The name, Adil Ahmad Dar, will go down in history as an obscure punctuation mark in the timeline of violence in the subcontinent. But he is the dark harbinger of a genus of terrorist rarely seen in India—the suicide bomber. The Indian Air Force bombed the Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camps in Pakistan last week to preempt a wave of planned suicide bombings, targeting Indian soldiers and civilians. India has woken up to a terrible new dawn. Are we prepared for it?
The perverse desire of Islamist terror mullahs to conquer and convert the world is actualised by young people who blow themselves up for their God, killing innocents. They have wreaked havoc in Pakistan, Syria and Iraq et al. Leaving LTTE, suicide bombing is the specialty of Muslim terror. Today it is the new normal in countries plagued by jihad madness.
As a modern terror invention, suicide bombing arrived first in 1980s’ Lebanon. It became fashionable among a new generation of jihadis from the early 1980s through the 2000s and glamorised by Internet preachers of death. In India, where the majority of Muslims are not Salafists, the worry of young people blowing themselves up in the name of Allah did not top the alert list. But now, this particular brand of fear has come to our doorstep via Kashmir.
Jihadis are a determined lot. Historically, military action has spawned lone wolf attacks like in Israel and the Middle East. Ironically, terror has no sect either: pro-India anti-Pak Iran has been promoting Hezbollah suicide attacks against Israel for decades. The formidable intelligence capabilities of Mossad and the Americans have greatly thwarted suicide attacks at home. 9/11 was an intelligence failure, and Indian agencies working with the Americans and Israelis are writing a new counter-terrorism manual.
The prospect of suicide bombers infiltrating India and even getting homegrown sympathisers is real, according an intel source. Relentless military attacks by NATO armies on the Islamic State (IS) has emasculated it, but its cadres have escaped to safe havens to fight another day. Al Qaeda’s mainline fighters were the battle-hardened Afghan mujahideen, who still train terrorists in Pakistan. But they are growing old. There is no guarantee that the young maniacs of IS won’t regroup and take their place to bloody India, aided by Pakistan—especially after the Balakot action. With Donald Trump in the White House, publically backing India’s right to revenge, escalation is inevitable.
The air strikes have put PM Modi’s electoral charisma on steroids, even in states where BJP is weak. The current poll mood is definitely military; the recent War Memorial event and the vocabulary of national pride evoking Bharat Mata portend a combative future. Expect a Modi wave in May. Also, expect a terror wave that India will have to meet with resolve. Jai Hind.
Ravi Shankar
ravi@newindianexpress.com