Chapter 1 introduction Continues...

This decay and decline is visible in every aspect of our life – politicians defecting for office and cash, bureaucrats taking bribes, teachers selling exam questions, students passing by cheating, businessmen adulterating products, lawyers cheating clients, doctors betraying their patients, etc.
A renaissance of values in society has to take place. How will this renaissance come about? And what shall be its instrument, on which is committed to an ideology and determined to implement and agenda for renaissance? And what are the items of this agenda?
The Left-leaning secular socialists now seem to have had their innings, and are unlikely to regain the centre stage. What remains today thus is an ideological mish mash. Till a new ideological framework is deigned and presented with clarity to the people, the present hybrid ideological ad hocismwill continue. The nation needs an electrifying idea to secure national integrity and combat the challenge of terrorism.
These parameters define the Indian mindset and outlook, outlines in another volume titled Hindus Under Siege: The Way Out (Har-Anand Publications).

—Chapter 2 Definition and Dimensions of Terrorism.

Defining terrorism is rather tricky, and really is an art. Hence no book on terrorism can be complete without an introductory chapter on the definition of terrorism. Media coverage of every terrorist incident over the years has further complicated the difficulties of defining terrorism because there is no distinction drawn in the media between pure acts of terrorists and terrorism as a phenomenon.
A commonly accepted definition of terrorism does not exist even amongst the various concerned anti-terrorism agencies across the globe. In the United States, for example, three of the main agencies have placed different emphasis on the phenomenon of terrorism.

The above-stated official American definitions hinge on three characteristics: the motive, the method, and the identity of the perpetrator. The attempt here, therefore, in the Indian context is to define terrorism based on the commonality of motives, the method, and identity of those who practice terror. Terrorism, thus, is to be seen in multidimensional perspective.

To be continued...