The sudden and unprecedented attack on Israel by Hamas, who are viewed as Islamic terrorists by several countries, has caught the world by shock and surprise. This is not the first time that Islamist terrorists have struck the world causing death and destruction. Of course, the most tragic attack was the September 11 attack on Twin Towers in New York which killed thousands of innocent Americans. The next brutal attack of the Islamic terrorists was the 26/11 attack in Mumbai in India in 2008 when 175 people were killed and then another brutal attack on Easter day in churches in Sri Lanka took place, when more than 250 people were killed.

Perhaps, next to Israel, the biggest target for Islamic terrorists is India. Almost every day, India witnesses violent attacks by Islamic terrorists in the Kashmir region, and Indian armed forces have yet to stop the acts of such terrorists in spite of their best efforts.

The attack on Israel shows that the terrorists have gained enormous expertise and possess the tools and arsenal to hit wherever and whenever they want, without their acts being detected in advance. In spite of the fact that Israel has a strong intelligence system and a battle-ready army, terrorists had their way of sending thousands of rockets into Israel and invading the country from land, sea, and air.

Concern in India

Considering the plight of Israel in the wake of such a brutal attack, there is considerable concern in India about such  Islamic terrorist attacks happening against India in Kashmir and other places. The ground reality is that India is much more vulnerable to such hate-filled brutal attacks by Islamic terrorists than Israel.

In India’s neighbouring countries, namely Pakistan and Afghanistan, Islamic terrorists are well entrenched and have built a strong base. There is a strong view in India that such terrorists get some sort of support from the governments in Pakistan and Afghanistan, directly or indirectly. These terrorists have made no secret of their plans to enter and occupy Kashmir by force and also destabilize India by provoking religious conflicts.  There is now fear in India that terrorists could launch surprise rocket attacks and invade Kashmir in huge numbers, particularly after being emboldened by the initial success in Israel. The question is whether the Indian Army and the government are ready to face a terrorist attack with the type of intensity that has been seen in Israel.

Prime Minister Modi has been among the first to condemn the attack on Israel and pledge India’s support to Israel in this difficult time. Modi has read the writing on the wall and appears to be of the view that what has happened in Israel may happen to India too.  In recent times, Israel has seen prolonged unrest due to political differences on various issues that have seen a wave of strikes and demonstrations. It is said that even some military personnel could have been against the government for some of its policies, especially its move to bring in wide-ranging judicial reforms. Probably, Islamic terrorists could have thought that it was the right time to hit Israel amid political dissensions in the country. 

The situation in India is also not much different.  India has a noisy democracy and with the parliamentary election happening in the next few months, there has been a surge in the hate campaign against Prime Minister Modi. Islamic terrorists might see this as the right time to launch an attack against India.

(The author is a Trustee, NGO Nandini Voice for the Deprived, Chennai. Views are personal. He can be contacted at nsvenkatchennai@gmail.com)