A terrorist is a social activist gone horribly wrong
Sunday, 15 July 2012
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"I was
insulted and assaulted;
Did you
have any answer?
I faced
sorrow and humiliation;
And
when I retaliated, you called me a social disaster!"
With
increasing terrorist attacks around the globe, it is natural for us to realize
that the scourge of terrorism is getting worse by the day. Terrorism has
provoked unparalleled indignation throughout the world. But seldom have we
thought of the cause that drives a person to the cult of gun and bomb.
What
constitutes a terrorist? What madness, what violent rage and what chemistry of
misplaced idealism can create such a fury in the blood of a person to turn him
into a suicide bomber, killing himself along with his targeted victims and
innocent people? Is the terrorist insane or is he a self styled martyr seeking
self actualization?
A
terrorist is not an individual with a pathological psyche. He is not mentally
ill. Infact, terrorists are the victims of the rotten system of the society
that create more victims of misunderstanding. Actually, terrorists are human
beings like us but the inhuman treatment meted out to them turn them into wild
beasts. An environment in which some communities have been marginalized
socially, politically or economically has laid the foundation of terrorism
which has spread throughout the world. The root cause of crime does not exists
in an individual but it exists in the society which makes a criminal more prone
to crimes. The punitive system of the society acts as a catalyst for the
victims to do wrong. They are compelled to wreak vengeance against those whom
they regard as their ‘enemies’.
It
is a common impression that the encounter killings are a common extrajudicial
tactic for dealing with the problem of terrorism. Terrorism cannot be ascribed
to any particular religion, sect or community. Any effort to give terrorism a
communal colour will surely spell disaster for our country. The failure of the
State to ensure justice to the victims of communal attacks and to punish those
guilty of heinous crimes against minorities are indeed attracting a few
elements among the youth to the extremist cause.
Terrorists
should be treated as human beings with a cause. We should try to understand the
terrorist is trying to say something which he believes in strongly and he is
not merely a trouble maker. Those who feel they are victims of discrimination
and injustice should be invited to speak about it. The alleged criminals and
terrorists have a right to due process, which includes the right to fair and
speedy trial, the right to proper defence and presumption of innocence until a
person is proven guilty. It is essential to fight back those extremist forces
within the community who seek to exploit the genuine grievances of the
terrorists.
Here
it is important for us to ponder upon the following thoughts;
In
India’s
freedom struggle, column upon column of people marched up to fight against the
shackles and oppression of the British without killing innocent people. Would
one label them as terrorists? Instead they are adorned as revolutionaries!
A
group of young people from a remote village of northern India suffered
a lot of misery and discrimination when they were tested positive for HIV
infection. Their houses were burnt; they were brutally beaten and were even
forced to surrender all their possessions as a compensation to carry out some
orthodox religious activities to restore the auspiciousness of the village.
These youth later turned into a rebellious group to wreak vengeance by placing
syringes filled with their contaminated blood on the seats of cinema halls to
attack innocent people. But when these people were counseled and motivated by
the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and treated compassionately, they
turned into NACO activists.
Terrorists
have their roots in anger, hatred and wrong perceptions. This anger should be
prevented from becoming a collective energy. Compassion and dialogue are the
only antidotes for anger and violence. A terrorist is indeed a social activist gone
horribly wrong!!!
Written by :
SHREYANS
JAIN
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