By A Mirsab, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: India has been ranked 6th in the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) report produced on the basis of data obtained and studied from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) for the year 2013 by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), which provides a comprehensive summary of the key global trends and patterns in terrorism over the last 14 years during 2000 and 2013.
IEP calculated the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) for India as 7.86 out of 10 with sixth rank only below the five worst terrorism-hit countries Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria.
While the main reason assigned for the terrorism in these five countries is Islamist extremism but for India the main cause and threat is observed as violent communist activities.
The second edition of the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) report released on November 16 observed that terrorism increased in India by 70 per cent from 2012 to 2013, with the number of deaths increasing from 238 to 404 while the number of attacks increasing with 55 more in 2013 than 2012.
For the year 2013, the report notes 624 incidences to be the terrorist act in India responsible for 404 deaths and 719 injuries to the Indians that include police, private citizens, government servants and others.
It mentions May 25, 2013 attack in Chhattisgarh that killed 17 Congress men including Mahendra Karma, a powerful Congress tribal leader, as the worst terrorist attack in the country that was blamed on Communist Party of India – Maoists (CPI-M).
The report categorizes into three the number of 42 terrorist groups in the country: Islamists, separatists and Communists.
India GTI index and casualties
(The map of India shown above is reproduced from the original report and does not show the boundary of J&K as drawn by the Government of India)
The GTI defines terrorism as “the threatened or actual use of illegal force and violence by a non-state actor to attain a political, economic, religious or social goal through fear, coercion, or intimidation.”
Finding Communist terrorist groups to be the main cause of terrorism deaths in the country, the report says that these groups are by far the most frequent perpetrators responsible for nearly half of all deaths from terrorism in India for the year 2013. The report finds states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand as the worst affected in the country where majority of Maoist attacks occurred in 2013.
For the separatist activities affecting country, the report locates North-East region of India where ethno-political unrest from ethnic secessionist movements is continuing since last three decades and finds separatist groups in Assam, Bodoland, Kamtapur and Meghalaya as responsible for 16 per cent of deaths.
In regards with the Islamic terrorism in the country, GTI report observes “Generally, the dispute with Pakistan over Jammu and Kashmir is the source of Islamic terrorism. In 2013, three Islamist groups were responsible for around 15 per cent of deaths.”
Interestingly, the deaths reported from separatist terrorism in the country are found slightly above the deaths for which Islamic terrorist activities are responsible.
The report finds Hizbul Mujahideen as the most lethal Islamist extremist group in the country being the only group to use suicide attacks in 2013.
Also, the number of deaths associated with terrorism in India contributed 2.2% of the world’s cumulative terrorism deaths for the year 2013 that makes India 7th country in the world to have suffered maximum casualties in the world blamed for terrorism activities.
India 7th in the table of highest Number of Deaths by Terrorism in 2013
The most astonishing and of grave concern fact for India, as found out by GTI, is that Maoists in the country have been listed fifth only after Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) in its list of 10 most deadly terrorist organizations by number killed during year 2000-2013.
Deaths caused by Indian Maoists are more than Somalia’s terror org. Al-Shabab
Even Al-Shabab, a strong terrorist group active in Somalia, has been listed much after Indian Maoists signaling Indian security agencies a heads up who are often reportedly found more concerned about Islamic terrorism than Maoist activities in the country.
Maoists only terrorist group to have found place and remarkable identity in the report
“Prominent groups operating in these countries include the Al-Nusrah Front in Syria, Al-Shabaab in Somalia and Kenya, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi in Pakistan and Maoists in India.”
India has also been included in it’s another list of 23 countries that may experience increase in terrorism activities due to ongoing conflicts in the respective countries.
The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) is a comprehensive study that accounts for the direct and indirect impact of terrorism in 162 countries in terms of lives lost, injuries, property damage and the psychological after-effects of terrorism. This study covers 99.6 per cent of the world’s population.