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TERRORISM
Before attempting to find the exact means and methods needed to tackle the ever-growing menace of terrorism in different areas of the globe, we need to understand that it is a self-sustaining phenomenon. It is a fire that finds its fuel as it spreads, without any outside help. And this makes it all the more dangerous and difficult to contain. This is a reminder that we must treat this disease, like any other, at the time of its inception, irrespective of the fact that the affected area could be far removed from us in terms of time and space. If we neglect it because of its distance from us, or nurture it for ulterior motives and postpone devising means of confronting it until it reaches us or has become full-blown, we are risking an unending battle in addition to inflicting suffering upon unsuspecting and innocent masses.
The root cause of terrorism is acute adversity in both financial and intellectual development, and these are interrelated in most cases. These adversities are the breeding grounds of religious fanaticism. Such problems tend to be grossly neglected, sometimes due to the urgency of some competing problem, but mostly due to callous neglect of the “have-nots' by the ‘haves'.
Leaving aside persons who are mentally deranged, violence has its roots in the basic survival instinct of every living being. In nature, violence, as we understand it by observing the food chain, is associated with survival. In absolute terms, violence forms an essential component of the survival mechanism intrinsic to every being no matter how micro or macro it is. Under normal circumstances, this survival instinct works as a constructive force driving us to utilize the means of survival with which nature has provided
AHIMSA: THE SCIENCE OF PEACE 123 Jain Education International
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