Narendra Modi calls for consensus on terrorism: Differing definitions make it difficult to distinguish radicals from revolutionaries

Che Guevara was a cross-border terrorist. On Friday, India’s prime minister made a short address before the United Nations General Assembly in which he said the following: “The largest number of supreme sacrifices made by soldiers of any country for UN peacekeeping missions is from India. The lack of unanimity amongst us on the issue of terrorism, dents those very principles, that are the basis for the creation of the U.N. And that is why, for the sake of humanity, I firmly believe, that it is absolutely imperative, that the world unites against terrorism, and that the world stands as one against terrorism.” The prime minister is right: there is no unanimity in the world on the issue of terrorism. India’s first anti-terror law, Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act, gifted to India by Congress, said the following: “Whoever with intent to overawe the Government as by law established or to strike terror in the people or any section of people or alienate any section of the people or to adversely affect the harmony amongst different sections of the people does any act or thing by using bombs, dynamite or other explosive substances or inflammable substances or firearms or other lethal weapons or poisons or noxious gases or other chemicals or any other substances of a hazardous nature in such manner as to cause, or as is likely to cause, death of, or injuries to, any person or persons or damage to, or destruction of property or disruption of any supplies or services essential to the life of the community, commits a terrorist act.” So India felt that someone who used a bomb and chemical weapons is committing the same offence as someone who destroyed property or disrupted supplies. Our second anti-terror law, Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002,, gifted by BJP, defined terrorism as any act “with intent to threaten the unity, integrity, security or sovereignty of India or to strike terror in the people or any section of the people.” This sort of over-broad and vague definition led to confusion and ensured the lowest conviction rate in the world.