Life and Content of Terrorism

Aug. 23, 2006

• This phenomenon is as old as the Society.
• Natural violence in an unorganised society becomes terrorism when the society abides by law.
• Terrorism is the strength of weakness.
• The weak are meek when they are unformed and disintegrate as strength rises to ruling.
• The formed weak that have once tasted lordship of strength or power or knowledge get disgruntled and resort to terror.
• What is unable to disintegrate destroys itself by the parting shot by which it does incalculable harm to the established society.
• It sparks when its sensitivity of one form or another - prestige of power, social status, enjoyment of privileges - is trampled upon.
• The weak that refuses to prosper by its own initiative feels jealous of the strong that rose in status. The strong invariably teases, tyrannises over the weak for the sheer enjoyment of pride. Terrorism is the result.
• Ireland was untouched by civilisation. They were content in their primitivity. England rose in prosperity and power and humiliated Ireland. Religion became a handy excuse. The IRA took to arms till they outdid UK in economic status.
• The case in Sri Lanka is blatantly one of denial of economic and social opportunities.
• The Sikhs are a martial race and that memory gains life when their wealth reached the highest level in India. Hence the Sikh terrorism.
• The fissiparous tendencies of Negro terrorism is flimsy.
• The Arab Israeli terrorism will easily lend itself to economic solution as the Israeli PM described - Palestine could walk into prosperity in twenty five years as Singapore did.
• The British transferred power to India but it was never an act of generous gentlemanliness. Divide and Rule was the policy. The communal carnage of the freedom days, if not organised by the British, was NOT put down with an iron hand. Penderel Moon cites the fact that communal riots were far less in the Princely states than in British India where that vested interest was missing. Kashmir was the symbol where UK and USA deliberately fanned the chaotic situation as India was on the border of Russia.
• The solutions are many:

1. To go to the root cause and consciously dissolve it if there is enough sincerity on the part of those who preside over their destinies. It is possible only in some cases.

2. Removal of obvious injustices as in Vietnam will diffuse overnight conflagrations as in Sri Lanka.

3. Economic solution is the easiest and best for most of the cases.

4. Thoughtful, resourceful suggestions of dozens of types will readily alleviate any case temporarily.

5. Incentives in education, travel, immigration will go a long way even to handle Middle East terrorism.

6. Bringing a few nations of a region together when there is one centrally situated in prosperity is another solution.

7. Asian currency, when it comes into existence, will mitigate terrorism in the member countries.

8. The idea of a common currency for some regions is another.

9. Even the EU can invite erring Middle Eastern powers to join them.

10. Creation of mandatory territories under the UN can be offered to those who are willing to respond to that possibility.

11. UN membership raised to the status of democratic rights as well as human rights can be a counteracting measure to terrorism.

12. The international NGOs can come under one banner and move in the direction of political enlightenment. The erring states and individuals can respond to it.

13. ICC can prosecute erring individuals and states.

14. Terrorism will vanish if resort to falsehood as a political weapon in international politics is removed,

15. Terrorism will vanish if the world does not nourish it.

Can we thoroughly understand it without a flaw?

 The methods of accomplishment and the ones of comprehension are the same. The Americans who are acting for centuries in freedom and who have unconsciously aimed at infinite results have declared that there is no problem without a solution. It is a perception of accomplishment in the plane of infinity.

Let us accept it.

If a problem can be fully understood, it is half solved, as knowledge is power.

A problem is not unidimensional. It arises from every possible side.

So terrorism can be studied form all sides - history, economics, education, religion and everything possible - and that study will give us the right understanding. In such a study, let us see the existing views and how far they reflect the right understanding. It is better to put our light in terms of their light.

This study will reveal 1) how the problem has been moving, 2) at what stage it is, 3) will indicate the possible future stages through which it is likely to move and 4) the route through which it should move through to reach the solution.

It will show us how distant the solution is. It can tell us how much that distance can be abridged, and how soon?

• Whether we can accomplish the abolition of terrorism or not is not a question. The question is through what path we want to travel.
• There are two possible methods at the two ends of the spectrum.

1. We can do now what can be ultimately done for a miraculous instantaneous result.

2. There are hundreds of small significant steps that can be taken at once which will offer major alleviation.

Between them, we can work out three or ten or any number of steps we like. Let us implement all that we can do now and fix on ONE method that suits our temperament. Then it is only a question of time to abolish terrorism, not whether it is possible or not.

Once terrorism is finally abolished, as smallpox was, there are many follow up steps to build the social health.