Terror Strikes & Global Terror Combat
By: Amit Bhushan Date: 15th July 2016
We seem to be struck with Terror strikes again. After attack in East viz. Bangladesh it moves next to West viz. France. While one is secular by nature (Super-Secular Bengali mind, which resists all temptation of being bound to any religion since it holds it Bengali Literature/Culture dearly above all including Hinduism for that matter) while the other is defacto and dejure Secular & cherish Human freedoms.
Traditionally, Europe has been ceding the responsibility of a fight-back to its militarily stronger cousin across the pond. The idea was to let it lead a global chase for the hunters while it continues to strengthen itself domestically via various means. As far as the East is concerned, it was doomed destination banded itself a hotbed breeding ground due to its internal fallacies and mis-management.
The regularity of such attacks in particular in largely peaceful Europe perhaps calls for some stronger measure rather than half-doses that has been happening. While the happenstances may be attributed to the inability of nations to identify the root cause/place/person/s correctly and therefore not knowing how to respond. However a strong cultured response doesn't always need to identify its enemy correctly but respond to the ideology. While one may not be sure about origins, however the region towards India's West and towards the East (or South-east) of Blacksea seems to a simmering hotbed is reasonable surety.
So a response can probably be better served by not focussing on building some memorial or counter-offensive measures, but responding via strengthening networks of secularism and freedom through the region. With the advent of post-colonial modern capitalism and technologies, Europe has largely ceded this space of building and sustaining such networks to the US and increasingly to China. It may want to perhaps try its hand one's again to fend problems that has walked up to it while working on to revive itself economically and politically.Europe, while working on the usual options to keep itself safe may also want to work on some of the bigger ideas to strengthen networks through the region. This may be via development of Railways say from Paris to Kolkata, i.e. cities which have held Liberitainian Values of Equality, Secularism and Freedom dear to itself, through the recorded history.
Through such networks, movement of ideas, people and goods can become relatively freer across the troubled regions. While such project might be currently viable only in pieces, however as a thermometer to measure the boil to identify exact hotspots across the trouble-generating region, its potential will be unparalled. This may require almost entire Europe including those beyond EU to muster strength (or even global powers collective) to persuade the countries across region to allow for such tracks for their own good as well as for continued monitoring of the project for security and operations.
The governments in the region can be perhaps then be persuaded to toe to the line for supporting such a project for collective betterment. Movement of people and goods across the region will perhaps be able to generate enough revenue to support a continuous pro-liberty, equality and secularism idea to be spread on an ongoing basis.Presently, the fight through counter-offensive measures and through printed word in media perhaps is not generating much attention and people continue with apathy since there are no large projects to associate themselves with. Also, the nations within the troubled region continue to behave erratically since there seems to be a lack of coordinated response from major powers and almost no project which can glue people towards these values which need reiteration time and again to sink within new generations.
It is ironic that the perpetrators of crime also seem to be talking liberty and better life to their followers to confuse people about how collective betterment of all can be achieved. Such a project can perhaps underline powers who can bind people to the values once again, rather than a mere repetition of warning and values by the powers that be.