Geography of transnational terrorism: An Indian perspective

Abstract

The occurrence of disasters (either man-made or natural) has their impact on the economy (locally, regionally, nationally, as well as globally). Among the man-made disasters, role of transnational terrorism is considered economically devastating and the significant change happened during 1968-2008 is the impact of 9/11. The mind setup around the world has changed dramatically, which never took place during any other disasters in the 21st century and people around the world started looking at India for solutions. The paper tries to analyse the occurrence of man-made disasters (main focus on transnational terrorism) on a historical perspective (1968-2008) and its impact on different regions around the world to see the most affected countries and their economic conditions. In spite of its reputation as the only country which never used any force against other countries for control in its entire history (but spiritually and philosophically united almost half of the world), it became 2nd in terms of the occurrences of transnational terrorism activities (incidents, injuries, and also fatalities) yet considered as one of the emerging economies in the world and soon to become one of the most powerful nation in the world. This is completely contradicting to the general belief of transnational terrorism as a barrier to economic development. There is more to be learned from India by others, they should learn and practice the age old Indian philosophy (1) "Vasudaiva Kudumbakam", i.e., "Whole world is one family"; (2) "Adithi Devo Bhava". i.e., "Considering Guests equal to God"; which allowed people to come and spread different beliefs in India which made it a diverse country and finally the most effective Gandhian philosophy of (3) "Ahimsa", i.e., "Non-Violence" needs to be practiced for systematic eradication of violence around the world. If it happens, it acts as duel catalysts which change the mind setup of younger generation positively in transforming their economy in to a welfare economy rather than a warfare economy, and then everything is going to change for the betterment of the world.