Terrorism has a face…- An Article

Terrorism has a face…

Look in to a mirror.

What makes a terrorist, A Terrorist?

Is it his/her genes? Is it his/her childhood dream? Is it to avenge the attrocities inflicted on his/her loved ones? Is it his/her religion? Is it the promise of a better tomorrow? Is it just plain misguidance? Is it the desire of material gains? Is it the fulfillment of spiritual pursuits? Is it a way to win the power game? Is it one of the million other reasons invented by ‘God’? Or is it the world, we have played a part in creating?

Some would say that the brainwashing of innocent kids. Still few will say systematic nurturing of the already existing hatred. There might be a small number of us who believe that it’s because of lack of education and excess of unemployment. But a majority will blame it on the religious ideologies of a particular sect.

Well… if kids can be brainwashed one way, why can’t the process be reversed? Why is there so much of hatred flowing around so freely? Why is education in such short supply and unemployment in surplus? And what God of what religion advocates the killing of innocent people?

We, all of us as a society, have and are still playing a very important part in the formation of a race that we later label as terrorist. Does anyone of us really care to ever find out the root of the problem? Things happen and then we are looking for someone who’ll take responsibility, someone to blame. You see blaming is a basic human nature. We say politicians are running a political racquet… who allowed them to? We did… by electing them. The power has always been in our hands, we chose to give it up, we chose to feel helpless about it and we chose to cry and blame. We are the ones who chose to ignore our responsibilities.

Terrorist are acting the way they are because probably they think that this is the only way they know how to make people listen to them. Why? Listen to what? Are we listening? And then, if we are, are we ready to do anything about it? Blaming the politicians, bureaucrats and defense & intelligence structures will not help.

You may ask, ‘what can we do? We have no power.’ Really? Before I start throwing examples at you, know one thing, the World belongs to us and we make it the way we want to; always have. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela changed the way the world thought. Ok let’s take it light, Sanath Jayasuria changed the way a game is played. Bill Clinton changed the way offices function. The first man to use a wheel revolutionized the way humans travelled. They were all just a face in the crowd before ‘They’ chose to stand apart, debate that!

We talk about killing the terrorist to end the terrorism. Is that the answer? When was the last time an idea was suppressed? Kill the idea, the seed that germinates and becomes a tree that bears the fruit of violence can’t be cut. Bombing a nation is definitely not the solution… Afghanistan is just dust and rubble but terrorism is stronger than ever! You hit them, they’ll hit you back… harder!

I am not attempting to give you a solution to terrorism; I am trying to raise the right questions. Maybe they will lead us to the right answers. I strongly condemn the killing of innocent people all over but more than that I condemn the situations which force innocent kids to willfully prepare themselves to die for such a worthless cause and take with them… so many.