Terrorism And Society

Although ‘terrorism” originally referred to acts committed by a gwernment, currently It usually refers to the killing of innocent people for political purposes In such a way as to reate a media spectacle. This meaning can be traced back to Sergey Nechayev, who described himself as a “terrorist”. Nechayev founded the Russian terrorist group ‘People’s Retribution” in 1869. In November 2004. a United Nations Secretary General report described terrorism as any act ‘”intended to cause death or serious ph population or compelling a government or an international organization to do or abstain from doing any act”.
Pejorative Use The terms “terrorism” and “terrorist” (someone who engages in terrorism) carry strong negative connotations. These terms are often used as political labels, to condemn violence or the threat of violence by certain actors as immoral, indiscriminate, unjustified or to condemn an entire segment of a population. Those labeled “terrorists” by their opponents rarely identify themselves as such, and typically use other terms or terms specific to their situation, such as separatist, freedom fighter.
On the question of whether particular terrorist acts, such as killing civilians, can be Justified as the lesser evil in a particular circumstance, philosophers have expressed different views: while, according to David Rodin, utilitarian philosophers can (in theory) conceive of cases in which the evil of terrorism is outweighed by the good which could not be achieved in a less morally costly way, in practice the “harmful effects of undermining the convention of non- combatant immunity is thought to outweigh the goods that may be achieved by particular acts of terrorism”.

Among the non-utilitarian philosophers, Michael Walzer argued that terrorism can be morally Justified in only one specific case: when “a nation or community faces the extreme threat of complete destruction and the nly way it can preserve itself is by intentionally targeting non-combatants, then it is morally entitled to do so. Motivation Of Terrorism Attacks on ‘collaborators’ are used to intimidate people from cooperating with the state in order to undermine state control.
This strategy was used in the USA in its War of Independence and in Ireland, in Kenya, in Algeria and in Cyprus during their independence struggles. Attacks on high profile symbolic targets are used to incite counter-terrorism by the state to polarise the population. This strategy was used by A1 Qaeda in its attacks on the USA in September 2001. These attacks are also used to draw international attention to struggles which are otherwise unreported such as the Palestinian airplane hijackings in 1970 and the South Moluccan hostage crises in the Netherlands in 1975.
Abraham suggests that terrorist organizations do not select terrorism for its political effectiveness. Individual terrorists tend to be motivated more by a desire for social solidarity with other members of their organization than by political platforms or strategic objectives, which are often murky and undefined. Religious Terrorism Religious terrorism is terrorism performed by groups or individuals, the motivation of which is typically rooted in faith-based tenets.
Terrorist acts throughout the centuries have been performed on religious grounds with the hope to either spread or enforce a system of belief, viewpoint or opinion. Religious terrorism does not in itself necessarily define a specific religious standpoint or view, but instead usually defines Terrorism in India A common definition of terrorism is the systematic use or threatened use of violence to intimidate a population or government and thereby effect political, religious, r ideological change.
Terrorism in India, according to the Home Ministry, poses a significant threat to the state. Terrorism in India are basically two types external and internal, external terrorism emerge from neighbouring countries and internal terrorism emulates from religious or communal violence and Naxalite-Maoist insurgency. Terror activities involve either Indian or foreign citizens. The regions with long term terrorist activities today are Jammu and Kashmir, Mumbai, Central India (Naxalism) and the Seven Sister States(independence and autonomy movements).