Perspective. And a point of view I endorse.

The piece below is an excerpt taken from an article written by Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar and published in The Times of India. It’s a fresh take on terrorism and I really liked it because it’s something that I myself have been longing to say for quite a while now but somehow I’ve always stopped short of putting it down in words. Anyways, read on…

“Cooler heads point out that “war on terror” is a meaningless phrase. Terror is simply a tactic used by certain groups, and you cannot wage war against a tactic. When terrorism arises from an ideology or set of grievances, imaginary or otherwise, killing one bunch of ideologues may simply deepen the grievances and create thousands of fresh terrorists. This has been demonstrated graphically in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Angry Indians say something must be done. True, but that something happens to be patient diplomacy and international pressure, which will take years to bear fruit. Ultimately, we need to change the mind-set of terrorists, and that may take decades.”

I’d also like to add more to this. The people who are waging this so-called “war on terror” have their own vested interests to fulfill. Why is the US so determined to “help India out” this time around? This is because the attacks on the Taj and the Oberoi also took away the lives of a few Americans. The US, which was until now, nothing more than the issuer of another statement whenever a fresh terrorist attack took place in India is suddenly keen to bring the guilty to book, to be the one who will keep a check on whether Pakistan is really doing enough.

Also, the United States of America which considers and propagates itself as the peace-maker, the Supreme Court and the Mr. Always Right should not forget its own shady past – how it itself spread terror during its “war against terror” in Iraq. I truly shudder whenever I remember the photographs of the atrocities committed on the Iraqis which were somehow leaked to the media. God alone knows what these people must have done in Afghanistan and places elsewhere. And who knows – maybe it is these very and other such similar grievances that the terrorists carry in their hearts when they set out to spread terror.

Lest the readers of this blog accuse me of supporting terrorism, I would like to make it clear here itself: I do not support terrorism… OF ANY KIND – Be it the terrorism wielded in the name of jihad, or be it the “terrorism” which America considers legal and is now supporting openly.

What I really want to say is that contrary to what we all sometimes believe – there is no absolute black and no absolute white. Almost all things, people, ideologies and beliefs lie in the grey area. It’s only that some of these shades of grey are darker than the others– and hence comes the need to view things in the correct perspective.