...and the History That Created Them.
What is your country’s terrorism score? Vision of Humanity, a nonpartisan website that is a “destination for peace providing analysis, data, and editorial through a lens of peace, security, and development,” created the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) to help you find out (1). The GTI treats visitors to a world map representing nearly every country in colors ranging from beige, the color associated with a low terrorism score, to blood-red, the color (fittingly) associated with a high terrorism score.
Four variables factor into how high or low a country’s GTI score is: the total number of terroristic incidents, the total number of fatalities and injuries caused by such events, and the sum of property damages caused by terrorism in a year (2). A five-year weighted average is then applied to configure the final score.
In 2019, the most recent year Vision of Humanity presents data for, Afghanistan saw 1,422 incidents, 5,725 fatalities, 6,221 injuries, and 318 cases of property damages, earning it a score of 9.6, the highest score on the GTI. In 2019, Canada saw only 5 incidents, 0 fatalities, 4 injuries, and 2 cases of property damage, earning it the lowest score of 3.2. Vision of Humanity configures terrorism brilliantly; it provides a good look at which countries are the most and least dangerous. However, things become a little more complex when one dives into how different countries define terrorism and what events led to such varied definitions. The Vinny Demme Portfolio decided that looking at the world’s most populous countries would be the best way to look at terrorism and its definitions comprehensively.
According to Worldometer’s population numbers by country, India is number two, and the United States is number three. America earned a GTI score of 5.3, and India earned 7.4, putting both countries in a not-so-ideal place. Still, their situations and definitions are very different in terms of the history of terrorism, the reaction to terrorism, and how different things in both countries can lead to terrorism.
Terrorism In America
Do you want to add to the American aesthetic in your home? Drive to Walmart--you’ll find a vast array of American flags, lawn art, and more. Driving through nearly any neighborhood in the United States, you will also most definitely see an American flag on the side of a house. Turning on the radio, a song honoring the red, white, and blue is likely only a station or song away. American pride is not hard to come by, no matter where you are in the country. In 2017, the Pew Research Center did a study to configure just how much America loves America. The study found that 29% of Americans say that the U.S. “stands above all other countries in the world” (4). In addition, 56% of Americans say that America is “one of the greatest countries in the world, along with some others” (4). With the opinions of many Americans swaying in a very supportive direction and the way American media portrays things like the “American Dream” and “the land of opportunity,” it can be difficult for some to truly realize how dangerous the country is.
Terrorism has been present in American life since the early 1600s. The "Barbarous Massacre," an event that many agree is America's first incident of terrorism--regardless of the events and prejudice leading up to it--saw 347 white colonists in Virginia killed by a Native American uprising. So, how has America actually defined terrorism throughout its nearly 400-year history since the Barbarous Massacre?
The Oklahoma City Bombings
The American government created some anti-terrorism legislation throughout history after 1622, but it wasn’t until 1995 that the ball really began rolling. On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh, an ex-Army soldier, parked a truck in downtown Oklahoma City in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. McVeigh ignited a timed fuse on a bomb inside the truck made out of a “deadly cocktail” of diesel fuel, agricultural fertilizer, and other harmful chemicals. The bomb exploded at 9:02 a.m., killing 168 people, including 19 children, and injuring hundreds of others (17). Half of the building was destroyed, and 300 nearby buildings and dozens of cars were damaged. President Bill Clinton, after calling the attack “an act of cowardice” and declaring that “justice will be swift, certain and severe,” declared a state of emergency for Oklahoma City and deployed an FBI-led crisis management team to the city (18).
In 1996, President Clinton signed the “Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996” into law, a bill designed to give law enforcement more opportunities to identify and prosecute those suspected of terrorism. Clinton had hoped for wire-tapping opportunities and access to public records to better assist in preventing terrorism and the capture of those participating, but Congress refused due to major privacy concerns (10). It wasn’t until the worst attack on American soil took place that the word terrorism received a much more thorough definition as well as legislation.
The World Trade Center
On September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 11, United Airlines Flight 175, United Airlines Flight 93, American Airlines Flight 77, and all 256 passengers and crew members were never heard from again after Al-Qaeda hijackers took over the planes. American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, killing 59 passengers and 125 people in the building. United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in rural Pennsylvania, killing 40 passengers and crewmates after the passengers attempted to take over the plane in a heroic stand.
American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 are undoubtedly two of the most, if not the most, well-known planes in American history as the hijackers flew the planes into the World Trade Center, also known as the Twin Towers, in New York City’s financial district--a moment in millions of Americans’ lives that felt like both the longest and shortest for all those watching.
America was already experiencing Islamaphobia after a bombing in the World Trade Center only two years before the Oklahoma City Bombings, but 9/11 made it far more rampant. Within ten days of the attack, 600 attacks against people of Arab and Muslim descent took place (7). While many see 9/11 as a moment of unity, America's prejudice and hate were becoming more and more apparent.
George W. Bush was now the President of the United States. In an address to the nation on September 20, he stated that he respected the Muslim faith as “Its teachings are good and peaceful, and those who commit evil in the name of Allah blaspheme the name of Allah” (8).
He also told the nation that America would go to war against the Al-Qaeda terrorists responsible for the attacks. “We will direct every resource at our command,” the president stated, “We will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Every nation in every region now has a decision to make: either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists” (8). This speech, in many ways, was the lighting of the torch ceremony for America’s very controversial War on Terror Only six weeks after 9/11, a full definition for terrorism was developed in the United States--a testament to just how life-changing 9/11 was for both American citizens and the government.
The American Definition of Terrorism and Its Issues
The “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001” (USA PATRIOT Act)--whose long name shares similarities with the act itself at 350 total pages--was signed into law by Bush on October 23, 2001. It wasn’t a complex process to get the act approved. The House of Representatives was in strong support of the act with the final tally being 357-66 as was the Senate with the final total being 98-1 (9).
Both international and domestic terrorism were defined in the act with not much difference between the two besides international terrorism being described as terrorism that takes place outside of the country. In the act, both forms were described as acts “that are a violation of criminal laws of the United States or any other State [that would be] a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or any other state” (10). Acts of terrorism were also defined as acts that seem to be intended to “intimidate [a] population,” influence government policy, and impact governmental procedures by “mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping” (10).
The USA PATRIOT Act allowed “law enforcement to use surveillance and wiretapping to investigate terror-related crimes,” federal agents to request court permission to use wiretapping methods, and even agents to employ secretive measures to keep a suspect from discovering they are wire-tapped, as well. It also developed extreme punishments for those involved in terrorist incidents and ended the United States statute of limitations for terrorist crimes (10).
Since its passing, the USA PATRIOT Act has been viewed by many as beneficial. Former FBI Director Robert Mueller called it “extraordinarily beneficial in the war on terrorism and has changed the way the FBI does business” (10). However, while certain notable FBI directors have great things to say, America, once again, does not find itself far from prejudice and racism. Al Hussayn, a Ph.D. candidate, had to serve both an eighteen-month prison sentence and an eight-week criminal trial (a) before being proven innocent. The FBI both wire-tapped phone lines and investigated numerous emails after Hussayn sent donations to local Muslim organizations. This was because of the act’s allowance of civil officers launching full-scale nationwide searches for people suspected of participating in terroristic acts (9).
In 2015, President Barack Obama signed the USA Freedom Act into law, an act that sought to revise the USA PATRIOT Act by displaying better transparency in the hunt for terrorists and discontinued the vast collection of personal data when investigating terrorist activities. The act also increased the punishments for those participating in terrorism (10).
Terrorism In India
While America’s definition of terrorism was inspired by more recent events, India’s definition has been evolving from a period in history much earlier. In 1967, the “Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act" (UAPA) was signed to combat the Naga Rebellion. The Naga Rebellion was a dispute between the Republic of India and Naga that saw Naga attempt to secede, a battle they lost when they became the 16th state of India, Nagaland. The act neither went into detail about what terrorism was nor gave a rather clear definition. Still, it did detail that if one had any association with a group that “disclaimed, questioned, disrupted, or intended to disrupt the territorial sovereignty of the Indian Republic” or encouraged others to do so, they would be deemed a criminal (9). India also sought to improve their response to terrorism with the “Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention Act),” (TADA) an act that, while arresting 77,500 suspected individuals, saw many innocent people arrested (like the USA PATRIOT Act).
India’s fight against terrorism has since evolved. In recent history, one of the most notable changes took place after 9/11, when America’s new grasp on terrorism inspired India. At first, India’s newest piece of legislation, the “Prevention of Terrorist Act 2000” (POTA), defined terrorist acts as acts that showed “intent to… adversely affect the harmony amongst different sections of the people''. It was originally rejected by parliament but then approved after 9/11. The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs, who was in support of the act after 9/11, claimed the act would do well against “an upsurge of terrorist activities, intensification of cross border terrorism, and insurgent groups in different parts of the country”(9).
Thus, POTA 2002 was passed (10). In POTA 2002, terrorism was also defined as the possession of a weapon “capable of causing mass destruction” by those associated with terrorist groups and supporting terrorism by raising funds (9). This was seen as a very broad definition of terrorism, which only continued the issue of innocent people being suspected and arrested. It wasn’t until 2008 when the “Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act” an act that sought to heavily improve the 1967 UAPA still in effect that the definition was made more concrete.
In 2008, an attack in Mumbai saw 166 people killed and 300 injured after ten Pakistan-based terrorists committed multiple bombings and shootings. The 2008 Amendment Act was inspired by this event and stated that whoever chose to act in a way that could threaten the “unity, integrity, security, or sovereignty” of India to create terror to both India or foreign countries was involved in terrorism. While the central portion of the definition shares similarities with the American definition of terrorism, India’s definition was far more expansive and specific.
For example, the definition made sure to list things involved in terroristic acts--tools and weapons like toxic gases, firearms, explosives, lethal weapons, and chemical weapons. It also stated that if these types of weapons or devices were used to cause harm to people, loss or damage of property, the disruption of services, and military property owned by India both inside and outside of India, the act was an act of terrorism. It even provides further detail, stating that the event of a kidnapping, detaining, or threatening the life of public functionaries was, of course, terrorism (9).
When comparing both definitions, it is clear that India provides a much more thorough and descriptive definition than America. But why is India so high on the GTI? In order to explore why, the reasons why people commit terrorism, provided by a source that is not a national government, needs to be addressed.
Some Probable and Definite Causes of Terrorism in India
The director of Pennsylvania State University’s International Center for the Study of Terrorism, John Horgan Ph.D., through multiple studies, found that people are more open to terrorism and/or terrorist recruitment if they feel “angry, alienated, or disenfranchised” as well as if they believe that their “current political involvement does not give them the power to effect real change” (14).
In India, these feelings are not hard to come by. According to a 2017 report by CNN, which used studies from The World Bank Group, “one of the world’s largest [funding sources] and knowledge for developing countries,” roughly 60% of India’s population, or 7.8 million people, live on $3.10 a day. Furthermore, 21% of India’s population, or 2.73 million people, live on $2 a day (12, 13).
Fundamental rights like freedom of speech, which the Pacific Council of International Policy perfectly described as “not absolute,” can also play a role in India’s terrorism problem (14). Any American, as long as it’s not threatening or deemed the cause of a threat, can write pretty much whatever they want and share it with millions of people. In India, the constitution criminalizes the promotion of “enmity between different groups” based on things like where they are from, when they were born, and what religion they practice” (14).
Section 298 also criminalizes “uttering any word or making any sound,” with “the deliberate intention of wounding the religious feelings of any person” (14). Sections 292 and 294 take it a step further by criminalizing obscenity (14). At first glance, the idea of criminalizing words that discriminate against others based on things they cannot control may seem like an idea that brings out more peace--but the government of India has taken advantage of these laws. Take, for example, Sections 292 and 294. Writer Hasan Manto once used the word “bosom” to describe a woman’s breast, a crime he was taken to court for. While he won the case, the very fact that it has become common practice to hold a full criminal trial to deal with a simple matter of a word (and in reality, think of how much worse America’s common ways to talk about breasts are) in India shows just how limited speech and other methods of expression are in the country (b).
In 1860, Britain made sedition a crime in India, a law still in effect today, and a law, like Sections 292 and 294, has been rather brutal. Nine Hours to Rama by Stanley Wolpert details Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination and the poor security that led to it and was been banned in India as a result (15). A folk singer who wrote music against the Indian government and Pakistani cricket fans for cheering against India in a championship match was even arrested; such charges get one’s passport taken away and force a court appearance (16, 20). With this, along with many other reasons like India’s rich and diverse clash of political culture, fanatic religious groups, illiteracy, and the fact that India’s border is often attacked by Pakistan, who earned a GTI score of 7.5 in 2019, India is essentially the perfect breeding ground for both international and domestic terrorism (11).
What Does the Future Have in Store?
Compare the issues in America to the issues in India. Domestic and international terrorism have always been issues, but they are issues that are growing more and more by the day. However, America has often been in a much better condition than India throughout history--a statement that can be proven by taking another look at the GTI. Of course, during the years directly after 9/11, America was high on the GTI, but in 2006, America saw itself earning a score of only 3.2. Between 2006 and 2019, America’s threat of terrorism grew, an influx of mass shootings undoubtedly playing a role, but America only earned an average score of 4.3; India earned an average of 7.5 (2).
However, let’s take a deeper look into the numbers. While, of course, India is worse than America on the GTI, it actually saw a 25% decrease in terrorist incidents, a 21% increase in fatalities, an 18% decrease in injuries, and a 78% decrease in property damages between 2018 and 2019. America on the other hand, saw a 7% decrease in incidents, a 44% increase in fatalities, a 110% increase in injuries, and a 70% decrease in property damages (2). Now, what could be causing such fluctuation in numbers? Well, in 2019, mass shooting incidents in America totaled 417. In 2020, there were 611. In 2021, there have already been 133, one as recently as April 8 (21, 22). If you multiply the number of mass shootings throughout the first quarter of 2021 by four, there will be 532 mass shootings in 2021, and that is if mass shootings continue at the same rate. But, knowing America, the number will likely have been exceeded by December.
Simply and complicatedly put, comprehensive gun control laws--which have been promoted by the Democratic party for decades and President Joe Biden just recently--may be America's best way to stop the violence so widely seen nearly every day in 2021 (a topic that will be thoroughly discussed on 04/19/2021 on The Vinny Demme Portfolio).
India, of course, still fares far worse than America in the total number but is actually going in the right direction. While a right to freedom of speech similar to America’s is still not present in India, issues of poverty have begun to improve with the issue of terrorism. Sixteen members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan terrorist organization, were killed and 28 were arrested between August and October 2020. Security forces have been able to identify terrorist crossings and weapon-smuggling methods and bar them from advancing. The Diplomat, a Washington D.C.-based magazine that is dedicated to covering the news of mainly the Asia-Pacific region of the world, put it perfectly: the “statistics are a testament to strength, coordination, and will of the government and the armed forces” to create a terrorism-free India (23).
The Vinny Demme Portfolio would like to take this moment to honor and remember those who were lost in the terrorist acts above. We ask our readers to remember as well.
Footnotes
a) Unfortunately, there was little I could find to provide more context for Hussayn's case. The information did come from an academic journal, however, provided to me by a college professor. But it is interesting that it's hard to find more on the arrest than what the journal provided.
b) In addition, Section 292 states that “a book, pamphlet, paper, writing, drawing, painting, representation, figure or any other object shall be deemed obscene if it is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest or if its effect (is) such as to tend to deprave or corrupt a person” (the “obscene” thing makes people want to act out in wrong ways).
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Sources & Links
How Americans see their country and their democracy | Pew Research Center
What is “Terrorism”? Assessing Domestic Legal Definitions | Keiran Hardy and George Williams | SSRN
Terrorism & Successful Counterterrorism Strategies | Vision of Humanity
Seeing the new India through the eyes of an invisible woman | CNN
Do Indians Have Freedom of Speech? | Pacific Council On International Policy
In addition to “The Satanic Verses”, here are ten books that India needs to unban now | Scroll.in
Clinton reacts to Oklahoma City bombing, April 19, 1995 | Politico
Fans Of Pakistan’s Cricket Team Arrested For Sedition In India | NPR
Boulder grocery store rampage follows spike in mass shootings during 2020 | USA Today
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