What happened in Jaipur is a tragedy that is inexcusable in the same way that it is hard to excuse attacks on anyone who is unaware that death in the form of murder lurks around the corner. It takes a sinister mindset to think that something like that can make you feel powerful or experience a sense of satisfaction for having fought the feeling of empathy that one feels with anyone in pain.
The terrorist is a completely rational being. To think he is not is the first mistake made by those whose job it is to prevent these things from happening. Once you recognize that the terrorist is neither an idiot nor a madman you’re on the right path to a possible solution. Not all acts of deviance are irrational. The carefulness and dedication that go into the plotting is an indication that the person who indulges in acts of terrorism has the ability to relate cause with effect. He had enough time to change his mind. Needless to say he did not. There is an element of predetermination here and the terrorist is acting out the script of a subconscious plot designed to be followed to the dot. It’s like the labyrinthine Chakravyuh in Mahabharata. Once you enter there is no way of turning back.
The psychology of the terrorist has to be placed in a social and political context. First and foremost terrorism is a political problem. No acts of terror can be executed without a local base. Where does the local base come from is the issue. You cannot stop what happens outside a country. But, you can stop what happens within the borders of this country. This is why we’ve governments and political parties. It is their job to figure out the local base and redress their grievances. What we have in India is a corrupt, inefficient and completely irresponsible lot with no vision whatsoever beyond the next election and who would do anything to make as much money and power as possible within the given time. Every one of them who sits in the Parliament and Assemblies and is involved in the running of the government has blood on their hands. They’re the real terrorists in my view. If they were less preoccupied with their own interests what happened in Jaipur would not have happened.
If you agree that the terrorist is a rational being and that there is a local base for it you’ve to understand what makes him or her so angry or desperate that he would be willing to take out his desperation on an innocent person. It’s the feeling of power you get when you’re really mad and you can brutally inflict pain on an animal or a child. Obviously the fellow who is willing to kill his humanity and go to the extent of murdering someone in cold blood is himself already dead within. His rationalism is without compassion.
The most important question is why that person is angry. There are moments when we all would like to kill someone. We may not do it out of fear of consequences but I don’t think we stop ourselves from imagining the other person dead. The terrorist is an extension of us. He is like us in all respects except that he does not acknowledge the consequences of his action. What has made the person come to this extent is the question that governments are supposed to ask.
In my view injustice or perceived injustice is a potent reason for committing acts of terrorism. Conscienceless violence comes from a sense that you’re righting a wrong done to you or a cause dear to you or a person or a group whose interests or feelings that you share. If injustice has been done the terrorist is a victim determined to become a victimizer.
This is what I mean when I said finding the local base. You don’t cut your finger because there is a wound on it. On the contrary. You nurse it carefully and bring it back to health. We don’t have to punish, kill and commit acts of violence just to feel good that we can crush the other fellow and show him his place. This is what America is trying to do. I promise you that they have made the world a worse place to live in both for themselves and others as well. It simply doesn’t work that way.
A civil society that integrates and for a change can put some decent people in power instead of these completely immoral and cynical politicians that we currently have can make the difference. A civil society more interested in watching the latest program on television and taking no interest in politics is vulnerable to attacks because its indifference makes it morally defenseless. Ordinary people must take an interest in politics. We cannot leave the country to the kinds of leaders that we have. That’s the way to collective suicide. We’ve to be aware of what our empty leaders are doing as much as we’ve to be aware of the terrorist himself.
All the intelligence gathering and alertness and consensus by political parties where one is no better than the other will produce the minimal deterrent to terrorism. India is not a small island. It’s a big country and it’s impossible to be watchful all the time and everywhere. Given the nature of modern technology you can place a bomb virtually anywhere. In other words the intelligence networking is part of the solution.
The local base has to be brought into the limelight because this is the root of terrorism. The root must be taken away to render the branches lifeless. If the assumption is that Pakistan is training Indians it means there are Indians who are willing to be trained in Pakistan. The fellow who went all the way to Pakistan to get trained is risking his life. I don’t think he’s doing it for fun. He is doing it with a purpose. We’ve to understand that purpose, respond to it and bring him into the mainstream. By isolating, ignoring or suppressing him we aggravate the problem.
Globalization or this one-sided economic growth has created too many others in this country. More and more people are frighteningly far away from “shining” India. People can do anything to fight that sense of being excluded. A country like India – we’ve only one way to go – which is to integrate. We cannot afford to have outsiders. We must not. Everyone must be an insider. Everyone must be convinced that he or she belongs. By genuinely integrating various communities, individuals, cultures and subcultures, languages and dialects that this country is a home to – we effectively destroy the base of a few disgruntled elements. The future of this nation is connected to the promise of justice to every person born in this country and who works honestly for a living.