Government and Politics in South Asia

Terrorism in India and Pakistan and its Impact

Submitted by
Niraj Baitha
Registration Number -94448

Submitted to
Dr Saurabh Kumar
Centre for South Asian Studies
School of International Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi-110067

Introduction
Terrorism is as old as the human civilization and as new as this morning`s headlines. For some, it
seems obvious that individuals and organizations have used terrorism for long period of time,
while others insist real terrorism has only been around for decades. Both camps are right- up to a
point. The weapons, methods, and goals of terrorists constantly change, but core features of their
act have remained since the earliest period of time.
The international community has never succeeded in developing an accepted comprehensive
definition of terrorism. During the 1970s and 1980s, the United Nations attempts to define the
term foundered mainly due to differences of opinion between various members about the use of
violence in the context of conflicts over national liberation and self-determination. These
divergences have made it impossible to conclude a Comprehensive Convention on International
Terrorism that incorporates a single, all-encompassing, legally binding, criminal law definition of
terrorism.

Definition
Terrorism, by definition, is always a crime, but it can also be considered as a strategy in a war.
But in the international community (including United Nations), terrorism has no legally binding,
criminal law definition. For the sake of discussion, let's focus on two, major definitions:
According to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI):- "Terrorism is the unlawful use of force
or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian
population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives."
So, the actions of a terrorist are always criminal. Hijacking, murder, arson,
or hostage taking may be the crimes, but it is the motivation that makes the international
community consider it as terrorism. Countries have also used terrorism as a strategy in warfare.
For instance, Iran has supported several Palestinian terrorist groups in their war against Israel.
Both Hamas and Hezbollah have received financial support from Iran.
U.S. Department of State Defines Terrorism to be:"Premeditated politically-motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets
by sub-national groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience."

So, we see Terrorism is also a type of modern non-state warfare tactic. Non-state, because
generally no state directly endorses or participates in any such activities. Some other definitions
of terrorism are as follows:
UN Resolutions:
Eighteen universal instruments (fourteen instruments and four amendments) against
international terrorism have been elaborated within the framework of the United Nations system
relating to specific terrorist activities.
European Union:
uses a definition of terrorism for legal/official purposes which provides that terrorist offences
are certain criminal offences set out in a list comprised largely of serious offences against
persons and property which, given their nature or context, may seriously damage a country or an
international organization where committed with the aim of. Seriously intimidating a population
or unduly compelling a Government or international organization to perform or abstain from
performing any act, or seriously destabilizing or destroying the fundamental political,
constitutional, economic or social structures of a country or an international organization.
India:
In India the 8th report of ARC-2 uses the following working definition of terrorism, same as one
widely used by Western nations as well as the United Nations, proposed by Schmidt and
Jongman in 1988.Terrorism is an anxiety-inspiring method of repeated violent action, employed
by (semi-) clandestine individual, group or state actors, for idiosyncratic, criminal or political
reasons, whereby the direct targets of violence are not the main targets. The immediate human
victims of violence are generally chosen randomly (targets of opportunity) or selectively
(representative or symbolic targets) from a target population, and serve as message generators.
Threat and violence-based communication processes between terrorist organization, victims, and
main targets are used to manipulate the main target (audience(s)), turning it into a target of terror,
a target of demands, or a target of attention, depending on whether intimidation, coercion, or
propaganda is primarily sought

Terrorism in India
Terrorism in India is not new, but it has increased very rapidly in the last few years. Terrorism in
India should be looked upon as an integral part of our colonial legacy. The British followed the
policy of divide and rule and ultimately divided the subcontinent into two nations, which later
grew into three after the independence of Bangladesh. Post-independence and post-partition
violence and terrorism was unprecedented. This partition on the basis of religion, faith and
community has sown seeds of hatred, violence, terrorism, separatism and communal divide and
will continue growing and flowering for a long time.
Extremism: - the extremism which occurs in the various regions with in the country of India is
divided in various forms, two such forms included the ethnic form of extremism which occurs
mostly in the northeastern regions of the country and the other form is the religious form of
extremism which can be seen in the form of the demand of a separate state within the country
such as the Khalistan movement which occurred in the state of Punjab during the 1970s.
The rise of extremism arid terrorism in our north-eastern states of Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura,
Manipur, and Assam, etc. is also part of our colonial legacy. The long colonial rule never
attempted to bring the tribals of these states into the mainstream of the nation. Rather, a feeling
of hatred, alienation and disharmony was created in their hearts. Consequently, they felt
neglected after independence and could not take part in the democratic process of the country.
They were misled by a false sense of losing their ethnic identity and independence, and decided
to take to terrorism and violence. They were helped in their futile armed struggle by neighboring
countries, who never liked to see India as a united, powerful, and successful democracy. This
emergence of terrorism in our north-eastern states also reflects the lack of will and proper efforts
on the part of our political leaders and the government to bring these big groups of tribals into
the national mainstream and the democratic process.
Besides socio-political and economic aspects, psychological, emotional and religious aspects are
also involved in the problem. All these create strong feelings and extremism. The unprecedented
spate of terrorism in the recent past in Punjab can be understood and appreciated only in this
background. The demand for a separate Khalistan state by these alienated sections of the society
became so strong and powerful at one point in time that it put our unity and integrity under

strain. But ultimately good sense prevailed, both on the government and the people, and electoral
process was started in which the people participated wholeheartedly. This involvement of people
in the democratic process, coupled with strong measures adopted by security forces, helped us
wage a successful battle against terrorism in Punjab.
Terrorism, as a means to achieve socio-political aims in Punjab got much support from Pakistan
by way of supply of arms and ammunition, training and finance. The people in power in Pakistan
have always been hostile to India because of their own political compulsions. They have been
trying their best to destabilized and disturb the society in India. They train and equip terrorists
with arms and then smuggle them into the country. Poverty, unemployment, and lack of
education, etc. among the people further worsen the situation. Under various political, communal
and economical pressures, they succumb to the temptations and discard the democratic process,
finding it unsuitable for improving their miserable lot.
Another form of state sponsored terrorism other the terrorism in the state of Punjab is the
Kashmir form of terrorism where Pakistan since the period of 1948 has been involved in the
region specially in the Kashmir valley be it the sending of terrorists during the 1948 period or the
continuous attacks near the borders including the recent Uri attacks where Pakistani terrorists
were openly involved.
Terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir is of this nature. Widespread poverty, unemployment, neglect
of youth, peasants and working class and emotional alienation are some of the main reasons of
extremism in the province. The hostile forces across our borders are also helping it a lot. The
emergence of Bangladesh as an independent state with Indias help was too much for Pakistan to
tolerate. Smarting under this humiliation, the leaders of Pakistan spare no pains to destabilize and
disturb peace in the Indian sub-continent.
The series of bomb-blasts in Mumbai and other cities of India were planned in Pakistan and
executed with their financial help. Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir has
caused deaths of thousands of people, including innocent civilians, defense and security
personnel. It has also caused loss of property worth several cores of rupees in the state. In spite
of loud and vociferous denouncement of terrorism and extremism in various international forums
by the Pakistan government, militants, fundamentalist and terrorists are being trained there in

secret and well-established camps run by the ISI (Inter Services Intelligence) the intelligence
agency of Pakistan and other such groups and agencies. These extremists have found a very safe
sanctuary there.
It has been established beyond any shadow of doubt that Pakistan-trained militants and
extremists had their hand in the 2001 crash of the U.S. World Trade Centre in New York. Such
activities certainly boomerang and now Pakistan finds itself in the grip of terrorism. During the
year 2002, over one thousand people have been killed in terrorist activities in the city of Karachi
alone. The communal, fundamentalist and sectarian clashes, violence and militancy among the
Mohairs, Sunnis, Shias and other such groups is now very common there. The roots of
organized and large scale terrorism and violence in Pakistan are quite deep and widespread.

Terrorist Groups in India

In 2013, the UPA government informed the Lok Sabha that it had identified 66 terror groups
which were active across India. Former Minister of State for Home, RPN Singh, had at the time
informed the lower house of parliament that North East remained worst affected due to the
activity of these militant groups. Of the 65 groups, 34 were based out of Manipur, 11 in Assam, 4
each in Meghalaya and Nagaland, and 2 each in Tripura and Mizoram. The report further says
that the five militant outfits that have remained active in the northern state of Jammu and
Kashmir are Al Badr, Harkat-e-Mujahideen, Hizbul-Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammad, and the
dreaded Lashkar-e-Taiba. According to the government, Punjab has three active militant groups
Babbar Khalsa International, Khalistan Commando Force, and Khalistan Zindabad Force.
Despite the concentration of these terror groups in a few states, their presence and activities are
felt across the nation, national security agencies believe. Evidence of their activities have been
found in states like Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan,
and Uttar Pradesh. Some minor separatist groups were also found to be active in states such as
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu.

Terrorism in Pakistan
Once a convicted "terrorist", Nelson Mandela, wrote in his autobiography: "the hard facts were
that 50 years of non-violence had brought (my) people nothing but more repressive legislation,
and fewer rights".
Terrorism in the state of Pakistan is a common phenomenon in the region with the constant terror
attacks having occurring on a regular basis in various parts of the country including the recent
attacks on the Shias in the region of Quetta. Two of the major terrorist attacks which have
occurred in the Pakistani territory would include the attack in the Peshawar school which killed
many children in the school and also the attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team bus while on tour
in the state of Pakistan.
The sectarian anti-Shiite militant groups like the Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan were preaching hatred
against the Shiite Muslims and employing some terrorist activities. The extremist sectarian
intolerance came to Pakistan only after 1979 revolution in Iran. The Iranian revolution
emboldened the Shiite Muslims of Pakistan against their suffering at the hands of anti-Shiite
groups. This was further aggravated when a Sunni-dominated Iraq with the backing of the USA
and Saudi Arabia waged a war upon Shiite dominated Iran.
The Soviet Afghanistan War was the most critical event responsible for spreading militancy and
intolerance in Pakistan. In order to fight proxy war against the Soviets, the US and the Arab
countries provided the funds for serving The Mujahedeen who were motivated for battle through
religious propaganda urging them to expel the infidels from Afghanistan. The aftermath of the
Soviet withdrawal exposed the damage, transformation of violence, and weaponisation into
Pakistan society
The armed freedom struggle surfaced in Kashmir during the eighties gave the resistors a
continued reason to be present in the region, which was exploited by Pakistan. Therefore after
9/11, when a ban was put on these fighters, they turned their guns towards their adopted country.

The Internal Factors: Pakistan is fighting against the menace of terrorism on both the fronts;

external as well as internal. The derailing of democracy has had a preformed impact on Pakistani
society. One cause is political deprivation, political alienation, leading to hopelessness, and sense
of powerlessness, which then leads on to these terrorist acts.
In reality, the economy of Pakistan, replete with corruption, has disturbed the distribution of
wealth. Dishonesty, bribery, the drug trade and other malpractices are common to make easy
money. Black money has created new moneyed class in the society distributing the balance of
social structure.
A weak judicial system and judiciary are also responsible for these unwanted tendencies. The
judiciary is digital registration of the national data base is a major security. (NADRA) has been
established, it is still found wanting. Incomplete facility is a contributory factor in harboring
terrorists/miscreants responsible for the rise of militancy.
Unresolved political disputes, in the hot disputes of the world, Muslims are being isolated and
discriminately treated in the conflicts. Ineffectiveness of UNO. To avert any other international
war. The dispute is resolved in UNO; the terrorism was not prevailed as it is.
On one hand, previously when Afghan Jihad was going on they were projected as heroes and
then became terrorists. Distrust between Muslims and the westerns. Extremist activities by some
terrorist groups, like Al Qaeda. The pride of US as being unipolar. The Muslim world is victim of
illiteracy, ignorance, poverty, intolerance and sectarianism.
Diffrences between good taliban and bad taliban:
Good Taliban militants would align with the Army's interests in Afghanistan and Kashmir,
especially as NATO draws down; they might also take part in a reconciliation process with
the government.
Bad Taliban would likely continue to attack inside Pakistan and agitate against the state for
being an ally of the US and insufficiently radical in Islamic terms. But they would become
more isolated, or so hope some Pakistani Army leaders.

Pakistan ranked thired in global terrorism index:

A new global study by London-based Institute for Economics and Peace has ranked Pakistan
third on the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) list.
The report said Iraq was the country hit hardest by terrorism, with 2,492 attacks that killed more
than 6,300 people. It was followed by Afghanistan and Pakistan, with Nigeria and Syria in fourth
and fifth place respectively.
With 10,000 worldwide attacks in 2013, the report says Pakistan in particular saw a 37 per cent
increase in deaths and 28 per cent increase in injuries since 2012. The report also said that deaths
resulting from terror incidents in Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Syria account for more
than 80 per cent of the the total deaths from attack
The report also says that the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) between 2000 and 2013 has
claimed 778 attacks, of which 12 per cent were carried out by suicide bombers. It also says that
the Taliban have the highest number of fighters, estimated to be between 36,000 to 60,

IMPACT OF TERRORISM ON BILETRAL

RELATIONS
Since the period of independence one of the major problems of the bilateral relations between the
two nations has been the promotion of terrorism by the Pakistani state in the Indian state
especially in the region of Kashmir and Punjab. Whenever the has been an improvement of the
relations between the nations , there has been a backlash with the rise of terrorist attacks in the
region specially from the Pakistani side sponsoring the terrorists with the support of the ISI the
intelligence agency of Pakistan. One of the few examples is when the success of the DelhiLahore bus was at its peak there was the sudden attack on the Parliament in the year 2001 with
the clear evidence of Pakistan involvement in the attack. In the year 2008 when the relations
between the two nations were at a positive point then came the infamous Mumbai blasts in the
Taj and Oberoi hotels where one of the captured terrorists by the name of Ajmal Kasab who was
a Pakistani citizen. Another reason for frustration from the Indian side after the Mumbai attacks
is the sheltering of Hafeez Sayeed who is the prime accused in the attack by the Pakistani

government. After a period of tension between the two, Narendera Modi the current Prime
Minister invited the whole SAARC leaders including t]he current Prime Minister of Pakistan
Nawaz Sharif to come for his oath taking ceremony . Another step taken by the Indian side to
improve the relations was the sudden visit of Indian Prime Minister to Pakistan during the
birthday of the Prime Minister of Pakistan for informal talks , but even after all these initiatives
taken by the Indian side there has been two incidents which has brought back a rise in the tension
between the two countries such as the Pathankot attack which was an airbase in Punjab and the
recent Uri attack in an army camp in Kashmir thereby bringing the tensions between the two
nations to a very negative side which has lead to almost a period of war between the two nations.
After the recent attacks there has been a talk to remove the Most Favored Nation status which
India gives to Pakistan as retaliation against the attacks. There has been not an effect from the
side of trade and politics but this has effected even the cultural side of the relations specially in
the form of cricket as the terrorist attacks on the Pakistani soil has prevented Pakistan from
playing in their own country and also Indians refusal to play any Pakistani cricketers in the
Indian Premier League. Another effect on the cultural aspect is the demand for the removal of
Pakistani stars from the Bollywood and also the banning of Pakistani channels and also the
removal of all Indian channels from the Pakistan network. When there is an evidence sharing
between the two nations there has been a slow movement on the process from the side of
Pakistan towards the accused terrorists even after a great amount of proof, such examples can
been seen in various incidents one of them being the Pathankot when there was an exchange of
evidence the Pakistani agency were allowed in Indian soil but when it was time for the Pakistani
to reciprocate the same the Indian team were not allowed.

Effect on the South Asian Region

India is one of the biggest countries in the South Asian regions; one might consider it the
hegemony in the region being India having the largest population, area, military, GDP and also
the dependence of the rest of the region on India. When there is a rise of tension among the two
nations this has always had an effect on the whole region. The main difference for the
disagreements among the nations in the SAARC forum is the rise of terrorism especially in the
two main countries India and Pakistan. The spread of terrorism from Pakistan towards India

bring about a divide among the nations in the SAARC which was clearly seen when all the
countries boycotted the SAARC summit in Islamabad due to the recent terrorist attacks in India,
thereby preventing any work from being done in the summit. The main reason for the
establishment of SAARC was to promote regional cooperation but due to the tension between the
two major countries especially when it comes to Kashmir and also to terrorism promotion in the
region, the goal is not fulfilled.

Conclusion
Terrorism is a global problem and as such it cannot be solved in isolation. What are needed are
international co-operative efforts to fight against this global menace. All the governments of the
world should simultaneously and continuously crack down on militants and terrorists. The global
menace can be reduced and eliminated only by close co-operation between various countries.
The countries from where militancy springs should be clearly identified and declared as terrorist
states. It is very difficult for any terrorist activity to thrive for long in a country unless there is
strong external support to it. Terrorism achieves nothing, solves nothing and the quicker this is
understood, the better.
It is sheer madness and an exercise in futility. In terrorism there cannot be a victor or vanquished.
If terrorism becomes a way of life, the leaders and heads of states of the various countries alone
are to blame. This vicious circle is their own creation and only their combined and pooled efforts
can check it. Terrorism is a crime against humanity and should be dealt with an iron hand and the
forces behind it should be exposed. Terrorism adversely affects the quality of life and hardens
attitudes.
In the ultimate analysis, all terrorist groups are criminal. They do not distinguish between good
and evil; neither do they spare anybody, not even women and children. For example, Jadish-eMohammed, a terrorist outfit active in Kashmir, has been most ruthless and rapacious. It began
as a support organization for Afghan Mujahedeen in the beginning of 1980s. It is now operating
worldwide under different names. Their professed aim is to establish Islamic State under a Sharia
Law throughout the world, through jihad. They train their cadres in making bombs, explosives,
hurling grenades and using light and heavy weapons. They have a large number of hideouts in
the valley of Kashmir. The man, who made the bomb that blew off the New York World Trade

Centre, belonged to this group. They find the whole world, including India, a fair game for their
terrorist.

Reffrencess :
Ignou nots on south asia
Andrew Heywood Global Politics
http://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/india/most-active-militant-groups-in-india
http://www.dawn.com/news/1145300/pakistan-ranks-third-on-global-terrorism-index:
http://www.plainenglishnuclear.net/terrorism-in-india-free-informative- essay-example.jsp
vhttp://www.shareyouressays.com/963/1473-words-essay-on-terrorism-in-india-free-to-read
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_in_India
http://www.cssforum.com.pk/css-compulsory-subjects/essay/31190-essay-terrorism-causeseffects-solutions.htm