This small book is the outcome of a three-day conference organized by the Friedrich-Ebert-stiftung (India) and Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, from 15-17 December, 2002 at Heritage Village, Manesar. There are three background papers on types of terrorism, threats to national security and counter-terrorism strategy by B. Raman , Afsir Karim and P.R. Chari respectively. These essays are followed by the conference document which is a summary of the proceedings and conclusions reached at the end of the conference. The list of participants includes well-known scholars, strategic analysts and experts who have hands on experience in National Security management at the highest level.

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The first essay by B. Raman traces the history and nature of contemporary terrorism and terrorist organizations. The new ?catastrophic terrorism? of 9/11 made the world community realize that terrorism is an evil which cannot be effectively crushed without international cooperation. The terrorist acts on that day challenged the authority of the most powerful nation on earth and called for prompt ruthless state response. No wonder there was overwhelming international support for America?s war in Afghanistan in total disregard of the country?s territorial sovereignty. However, as rightly noted in the editorial introduction to the volume under review, the US war on terror was and remains essentially contextual. It contrasts with American disapproval of India?s right to pursue terrorists into Pakistan across the LOC.

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Raman feels that there is need for a shift away from overt military response to a more covert response in the fight against terrorism. In other words, the state?s response must be equally invisible, stealthy and cunning. There is no doubt that the overt Israeli military response has not been all that successful. But effective covert operations call for a good deal of political courage and a coherent national security policy which is lacking in India. The other important point he makes is that the biggest challenge for counter-terrorism policy comes from Pan-Islamic groups motivated by fanatical belief in their right to wage Jehad against the so-called enemies of Islam. The commonly prescribed policy package of good governance and economic development for addressing the ?root causes? are unlikely to put on end to religious terrorism. This form of terrorism has to be neutralised by pursuing hard options.

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Afsir Karim?s essay begins with the proposition that ?insurgent terrorism? has become the most effective form of warfare in the nuclear era because it erodes the sovereign status of adversary states without using conventional force. Terrorism in most of South Asia, he observes, is directly related to religious fundamentalism and patronizating of religious groups by successive governments in Pakistan. This is too sweeping a statement when one remembers that the origins and nature of LTTE terrorism in Sri Lanka or Maoist extremist terrorism in Nepal are different. The primary thrust in Karim?s paper is on ?Jihadi? terrorism sponsored by Pakistan which aims at changing existing national boundaries through low cost covert operations. Karim warns that the Al Qaeda is busy regrouping so that it can launch fresh attacks on Western targets with the help of an estimated 20,000 Muslim volunteers trained in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sudan who are still at large. In counterterrorist operations, use of force, he recommends, must go side by side with new political initiatives and a strategy for winning the hearts and minds of people. This is a reiteration of universally preached but seldom-practiced guidelines for state action.

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Before discussing strategies and means for combating terrorism, P.R. Chari defines terrorism and seeks to distinguish it from freedom fighting and insurgency. These issues have remained controversial as a result of which the UN General Assembly has not been able to agree on drafting a Comprehensive Convention on Terrorism. This debate continues despite growing realization that the killing of innocent people should be unequivocally condemned, irrespective of the cause they espouse or motivation. Chari argues that religious terrorism has become the chief form of the ?new terrorism? threatening non-Islamic societies. Suicide terrorism and the possibilities of terrorists using Weapons of Mass Destruction have added a sinister dimension to the problem. In the Indian context, the terrorist strategy of attacking soft targets like temples or places of public congregation has compounded the problem further because it is virtually impossible to unearth the plans to commit such acts by a small group of determined terrorist. Chari feels that in the case of Kashmir the alienation of local people has provided opportunity for terrorism to flourish. No one can deny that successive Indian leaderships have failed to seek a political solution in which the Kashmiri people have a role to play. But ISI inspired cross-border terrorism will continue to haunt India as long as Pakistan pursues the policy of seeking to wrest Kashmir from India by proxy war.

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The conclusions reach at the conference and the recommendations are summarized in the conference document in the end. The book is a useful addition to the growing literature on International Terrorism. One wishes that more time and space could be devoted to the unique vulnerability of diverse, multi-cultural, multi-religious large democracies to terrorist threats, especially of the religious extremist kind. The really formidable challenge is to strike a balance or a trade off between public safety and individual liberty ? a hard choice for democratic nations. Tough new domestic laws, no doubt necessary at this point of time, should be temporary, and ought to be implemented with utmost care and caution. Otherwise counter measures will be counter productive whether in India or in the USA.