25 Years After 9/11 and India’s Security
Syllabus: GS-III (Security Challenges, Terrorism) | GS-II (International Relations) | Source: The Hindu / Indian Express
1. How Terrorism Has Changed
The traditional “War on Terror” weakened large groups, but modern threats are decentralized and much harder to track.
- Lone Wolves & Social Media: Terrorists no longer need physical training camps. People are radicalized online through encrypted apps and execute attacks independently.
- High-Tech Weapons: Extremists now easily use commercial drones to drop payloads, Artificial Intelligence (AI) for deepfake propaganda, and cryptocurrency to hide their funding.
- The Regime Change Failure: Past military interventions (like in Afghanistan) left behind politically unstable regions that terror groups quickly reclaimed.
2. New Security Threats for India
India now faces complex, tech-driven threats that require proactive prevention rather than just reacting to attacks.
- State-Sponsored Proxies: Pakistan-based groups like LeT and JeM continue to use terrorism to push their territorial claims over Kashmir.
- Regional Instability: The rise of extremist groups like ISKP in the unstable Afghanistan-Pakistan region creates a high risk of violence spilling over into Indian territory.
- Pre-emptive Border Defense: With adversaries frequently using drones to smuggle weapons and narcotics into Punjab and J&K, India has rapidly shifted to intelligence-led border security.
3. Key Value Additions
| Key Framework | What you need to know |
|---|---|
| CCIT (UN Treaty) | The Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism is India’s long-standing draft treaty at the UN to establish a universal definition of terrorism and legally ban terror safe havens globally. |
| UAPA (1967) | India’s primary anti-terror law. A crucial 2019 amendment empowers the government to designate specific individuals as terrorists, targeting the actual masterminds behind cross-border attacks. |
| FATF | The Financial Action Task Force is a global watchdog used strategically by India to apply heavy economic pressure on state sponsors of terrorism by pushing them into “Grey” or “Black” lists. |
Practice MCQ
Q. Consider the following statements regarding India’s counter-terrorism framework:
- The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an international watchdog used to apply economic pressure on countries sponsoring terrorism.
- The Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) is a treaty proposed by India at the UN to establish a universal definition of terrorism.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2
Hint: Both statements are correct. India utilizes the FATF to financially isolate state sponsors of terror, and has been actively pushing for the CCIT at the United Nations for decades to universally ban terror funding and safe havens.
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