Tag Archives: Terrorism

Bring Back Our Girls

(Amrit Pal Singh ‘Amrit’)

Today is April 14, 2016. Exactly two years ago, on April 14, 2014, a terrorist group Boko Haram abducted 276 school girls, mostly aged between 16 and 18, from a secondary school in Chibok in northeastern Nigeria. About 50 of the girls escaped, but others were remained in captivity.

Most of the 276 girls taken from Chibok on April 14, 2014 were Christian. They are believed to have been forced to convert to Islam by their terrorist captors.

To demand the return of the girls, politicians, celebrities and the public globally united under the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls . The United States of America’s first lady Michelle Obama and Prime Minister of the UK David Cameron were among those, who joined the campaign.

Two years later, the girls are still missing.

Now, a video recording has emerged. CNN has obtained this video in which at least 15 of the kidnapped “Chibok Girls” are shown.

This video clip has proved that some of the kidnapped girls are still alive and in captivity of terrorists.

Kidnapping of 276 school girls from a school in Chibok was not the only incident in Nigeria, where students were kidnapped by Boko Haram. There are reports that about 2,000 girls and boys have been kidnapped by Boko Haram since the beginning of 2014. They could have been used as cooks, sex slaves, fighters and even suicide bombers.

International efforts should be made to rescue all these kidnapped girls and boys. The United Nations should do something concrete in this direction. Watching silently what is happening in Nigeria gives wrong message to terrorists everywhere. It is happening in Nigeria now. It can happen anywhere in the world, if international community does not care about it.

Syrian President Is A Failure

(Amrit Pal Singh ‘Amrit’)

To protect the citizens is the main duty of government of any country. If people are not safe, the government is useless.

The government in Syria failed to protect its citizens. Now they have no moral right to stay in power.

With the help of Russian armed forces, Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria can hold the power for more months or years, but it is clear that he is just a failure. He failed to protect his people. Now, he has no right to stay in the government.

Russian armed forces fighting against the Islamic State is fine, but it is the right of Syrian citizens only to decide who would rule the country. Fighting to protect a President who failed to protect his own people is not a good sign for a democracy.

The Rising Numbers of Female Suicide Bombers

In the past, we have seen that hundreds of men became suicide bombers and killed thousands of innocent people. Now, the rising numbers of female suicide bombers in Nigeria must be a cause for concern for all of us.

When we see men as well women becoming terrorists and taking lives of innocent people, we need to realise that evil ideology can so easily rob people of their ability to think rationally.

~ Amrit Pal Singh ‘Amrit’

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http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/nigeria-attacks-kill-16-force-chief-vows-boko-haram-crush/113858.html

Kano (Nigeria), July 31

A female suicide bomber and Boko Haram gunmen killed 16 persons in Nigeria as the commander of a new multinational force tasked with fighting the Islamists pledged today to crush the insurgency “very soon”.

Major General Iliya Abbah’s appointment in an Abuja ceremony as chief of the 8,700-strong force came as a woman bomber on a tricycle killed six persons in a busy market in Maiduguri, the largest city in Nigeria’s restive northeastern Borno state.

The jihadists also struck neighbouring Yobe state, killing at least 10 people including two women on Wednesday evening in a revenge attack against local vigilantes, a local official said.

The suicide attack was the latest in a wave of Boko Haram bombings — often by female bombers — targeting markets in Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon that have killed and wounded scores in the past month. Boko Haram has kidnapped thousands of civilians, including women and children, with many either forced or indoctrinating into joining the extremists, official say.

“The attack (on the Gamboru) market happened around 6:30 am (local time) as the grocers were arriving,” said Babakura Kolo, a vigilante in Maiduguri. — AFP

Peace in Afghanistan Is A Distant Dream

Peace in Afghanistan is a distant dream. After the withdrawal of NATO forces from combat duty, Taliban fighters are becoming stronger.

Taliban fighters will continue shed blood of government forces and civilians. As if it is not enough, Taliban fighters will not hesitate to kill one another for the power.

Taliban fighters killing Taliban fighters is nothing new. And now again, amid a widening rift over succession following the previous Taliban supremo Mullah Omar’s death, Taliban fighters have started killing each other.

At least nine Taliban fighters including a senior commander were killed in a clash broke out between rival Taliban militants that took place in western Herat province of Afghanistan following a verbal clash between the militants regarding the appointment of the group’s new supreme leader.

Warmongers cannot live peacefully…

~ Amrit Pal Singh ‘Amrit’

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http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/taliban-dissidents-launch-parallel-council-amid-rift/115377.html

Islamabad, August 3

Amid a widening rift over succession following Mullah Omar’s death, senior Taliban leaders opposed to Mullah Akhtar Mansour’s nomination as the group’s supremo have launched a parallel council, according to a media report.

The senior Taliban members, opposed to Mullah Mansour’s ascendancy, yesterday launched their parallel ‘Shura’ or council and declared themselves as the ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’, the Express Tribune reported.

“A few people announced Mullah Akhtar Mansour as the new leader at a meeting where neither majority of the Shura members nor Ulema were invited,” the council said in a statement.

“They imposed Mullah Mansour’s leadership on the Islamic Emirate for vested interests,” it said.

The dissidents were quoted as saying that they would convene a meeting of the council members, Islamic scholars and national figures to elect a new chief.

Mutasim Agha Jan, the former finance minister and a close confidant of Mullah Omar, has also refused to submit to the leadership of Mullah Mansour, an official close to Mutasim told the daily.

Similarly, Mansoor Dadullah, who leads the Dadullah Front, has also refused to endorse Mullah Mansour’s election. Earlier, Mullah Omar’s family has also refused to pledge allegiance to Mullah Mansour.

Mullah Omar’s younger brother Mullah Abdullah Mannan, in an audio message recorded in the Pashto language, has demanded that a council meeting of pro-Taliban clerics and militant commanders be called to deliberate and resolve the challenge facing the group.

“Our family… has not declared allegiance to anyone amid these differences,” Manan said in the audio message.

Meanwhile, a clash broke out between the Taliban militants for the first time since the confirmation of Mullah Omar’s death.

The incident reportedly took place in western Herat province of Afghanistan today following a verbal clash between the militants regarding the appointment of the group’s new supreme leader, Afghanistan’s Khaama Press reported.

At least nine Taliban insurgents including a senior commander were killed during the infighting, the report said.

The militants were divided in two groups over allegiance to Mullah Mansour which led to the gun battle, it said. — PTI

Harnaksh Syndrome

(Amrit Pal Singh ‘Amrit’)

According to Bhagwat Puran and Vishnu Puran, Prahlad was son of Harnikshipu, and Harnikshipu was a real brother of Harnaksh. Alternatively, Guru Amardas Ji, Guru Ramdas Ji, Bhagat Kabir Ji, and Bhagat Namdev Ji in Sri Guru Granth Sahib and Bhai Gurdas Ji in his‘Vaars’ mentioned that Prahlad was son of Harnaksh.

Nevertheless, it does not matter in any way whether his name was Hrinikshipu or Harnaksh; the story is same in these two versions.

Well, I would prefer the name ‘Harnaksh’ for Prahlad’s father.

Harnaksh was a king in ancient times. Ancient history tells us that he was a mighty ruler. He defeated many kings and spread his kingdom by force. It is said that he defeated even Indra, the king of gods.

Political power or royal power is a big deceiver. Guru Nanak Dev Ji said:

ਮਃ ੧ ॥ ਰਾਜੁ ਮਾਲੁ ਰੂਪੁ ਜਾਤਿ ਜੋਬਨੁ ਪੰਜੇ ਠਗ ॥ ਏਨੀ ਠਗੀਂ ਜਗੁ ਠਗਿਆ ਕਿਨੈ ਨ ਰਖੀ ਲਜ ॥

Royal power, wealth, beauty, social status and youth are the five deceivers. These deceivers have deceived the world; no one’s honor has been spared. (Guru Nanak Dev Ji ,Sri Guru Granth Sahib).

Harnaksh was not an exception. Royal power deceived him also.

He was a king, a political leader. Now, he wanted to be a religious figure as well. He wanted to be worshipped by everybody. He got the idea into his head that he himself was the God. He ordered all people to worship him.

On The Name Of Religion

I support freedom of faith. I believe that everyone has the right to preach his religious views. But, there is difference between ‘preaching’ and ‘imposing’. Harnaksh first preached and then started to impose his ideas by force, by use of violence. He followed simple rule, “follow me or face death”. …This is what I call ‘Harnaksh syndrome’.

Who on earth is not afraid of death? Everyone wants to live; and stay alive for long time. No one wants to pass away.

People started worshipping King Harnaksh. Harnaksh did not deserve to be worshipped. People were worshipping him, only because they were afraid. No one raised his voice against Harnaksh. His ministers, teachers in his kingdom and ordinary people started to say what he liked to hear. He became even more arrogant.

However, the opposition came from his own son. Prahlad was his youngest son. He was about 5 years old. Maharishi Narad, a well-known sage taught him the true worship. Prahlad started worshipping the God Almighty.

Prahlad was sent to school to learn worldly education. His teachers, Shand and Amark tried their best to convince Prahlad that Harnaksh was the God Almighty. Despite their efforts, Prahlad continued singing the Glory of real God.

As it was not enough, Prahlad led other students to worship the Real God. His peaceful manners and thoughts of divine happiness appealed other students. All of them started worshipping God.

Prahlad was summoned to the court of his father, King Harnaksh.

Prahlad tried to convince his father that God reveals Himself to all who devoted to Him. He told that the Supreme Lord is present everywhere.

Harnaksh ordered his assistants to kill Prahlad. They tried different means but they could not kill Prahlad by throwing him beneath the feet of big elephants, throwing him among huge snakes, employing destructive spells, hurling him from the top of a hill, starving him, exposing him to severe cold, winds, fire and water, or throwing heavy stones to crush him.

Raged in anger, Harnaksh took up his sword, got up from his throne, and struck his fist against a pillar with great irritation.

Then from within the pillar came a deafening sound, which had never before been heard. To prove that the Supreme Lord is present everywhere, even within the pillar of an assembly hall, wonderful form of the Lord, Narsingh, which could not be established to be either a man or a lion, emerged from the pillar. The Lord came into sight in His wonderful form in the assembly hall.

Lord Narsingh

Lord Narsingh placed Harnaksh on His lap, supporting him with His thighs, and in the doorway of the assembly hall the Lord very easily tore Harnaksh to pieces with the nails of His hand.

Prahlad was appointed the king. He ruled wisely and well ever after.

I sometime think that there must have been so many Harnakshs in this world in previous times. Many more will come in future as well. After gaining political as well as other powers, they will put in force their artificial ‘religion’. People with ‘Harnaksh Syndrome’ will use violent behavior to spread their religion in future as well.

Harnaksh syndrome is a mental disease, in which the patient uses religion and violence as means to get political power. Terrorism becomes his religion. By force he robs people, and declares that it was the order of the God. He destroys businesses and trades, and says I did so because the God asked me to do so. He commits every kind of sins, even rapes and killings, and then uses his invented ‘religion’ to hide his misdeeds. For him, religion is not a way to realise the God, but an outfit to hide his evil actions. He believes that by using the name of religion, he can easily fool ordinary people.

Calling their followers ‘believers’, declaring non-followers ‘infidels’, using violence to silence dissidents, killing non-followers, and claiming that it is ordered by the God; all these symptoms point toward only one disease, that is to say ‘Harnaksh syndrome’.

History repeats itself. Harnaksh was born and then destroyed. Those who come into power by violence are removed by violence. If any Harnaksh imposes his artificial religion by force, it will be destroyed by force, sooner or later.

‘A Threat’ Is A Weapon Of Terrorism

(Amrit Pal Singh ‘Amrit’)

Targeting civilians is a distinctive characteristic of terrorism. However, so far as the issue of ‘threat’ is concerned, I would like to make a point. The purpose of a threat is ‘to terrorize’; and ‘to terrorize’ is terrorism.

Terrorism is an evil ideology, which uses ‘terror’ as a resource to get hold of its goal. A terrorist can spread ‘terror’ with or without using weapons. Ordinary civilians can be terrorized merely by rumors too. And, ‘a threat’ is even more serious ‘weapon’

A terrorist can commit a terrorist activity by using ‘a threat’ only. Suppose, a terrorist aboard an aero plane has an apple wrapped in a piece of cloth. It is not a bomb, just an apple. He issues ‘a threat’ and says, “I have a bomb wrapped in a piece of this cloth.” And then he tries to hijack the aero plane. In this case, the terrorist has no weapon in his possession, but he uses ‘a threat’ to commit an act of terrorism.

Making threats to spread terror, to provide funds to terrorists, to give weapons to terrorists, and to provide a terrorist with any kind of help should also be considered a part of ‘wider’ definition of terrorism. Even if we believe that ‘a threat’ is not ‘terrorism’, we have to accept that ‘a threat’ can be used as a weapon of terrorism.

Four Features of Terrorist Organizations

(Amrit Pal Singh ‘Amrit’)

There is no universally accepted definition of terrorism. The UN Member States still have no agreed-upon definition of terrorism. For political reasons, one state’s ‘terrorist’ is considered a ‘freedom fighter’ by another state. This disagreement on such a grave issue is a main hindrance to effective international counter-terrorism actions.

An unbeaten international counter-terrorism action can be taken only when majority of countries are agreed upon a universally accepted definition of terrorism. If there is violence in any country, there are a few countries supporting the government of that country, and a few countries supporting rebel militant-groups. It means that for a few countries, the government of that country is terrorizing its own people and for others it is the rebel group which is a terrorist outfit.

While different governments for various political reasons are busy debating the definition of terrorism, thousands of innocent people are constantly being killed by various terrorist-groups in different parts of the world.

For most of people, terrorist activities include threatening, conspiring or attempting to commit acts of violence (with or without the use of any weapon) on any person or community, in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, ethnic, or ideological. Such acts of violence include killing of people; to hijack airplanes, boats, buses or other vehicles; to destroy buildings and business etc.

Terrorism has four characteristic features: (1) the threat or use of violence; (2) a political/religious/ethnic/ideological objective; the wish to change the status quo; (3) the aim to spread fear by committing spectacular public acts; (4) the planned targeting of civilians.

If we identify terrorism by these four distinctive features, we can with no trouble reach the conclusion which organizations are terrorist outfits. A person could be a freedom-fighter (of his country) and a terrorist at the same time. It simply means he is trying to get freedom by the means of terrorism. It is good to be a freedom fighter, but it is very bad to be a terrorist. A freedom fighter militant attacks armed men of the system. On the other hand, a terrorist attacks even unarmed innocent civilians as well. To fight for freedom is everybody’s right, but using terrorism to achieve any goal is evil.

If above mentioned four characteristic features are found in any organization, it should be declared a terrorist group.

Should We Remain Spectators?

(Amrit Pal Singh ‘Amrit’)

When I read articles and comments by people on different websites, I realise that such people can be divided in two different categories. One category can be labeled as ‘Spectators’, and the other ‘Activists’.

A ‘spectator’ is a person, who does nothing else, just watches a game, show, or incident etc. A spectator is an observer. He or she goes to an assembly or gathering to observe and report but not to take part in its activities. He or she just sees what is happening. He or she does not try to change the situation. He or she does nothing to make things better.

On the other hand, an ‘activist’ is a person, who advocates or opposes a cause or issue vigorously, especially a social or a political cause. It means an activist is not merely a spectator, but he or she tries to make things better. Thus, activism is a principle or practice of forceful action or involvement as a means of achieving social, political or other goals, sometimes by demonstrations, protests, and even by writings etc.

I generally use the internet for news. I want to know what is happening around the world. I read news and come to know that innocent people are being brutally murdered, raped, plundered, and displaced from their homes. I often see pictures and videos that show miseries of ordinary people.

I have been watching what is going on around the world. However, should I remain purely a spectator? Should I turn blind eye to abuses made by any government or any rebel group?

Our next generations certainly will ask us what we did to stop extremism. They will ask us what we did to make things better. It is not good to be just a spectator.

It is time to be an activist. People around us are innocent. They do not know why terrorism, extremism is there around the world. It is time to create awareness among the masses.

If we remain inactive, we will have to witness our own destruction.

Thus, we have no other option. We have to pressurize our respective governments to take strong steps against terrorism and extremism. We have to raise our voices on every forum.

We can no longer be merely a spectator. We should come together to be activists… Let us try to make things better, by creating awareness among ordinary people, by demonstrations, protests, and even by writings etc.

छत्री ब्रहमन रहा न कोई

(अमृत पाल सिंघ ‘अमृत’)

जब भी किसी निर्दोष की हत्या होती है, वह एक गलत कार्य होता है। निर्दोष का अर्थ है, ‘जिस का दोष न हो’। ‘निर्दोष’ के अर्थ में यह शामिल नही होता कि वह हिन्दू है या मुस्लिम, सिख है या ईसाई। चाहे गोधरा की घटना हो, या पंजाब की घटनाएँ हो, दिल्ली, असम, कश्मीर, बांग्लादेश या पाकिस्तान हो, निर्दोष को हुआ कोई भी नुकसान निंदनीय ही होता है।

कोई एक गलत कार्य किसी दूसरे गलत कार्य को सही साबित नही कर सकता। गोधरा में निर्दोषों की हत्याएँ पूरे गुजरात में हुये मुसलमानों के कत्ल-ए-आम को जायज़ करार नही दे सकतीं।

निर्दोष, निहत्थे, मासूम बच्चों, औरतों और मर्दों की हत्या करना एक घृणित अपराध है। ‘यह गलत क्यों है?’, यह वही समझ सकता है, जिसने सच्चे ‘क्षत्रिय धर्म’ को जान लिया हो। ‘क्षत्रिय धर्म’ जानने वाले को पता था कि सीता जी के हर्ण का बदला किस से लेना है। क्या हनुमान जी के लिए यह मुश्किल था कि वह रावण के परिवार को एक कमरे में बंद कर के आग लगा देते? युद्ध करने की ज़रूरत ही न होती। ‘क्षत्रिय धर्म’ जानने वाले को पता था कि ऐसा करना एक घृणित अपराध है। भला, रावण के अपराध करने से मंदोदरी का दोषी होना कैसे सिद्ध होता है? भला, रावण के अपराध के लिए मंदोदरी को सज़ा कैसे दी जा सकती थी? सज़ा तो रावण को ही मिलनी चाहिए थी। यह बात ‘क्षत्रिय धर्म’ जानने वालों को पता थी। इसीलिए, उन्होने वही किया, जो ‘क्षत्रिय धर्म’ के अनुसार करना चाहिए था।

निर्दोष को नही, बल्कि अपराधी को ही सज़ा देना ‘क्षत्रिय धर्म’ के अनुसार है।

चलो छोड़ो, यह मान लेते हैं कि आज ‘क्षत्रिय धर्म’ भी ‘ब्राह्मण धर्म’ की भांति दुर्लभ हो गया है। गुरु गोबिन्द सिंघ जी ने भी तो लिख ही दिया, “छत्री जगति न देखीऐ कोई” (कलकी अवतार, श्री दशम ग्रंथ जी)।

और,

“छत्री ब्रहमन रहा न कोई ॥” (कलकी अवतार, श्री दशम ग्रंथ जी)।

चलो, मान लेते हैं कि “एक एक ऐसे मत कै है।। जा ते प्रापति शूद्रता होए है॥” (कलकी अवतार, श्री दशम ग्रंथ जी)।

किन्तु, जो कार्य न तो ‘ब्राह्मण धर्मा’ हो और न ही ‘क्षत्रिय धर्मा’, (बल्कि इसके विपरीत ही हो), उसकी प्रशंसा तो ‘ब्राह्मण’ और ‘क्षत्रिय’ पुरुषों के वंशज न करें।

Freedom

“I am here to share the idea of freedom. My definition of freedom takes account of every right mentioned in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations on December 10, 1948. I also include in this definition the freedom from sectarian blind faith. The rights and freedoms mentioned in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are the physical aspect of freedom and the freedom from sectarian blind faith is its psychological and academic aspect. The goal of physical as well as psychological and academic freedom can be reached right the way through the mysticism, that is to say the mystical experience of Ultimate Reality or the God Almighty..” – Amrit Pal Singh ‘Amrit’ in ‘I Am Not A Propagandist

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Massacres

Terrorism

Society