800+ Words Essay on Terrorism and World peace
G.W. Bush was right when he said, “We do not create terrorism by fighting it, we invite terrorism by ignoring it.” It’s high time to pay attention on this menace and act for it’s permanent solution.
The scourge of terrorism has cast it’s malevolent influence across the world and is a major threat to all of us. It is a global menace and the world needs to come together to fight against it.
Be it terror group like AL-Qaeda, Boko Haram, Deccan Mujahedin or individuals inspired by their barbaric ideology, the terrorist threat has never been so high. The phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters and the massive use of the Internet and social media for recruiting, financing or calling for action has also added a new dimension to the threat.
Origin and People involved
Though the exact origin of terrorism is unknown due to multiple definitions it has been assigned till date, the first use in English of the term ‘terrorism’ occurred during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror, when the Jacobin, who ruled the revolutionary state, employed violence to win their cause.
Anarchism, often in league with rising nationalism and anti-monarchism, was the most prominent ideology linked with terrorism in the earlier days of it’s origin.
If we talk of the present times, there are multiple terror outfits like Al-Qaeda, Quetla Shura, Lashkar-e-Taiba operating at global level propagating their ghastly ideologies of terror and killings in the name of religion, cultural and economic differences. The question that needs to be addressed is who are the people involved?
There are leaders of terror groups who influence poor, disheartened and inhumane people among general public to join them by luring them and making promises to take care of their families after they, ‘the defenders of religion’ (as these terrorists are referred by them)die for their cause.
Present Scenario
The number of terror attacks is surging day by day. The severities of World Trade centre attack, 26/11 Mumbai attacks , and the recent Pulawama attack in India are unforgettable. These terrorist groups plan attacks targeting populated cities and crowded areas to cause large scale destruction.
Such groups don’t only include active terrorists who perform such heinous acts in action, but also have sleeper cells that are women and men placed in different cities who work for these terror outfits secretly to provide them with all the relevant information for planning attacks. Most surprising and depressing is the inclusion of young children in these acts of severe cruelty.
Severities involved
It is obvious that the problem such terror attacks result into are immense. The large scale loss of lives and infrastructure, the social problems that emerge and the undermining of national interests of developing countries dismantle the very base of peace and development.
Investors shun war zones, traders are wary of markets that might explode at any time , tourists do not travel to hotels that might be commandeered by crazed terrorists. These are all serious hazards for a country seeking to grow and flourish in a globalising world economy. In the Indian context, terrorist unions in Pakistan not only aim to kill and destroy, but also pull down India’s growth, tarnish it’s success story and darken it’s lustre in the world.
If we look at the legal and political aspect of this menace, we find that there has been tensions among nations regarding this for ages. Be it US and Iran or India and Pakistan, terrorism is the cause as well as effect that leaves no room for cooperation in fight against terrorism . Also, these terrorists don’t get caught easily.
Countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan have been a hub of terrorist outfits like ISIS and Al-Qaeda for a long time. The governments present there are either incapable or are not willing to catch and punish them which serves as another motivating factor for these cruel and uncivilised outfits of terror to flourish and spread their illogical ideas among the general public who get influenced and start volunteering them.
Indian Context
The main terrorism threat to India is posed by it’s neighbouring Islam extremist nations of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Ever since Independence, Pakistan’s relations with India have been bedevilled by a dispute over the divided territory of Kashmir.
The resort by Pakistan to the sponsorship of militancy and terrorism within India as an instrument of state policy since the 1980’s has made relations nearly as bad as in the immediate aftermath of independence.
Both the militancy and the response to it by Indian security forces have caused a great loss of life, damaged property and has wrecked the Kashmiri economy which is largely dependent on tourism and sale of handicrafts. Both the countries have suffered gravely by the casualties of terror wars.
Another disturbing concern regarding 26/11 and Pulawama attacks is that they not only caused death and destruction but showed up the limitations of India’s security apparatus too. They dented the worldwide image of India as an emerging economic giant and instead presented it as an insecure and vulnerable ‘soft state’.
Countering Terrorism
There is a need of building international pressure on Pakistan which requires China and Saudi Arabia’s roles as allies of Pakistan. China’s importance to Pakistan is increasing with the gradual American disengagement , and the world knows that friendship with China shields Pakistan against the negative global fallout from its anti -India actions.
Though keeping in mind China’s strategic concerns in supporting Pakistan to balance relations with India makes it difficult to gain their support in rooting out terrorism bases in Pakistan, we can at least give it a try.
Also, there’s a need to close down the training camps, genuinely banning these organisations , cutting off their finances by closing their bank accounts, arresting known inciters of hatred and violence and declaring more filthy minds as of Jaish -e- Mohammad as International terrorists.
The terrorism ideology that blatantly ignores all the ethics and morals is completely a ruthless and inhumane notion that needs to be nipped in the bud.
Some organisations, therefore have come up with the ‘Deradicalization programme’ where a person showing signs/ behaviour of radicalism and is suspicious of joining a terror group in future is made to have deradicalization sessions with counsellors who try to convince them about the negative aspects of the devastating choice they might make and why they should avoid it.
Though it is being supported by governments of various nations, this solution is on the level of general public.Various national governments try to deal with the problem by having discussions with other nations on how to build peace and security together and collaborating with United Nations peacekeepers wing.
Military of nations like US and India also try frequently to pull out the roots of this trouble by attacking the training camps of these terrorists and focusing on strengthening of border security.
United Nations also plays important role. It is being increasingly called upon to coordinate the global fight against terrorism. Eighteen universal instruments against international terrorism have been elaborated within the framework of the United Nations system relating to specific terrorist activities.
In September 2006, UN Member States adopted the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. This was the first time that Member States agreed to a common strategic and operational framework against terrorism.
I personally feel that there’s a need to bring these perpetrators to justice and to dismantle the infrastructure of terror. The disturbing fact about the terrorists involved is that they are so much brainwashed that they have no thoughtfulness or meaning left in their lives.
The reason behind the havoc they create is not any political objective, not asking for a change in government or not seeking anything other than to cause as much damage and death and destruction as possible. Those among them who pretend to be standing up for the cause of Islam end up killing Muslim Civilians too.
Way ahead
It is difficult to escape the conclusion that this kind of terrorism- terrorism as an end in itself, not as a means to something larger, can only be confronted implacably. It just has to be nipped in the bud, ideally before it starts, and if that is not possible, it should be dealt firmly if and when it actually comes.
It’s high time to act together and it’s quite visible that the global forces are coming together and boycotting those nations who let terror outfits build up and flourish. Nations are turning united against this threat, and are conjointly cutting funding for terrorism through decreasing various purchases of oil and other items from organizations aiding terrorist groups.
It’s an old adage that ‘Rome was not built in a day’ that means good things take time and so will take the establishment of world peace. What we need to focus upon is standing united against terrorism and wiping out hatred from this world.
There might be few terrorists who have lost their mind and feelings and lending a helping hand to whom won’t do any good but there might be few innocents among them who out of helplessness and poverty have become a follower of illogical terror ideas.
It’s those innocents for whom we need to show a light of help and love, whom we have to snatch out of this black hole of blind beliefs and injustice, for whom we have to make this idea of universal love, brotherhood and world peace meaningful so that the insane and inhumane ones are unable to find followers , fall down on their knees and give up.
UN peacekeepers and military forces of different nations are doing the best they can. And so, we all, the governments and civilians all over the world, need to do our part. We have to act aware, careful and responsible to win this fight against terrorism and to strengthen international counter terrorism cooperation if we want to ensure world peace.