Origins of Terrorism in India: Homeland or Borderland

This research explores terrorist organizations in India. Free expression and human lights are intricately intertwined with a nation\u27s security. If one goal is emphasized more than the other, then there is the risk of realizing a police state, or, on the contrary, acts of destruction and terror. Terrorism has the potential to unravel social fabrics and is an oft-cited area of tension in India-Pakistan relations. Further, the U.S. drawdown from Afghanistan will likely be coupled with the transfer of focus by Pakistani terrorist organizations on American troops to an increased concentration on India. In 2010, then Prime Minister Mamnohan Singh described Naxalists, Communist guerrillas in India, as the biggest internal security challenge and that controlling Left-wing extremism was imperative for the country\u27s growth. In addition, in the past year al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have declared their interests in increasing their presence in South Asia and certainly India, home to over 180 million Muslims. My research project will focus on the impact that local governance has on deterring or attracting extremists. When states are unable to provide basic services such as education, health, and infrastructure, local citizens suffer, and subsequent instability gives rise to sympathies for extremists. I plan to research the make-up of district and lower governments in areas in which terrorist organizations are present. In addition, I plan to examine how effective lower levels of government are in fulfilling basic services in areas in which terrorist actions and organizations are most prevalent