The Sri Lankan people are no strangers to terroristviolence. They went through the trauma of a twenty-five year-long brutal civilwar which ended only a decade ago. It is, therefore, not a remote memory. Yet,they have been shaken by the scale and devastation of the Easter Sundayterrorist attacks and are groping for answers to several difficult questions.
The Sri Lankan authorities have accused the National TawheedJamath (NTJ) for targeting churches and hotels leading to, as of now, 359deaths. They say that there were nine bombers in all who blew themselves alongwith explosives. The NTJ is an extreme radical group whose leader was postinginflammatory videos online leading some youth in the Sri Lankan Muslimcommunity away from their traditional mazhabs.
At least one Muslim community leader told an internationalmedia outlet that he had warned the authorities that the group which had begunattacking Sufi mosques and shrines was ‘brainwashing people’. If these generalwarnings went unheeded the specific inputs reportedly provided by Indianintelligence agencies about threats on Easter Sunday against hotels and churcheswere obviously not taken seriously enough for they were not acted upon.
It would not be sufficient for the Sri Lankan political leadership which is at odds with itself to pass all the blame to the professional bureaucracy and dismiss some senior officials. They have to accept blame themselves. They cannot escape responsibility by asserting that they were kept in the dark. In any event they have to ensure that all aspects of these attacks are fully investigated.
It is vital for Sri Lanka as well as the region, especially India, to know if these bombings were the independent handiwork of NTJ or if the group had actual assistance, not merely inspiration, from the Daesh which has claimed responsibility for these dastardly deeds.
It is not unnatural for some to wonder if these terroristattacks are a retaliation for Brenton Tarrant’s mosque attacks in New Zealandin March. This is especially because while the Sri Lankan Muslim community hasfaced occasional violence at the hands of Sinhala Buddhist extremist groups asin 2014 and 2018 there has been no history of Muslim-Christian clashes orviolence in Sri Lanka. Both are minorities in the country which have faced theheavy hand of the Sinhala majority at times. Why then were churches attacked onone of Christianity’s holiest days?
Hasty conclusionshave to be avoided in unravelling the full details of these terrible terroristattacks. Understanding Tarrant’s shooting spree which was the product of hisself-proclaimed vile and twisted racial and religious thinking was notdifficult. This case is different for there is general information regardingthe NTJ and the venom that its leaders were spreading. However, the transitionfrom thought to action is a complex process which in cases like these bombingsrequires infrastructure and organisation. Where did all of this come from? Itis vitally important for the entire region to learn this.
There is a widespread and general understanding that randomor targeted violence which may be accompanied with the objective of frighteningpeople is terrorist in nature and cannot be allowed in any civilised worldorder. However, these bombings, once again, underline the need for theinternational community to come together to firmly arrive at a commonunderstanding on what constitutes terrorism. That may enhance internationalco-operation on this issue. The problem is that individual or groups of countriesremain focussed only on those groups that directly impact them. Often, also,political or diplomatic considerations impede their cooperation on terrorism.
International cooperation against terrorism is vital becausemodern technology has enhanced the reach of the preachers of hate and violence.In our age of instant communications and ever increasing social media platformsit is almost impossible to monitor leave alone police the cyber world. Besidesthere are valid considerations in many polities relating to the maintenance offreedom of expression. Yet it is essential for intelligence agencies and policeorganisations to effectively co-operate to combat terrorism.
Scientific and technological advance in the digital age offers the promise of liberating humankind from poverty and want. However, the speed of change is dislocating for human nature remains almost constant.
In the introduction to his legal memoirs ‘The days I remember’ Kailas Nath Katju wrote of the changes that had taken place in the first half of the twentieth century.
He noted “…apart from wars, technological developments and inventions were changing the entire social, economic and political structure of society. The conquest of the air was complete and the atomic age was in sight; yet as I look back, the stupendous developments have not appreciably affected the working of the mind of man.
Human nature probably remains very much as it was, ten thousand years ago. The same elemental emotions and passions rule mankind everywhere and in all ages”.
If the changes in the first half of the last century were “stupendous” those taking place now are mind-boggling. Old personal and social anchors are getting lost while new ones have not been forged.
The vacuum is being filled in some cases by negativism and even despair. Violent interpretations of ancient codes are pushing at values that stressed peace for all creation and life. Narrow segmented thinking is preventing the growth of universal values.
Only fresh thinking will curb “elemental emotions andpassions”. That is needed to root out terrorism and adjust humankind to thedemands of the digital age. But where is the wisdom to guide its path?