Rajesh Gadale asked: Can inclusive cooperation with ardent champions of peace and human rights like the Nordic countries help address India's concern over state-sponsored terrorism?

Rajeesh Kumar replies: India's concern over state-sponsored terrorism is not linked to the issue of human rights as such. Since India outrightly rejects any third party intervention in its conflict with any state, seeking cooperation or dialogue with or mediation by the Nordic countries is not in order. In case of inter-state disputes impinging on internal security issues that necessitate action by Indian security agencies, there is often the instance of external agencies disturbing peace and security within India. This is increasingly being recognised by the international community and hence there may be a case for engaging Nordic countries and putting forward India’s nuanced position on such issues.

To curb terrorism in general and state-sponsored terrorism, in particular, three issues need to be addressed carefully: ideological, financial and operational support to terrorist groups. While the financial and operational aspects can be dealt with through domestic counter-terrorism measures, the issue of ideological support for terrorism is complex and not easily resolvable. In view of a global surge in terrorist groups, and their effective use of social media to propagate their regressive ideology, India needs global support to tackle them. Against this backdrop, cooperation with all countries at the international level especially in multilateral fora may help India.

Posted on November 15, 2016