quick trial is advisable — to showcase that India has an uncompromising posture against terrorism and will hand out punishments without any delay and swiftly, while protecting the constitutional rights of each of its resident. Showcasing such a balanced approach towards terrorism is also very important to send out the message to the aggrieved and those influenced by violent ideologies that Indian democracy is their best bet for a fair life. Young people drawn to various waves of violence through history have mostly been individuals harbouring a perceived strong sense of grievance against the state. Their violent activities are a response to what they believe to be injustices inflicted by the powerful. In India, there have been three distinct waves of domestic Islamist terrorism since the early 1990s. There is no better way of addressing the grave threat posed by young citizens drawn to extremist, violent ideologies than a fair, transparent and swift trial.

Questions:

1. What is terrorism? What are various implications of terrorism on the society?

2. What is the history of terrorism in the world in general and India in particular?

3. Mention the major terrorist attacks in the recent past both in India and the World?

4. What is the root cause of the growing menace of terrorism?

5. What are the steps being taken to address the issue of terrorism at the global as well as national level?

6. What is NIA? What is its role?

7. What is the anti-terror infrastructure existing in the country? What are the gaps still to be bridged in making India secure against acts of terrorism?

8. "Real-life investigations are painstaking tasks, and the Indian agencies have often failed in due diligence on that front". Do you agree? Justify (200 words)

9. "There is no better way of addressing the grave threat posed by young citizens drawn to extremist, violent ideologies than a fair, transparent and swift trial." Analyse (200 words)

10. Do you think that the issue of terrorism is linked to the state of world economy? Explain. (200 words)

11 comments:

  1. 1. What is terrorism? What are various implications of terrorism on the society?
    A.
    The unofficial and unauthorised use of violence in the society to achieve religious or political benefits is called terrorism. Article 19 of the constitution ensures "right to life" as fundamental right.
    the following are the implications on the society.
    ECONOMIC ANGLE:
    there will be a large loss of life and property. Due to the frequent terror attacks the investment that makes its way into the india will face a setback. This inturn reduces the production of goods and services leading to the slow down of the economy.
    TOURISM: tourists visiting india will go down due to increase in violence in the country which inturn is negative impact.
    SOCIAL ANGLE:-
    There will be a rise of suspension within the communities of opposing ideologies.psychological mistrust may take precedence. Unemployed and rural youth can easily attracted to the terrorist propaganda. The ideology of clash of the civilizations can spread across the world which becomes a major challenge.
    DEFENCE:
    all the national assets such as power projects, defence arsenel could be under great threat.
    The sleeper cells which might have been resiing in india could show their true colors.
    GEOGRAPHIC:
    The porus boundaries along the nepal and bhutan increases the risk of infiltration into the mainland territory.
    DIPLOMATIC:
    The lack of proper collaboration between the nations of SAARC can add fuel to the fire.
    Proper collabortation among the intellgience agencies along with people participation is the need of hour to face the challenge

    ReplyDelete
  2. 3. Mention the major terrorist attacks in the recent past both in India and the World?
    A.INDIA: pathankot,bombay
    WORLD: paris,nigeria,tunisia

    ReplyDelete
  3. 4. What is the root cause of the growing menace of terrorism?
    A. terrorism is the biggest challenge of the 21st centuary. The historical cold war politics, interventionist approach, racial conflict,resource crunch, technology advancement are the root causes of the rise of terrorism.
    COLD WAR ERA:
    The role of major powers as cold war politics in the iraq and afghanistan is no less significant factor to be a root cause for the birth of terrorism in middle east.
    INTERVENTIONIST APPROACH:
    The idea to promote democracy without looking into the absorbing capability of the society by the US in iraq created radical forces . The failure to understand that the countries in the middle east are not yet ready to absorb democracy resulted in the n number of groups which have a minor differences .
    RACIAL CONFLICT:
    The iran revolution happened in 1970's lead to the revival of shia community in syria,turkey,iran which lead to the ethnic cleansing with the sunni dominated arab,UAE etc.
    RESOURCE CRUNCH:
    the less oil reserves and the aspiration to become dominent is the driving force behind all unlawful activites leading to fatalities and hence to impose sharia laws to have the control over the territory.
    SOCIAL ANGLE:
    lack of better educational and health infrastructre together with the economic exploitation of the monarchy form of govenment stagnated the development in all aspects.

    ReplyDelete
  4. 8. "Real-life investigations are painstaking tasks, and the Indian agencies have often failed in due diligence on that front". Do you agree? Justify (200 words)
    A. article 22 of the indian constitution provides for both punitive and preventive detention.
    Real life investigations are time taking process, politically motivated, highly cultural sensitive that makes difficult to go through. Indian agencies are ill-equipped, less coordinated, more silos oriented fails to meet the challenges of the globalized technological advancements.
    BAIL SYSTEM:
    it is often very diffcult to get the bail for the poor and hence they are left in the prisons.
    UNDERTRAILS:
    more than 68% of the prisonner are undertrails. this shows the failure of the CJS to protect the fundamental right to free trail which is considered as fundamental right.
    no legal support:
    the undertrails were not able to meet the expenses to hire a lawyer. moreover, any NGOs to provide free prosecutor, they were not being accepted by them due to social stigma and the blind belief in their households.
    INFRASTRUCTURE:
    less forenseic labs and the inefficient skilled staff to meet the challenges was the major reasons to the poor conditions of prison.
    lack of specialization and regular training modules to fit the need of the profession is lacking which is clearly evident from the obessed police officers .

    COORDINATION:
    Lack of collaborative efforts b/w the agencies and the non-skilled intellegence gathereing machinery leads to the increase in the occurence of crime.
    NCTC though established not availble to police of state to access due to the privacy issues. Hence the objective of informed police to take decisions is getting misleaded.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Terrorism is defined as the unlawful coercive force used by any segment or part of society to cause terror generally to satisfy the political and social aims.
    The implications of terrorism are as follows:
    Threat to civilian life.
    destruction of property.
    corroding effect on integrity of nation.
    Increases defense spending.
    Leads to change in policy measures often from welfare to defensive.
    negative impact on economy as everything comes to stand still situation.
    leads to the mind set that how vulnerable a state is.
    implications of terrorism if happens for a long term.
    poverty.
    unemployment.
    refugee crisis.
    breakdown of economy.
    threats the establishment of a state.

    ReplyDelete
  6. there has always been a debate as to when was terrorism born. Some relate to the ancient monarchy where the king was oppressive and employed means of terrorism to oppress people.
    The genesis of terrorism could be traced to The reign of terror in France where it was a government intimidation. In India terrorism was born from the conflict of Kashmir and various insurgencies in the north-eastern states. The partition of India saw the ugly side of terrorism.

    ReplyDelete
  7. March 1993- Mumbai, series of 13 blasts. Dawood ibrahim was alleged for the same.
    December 1996- bombing on an express train, the Brahmaputra Mail, Assam.
    February 1998- series of 12 bomb attacks, Coimbatore.
    October 2001-The Jammu and Kashmir State Legislative Assembly,car bomb and 3 suicide bombers
    August 2003-Two car bombs in Mumbai.
    October 2005-3 bombs, New Delhi.

    2006 March- series of bombings, Uttar Pradesh.
    2006 July- A series of seven bomb blasts ,suburban trains in Mumbai.
    2006 September-3 blasts, Malegaon, Maharashtra.
    2007 February-two blasts on the Pakistan-bound Samjhauta Express.

    2007 August- Two bomb blasts in the city of Hyderabad.


    2008 May- Nine blasts Jaipur
    July-A series of nine bombs exploded in Bangalore, followed by 21 bomb blasts the next day in Ahmedabad.
    September-Five bomb blasts in New Delhi.
    October-As many as 18 bombs Guwahati
    November-Ten gunmen launched a series of 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks.

    2010 February-A bomb blast at the German Bakery, Pune.

    2011 July- On July 13, Mumbai was rocked by a series of three coordinated bomb explosions

    September-A bomb blast, Delhi High Court.

    2013 February-Two blasts, Hyderabad.
    October-A series of bomb blasts, Patna.
    December 2014- Bomb blast at Church Street, bengaluru
    July 2015- Gurdaspur attack
    January 2016- Pathankot attack.

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  8. Advent of modernity, dynamic society, increase in individualistic approach, science and technology, weak state institutions, divide among the international community.

    ReplyDelete
  9. 6. NIA is the National Investigation Agency, a central agency established by the Indian Government to combat terror in India.It came into existence with the enactment of the National Investigation Agency Act 2008 by the Parliament of India on 31 December 2008.NIA was created after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks as need for a central agency to combat terrorism was realised.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Condemning payment of ransom to terrorist groups.
    Passing of various anti-terrorism laws.
    curbing money laundry.
    prevent and suppress financial aid to terrorist outfits and arms-trafficking.
    Air strikes.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Terrorism is directly linked to world economy. Any state who faces terrorism for a long period of time ends up using all its resources to curb it. This often leads to poverty and has a direct impact on its economy. Further in this growing world where all the states are dependent on each other(apart from few exceptions) so even if one country face terrorism it has a full circle of consequences. If we take up the matter of Syria, Palestine it clearly shows how terrorism can be detrimental to society and world economy at large.

    ReplyDelete