Terror, terrorists, and terrorism are more frequentlyburning issues of the media. After 9/11 the phenomenon of terrorism hasdrastically changed the socio-economic and geo-political scenario of thePakistan. It has shaken the social fabric of Pakistan. Terrorism is the resultof extremism which results in different forms of manifestation of violence.Terrorism is a tree and extremism provides balance food to grow the treeproperly. Different accused groups allegedly involved in terrorism are thebranches of this tree. Terrorism is the social evil and problem of today. The phenomenonof the terrorism has
occurred due to socioeconomic injustice, politicaldisparity and quest of selfish individuals and groups to retain the power for theirvested interests. No doubt, terrorism upsets humanity on the whole and createsunrest in the society. Although the acts of terrorism are visible everywhere inthe world, but Pakistan is facing the phenomenon of terrorism directly andseverely as a social problem. Pakistan is the front line state amonginternational community and consequently the people and state of Pakistan arefacing the outrage of the terrorists. The society of Pakistan was considered tobe the most peaceful society, but since 1979 after the Russian invasion inAfghanistan the society saw great twist in the social fabric and politicoeconomic system. The world super powers encouraged the militant organizationsto promote the culture of Jihad (Islamic holy war) to defeat Russia. The worldpowers provided their huge support to the government of Pakistan and relatedmilitant organizations in the form of money, weapons and politico moralsupport. Meanwhile, political instability, corruption, social injustice andeconomic disparity added fuel on fire in giving rise to different forms ofmanifestation of terrorism. With the collapse of Russia from the world orderthe geo-political situation of Pakistan changed. In this changed scenario theterrorism strongly gripped and swiftly spread in Pakistani society. Its mostvisible manifestation was sectarianism in 1990s triggered by religiousextremism. After 9/11, Swat and Waziristan Mission Rah-e-Nijaat, Pakistan onceagain became the front line state in war against terror. Pakistan played itsrole effectively to curb terrorism and militant groups which increased the actsof terrorism in Pakistan. This research seeks to find the impact on social lifeand culture of Pakistan, the ways to defuse the fear and effects of terrorismfor social well being. Terrorism is one of the social evils not only forPakistan but also for all over the world that negatively hit the society as asocio-economic and political problem.
occurred due to socioeconomic injustice, politicaldisparity and quest of selfish individuals and groups to retain the power for theirvested interests. No doubt, terrorism upsets humanity on the whole and createsunrest in the society. Although the acts of terrorism are visible everywhere inthe world, but Pakistan is facing the phenomenon of terrorism directly andseverely as a social problem. Pakistan is the front line state amonginternational community and consequently the people and state of Pakistan arefacing the outrage of the terrorists. The society of Pakistan was considered tobe the most peaceful society, but since 1979 after the Russian invasion inAfghanistan the society saw great twist in the social fabric and politicoeconomic system. The world super powers encouraged the militant organizationsto promote the culture of Jihad (Islamic holy war) to defeat Russia. The worldpowers provided their huge support to the government of Pakistan and relatedmilitant organizations in the form of money, weapons and politico moralsupport. Meanwhile, political instability, corruption, social injustice andeconomic disparity added fuel on fire in giving rise to different forms ofmanifestation of terrorism. With the collapse of Russia from the world orderthe geo-political situation of Pakistan changed. In this changed scenario theterrorism strongly gripped and swiftly spread in Pakistani society. Its mostvisible manifestation was sectarianism in 1990s triggered by religiousextremism. After 9/11, Swat and Waziristan Mission Rah-e-Nijaat, Pakistan onceagain became the front line state in war against terror. Pakistan played itsrole effectively to curb terrorism and militant groups which increased the actsof terrorism in Pakistan. This research seeks to find the impact on social lifeand culture of Pakistan, the ways to defuse the fear and effects of terrorismfor social well being. Terrorism is one of the social evils not only forPakistan but also for all over the world that negatively hit the society as asocio-economic and political problem.
CHAPTER NO.2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Terrorism
The word Terrorism can best be defined as “Thecalculated use of violence (or threat of violence) against civilians in orderto attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; thisis done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear “Or “Terrorism isthe use of threats and violence to frighten or alarm people.” Terrorism isa term used to describe violence orother harmful acts committed (or threatened) against civilians by groups orpersons for political or ideological goals. Most definitions of terrorism include only those acts whichare intended to create fear or "terror", are perpetratedfor an ideological goal (as opposed to a "madman" attack), and deliberately target "non combatants". The terms"terrorism" and "terrorist" (someone who engages in terrorism) carrya strong negative connotation. These terms are often used as political labels to condemn violence or threat ofviolence by certain actors as immoral, indiscriminate,or unjustified. Those labeled "terrorists" rarely identify themselvesas such, and typically use othergeneric terms or terms specific to their situation, such as: separatist, freedom fighter, liberator, revolutionary, vigilante,militant, paramilitary, guerrilla,rebel, jihadi or mujahidin,or any similar meaning word in other languages. In simple wordsterrorism is the state of fear created through the act of violence. The commonunderstanding about the terrorism is that “Terrorism is an organized system of intimidation,especially for political ends”. Different stakeholders such as terroristgroups, states and social scientists have arch differences over the definitionof the terrorism depending on the complexity of the circumstances. There is agreat controversy over how to term various freedom movements as a liberationstruggle or terrorists’ movements. An act of certain group is freedom fight forsome people and terrorism for others. This phenomenon makes it difficult toagree on exact meaning and definition of the terrorism. Every one explains theterrorism according to his/her certain connotation and vested interests. Somedefinitions and versions of terrorism are mentioned below to understand thephenomenon more profoundly. Terrorism is the public harassment, wave ofagitation, protest against the government, damage to public and privateproperty, in order to draw the attention of authorities. It can be assertedthat terrorism is absolutely against peaceful political set-up. According to Encyclopediaof political thought it is a form of political violence, directed at agovernment but often involving ordinary citizens, whose aim is to create aclimate of fear in which the of the aims of the terrorist will be granted bygovernment in question.
Charles Townshend (2002) describes the US and Britishversion of terrorism in his book entitled “Terrorism a very short Introduction”as “The terrorism is the calculated use or threat of violence to inculcatefear, intended to coerce or intimidate governments or societies”. Terrorism isthe language of being noticed (Delillo, 1992).
According to the Dictionary of Social Sciences “Terrorismrefers to the illegitimate use of force by those who oppose existing social,political or economic arrangements”
In short it can be concluded that the terrorism is an actof violence performed by any rebellion group or individual to get the certainviewpoint acknowledged or recognized by the society and government. It is a useof force to impose the vested interest of the extremist schools of thoughts andviolent groups. Terrorism may be described as a strategy of violence designedto inspire terror within a particular segment of a given society. Terrorism isa state of intense fear which threatens the most fundamental human drive thewill to survive intact. When the certain groups or certain school of thoughtare not given due socio-political acknowledgement and accommodation they turnto violence to show their existence. It is the extreme of imposition of thewill by the rulers or dissident groups on the society.
2.2 Types of Terrorism
The phenomenon of the terrorism is very complex on thewhole in all aspects. There is disagreement among the scholars over the typesof the terrorism unlike its definition.
Various attempts have been made to derive the most commontypes of terrorism. Some of them are highlighted below:
2.2.1 SuicideTerrorism
Suicideterrorism is the readiness to sacrifice one's life in the process of destroyingor attempting to destroy a target toadvance their goals. The aim of the psychologically and physically war-trainedterrorist is to die while destroying the enemy target. A suicide terrorist attack (also knownas suicide bombing, homicide bombing or"kamikaze") is an attack intended to kill others and inflictwidespread damage, while the attacker intends to die as well in the process.Modern suicide terrorism is aimed at causing devastating physical damage,through which it inflicts profound fear and anxiety. Its goal is toproduce a negative psychological effect on an entire populationrather than just on the victims of the actual attack. The largenumber of casualties guaranteed in such attacks ensures dramatic andspectacular media coverage (Schweitzer,2000). Methods of suicide terrorism include blowing upairplanes in mid-air, the use of weapons of mass destruction, andthe use as missiles of ordinary moving objects such as aircraft,motor cars, boats, wagons, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, animals, andyoung men and women. Over the past two decades acts of suicide terrorism havebeen reported in Lebanon, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, Israel, Palestine (WestBank), India, Panama, Algeria, Pakistan, Argentina, Croatia, Turkey,Tanzania, Kenya and the USA. Between 1980 and 2002, an estimated 340suicide–homicide terrorist acts have been reported, with anestimated number of victims varying from none to 3000 per incidentand number of suicides ranging from 1 to as many as 16 in a singleact of suicide terrorism. There are currently ten religious andsecular groups that are known to have used suicide–homicide acts asa tactic against their government or against foreign governments.Some of the terrorist suicide groups are motivated by nationalism,ethnic nationalism, religion or religious ethnic nationalism (Schweitzer,2000). The literature on suicide terrorismrefers to the beliefs and personality of the leader, the socialstructure of the group, and makes references to irrationality,brainwashing and morbid psychology (Hazani,1993; Lamberg,1997; Dein& Littlewood, 2000; Colvard,2002). The powerful hold that the leader has over the groupmembers, generally referred to as ‘charisma’, and the leader'spatience and goal-directedness are the most common factors in allsuicide terrorist groups. Followers and potential suicide terroristsare indoctrinated to believe in their immortality and assuredascendance to a heavenly paradise which they are made to believe is physicallypresent. Suicide terrorists are convinced of their immortality, a belief that gives them sufficient drive to carry outthe fatal act (Hazani,1993), a complex convergence of political, cultural andreligious ideas, economic hardship and, in some cases, psychologicalinstability (Hazani,1993). However, it is not clear from the available literaturewhether mental illness among suicide terrorists is any higher thanin the general population. It is possible that those who havedemonstrated mental illness were ill before joining the terroristorganisation (Lamberg,1997). Suicide terrorists who execute acts such as theattack on the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001 may be peoplewho are not necessarily violent but who embark on violent actions and are preparedto die for what they believe to be the greater good of their society(Colvard,2002). The primary aim of suicide terrorists is notsuicide, because to the terrorist groups suicide is simply a means to an end,with a motivation that stems from rage and a sense ofself-righteousness. They see themselves as soldiers willing tosacrifice themselves for a higher purpose and are convinced of aneternal reward through their action (Ganor,2000). Two main motivations can be identified in the vastmajority of suicide terrorist acts: the first is anger and a senseof hopelessness; the second is a deep religious belief that a betterlife awaits in paradise.
2.2.2Political terrorism
Political terrorism is a violent criminal behavior designed primarily togenerate fear inthe community, or substantial segment of it, for political purposes.
2.2.3 Non Political terrorism
Non-Political terrorism is a Terrorism that is not aimed at political purposes butwhich exhibits “conscious design to create and maintain high degree of fear forcoercive purposes, butthe end is individual or collective gain rather than the achievement of apolitical objective.
2.2.4State Terrorism
State terrorism hasbeen used to refer to terrorist acts by governmental agents or forces. Thisinvolves the use of state resources employed by a state's foreign policies,such as using its military to directly perform acts of terrorism.
2.2.5Democracy and Domestic Terrorism
The relationshipbetween domestic terrorism and democracy is very complex. Terrorism is mostcommon in nations with intermediate political freedom, and is least common inthe most democratic nations. However, one study suggests that suicide terrorismmay be an exception to this general rule. Evidence regarding this particularmethod of terrorism reveals that every modern suicide campaign has targeted ademocracy- a state with a considerable degree of political freedom. The studysuggests that concessions awarded to terrorists during the 1980s and 1990s forsuicide attacks increased their frequency. Some examples of"terrorism" in non-democracies include ETA in Spain under Francisco Franco, the Shining Path in Peruunder Alberto Fujimori, the Kurdistan WorkersParty when Turkey was ruled by militaryleaders and the ANC in South Africa.Democracies, such as the United States, Israel, Indonesia, India, and the Philippines, have alsoexperienced domestic terrorism. While a democratic nation espousing civilliberties may claim a sense of higher moral ground than other regimes, an actof terrorism within such a state may cause a perceived dilemma: whether tomaintain its civil liberties and thus risk being perceived as ineffective indealing with the problem; or alternatively to restrict its civil liberties andthus risk delegitimizing its claim of supporting civil liberties. Thisdilemma, some social theorists would conclude, may very well play into theinitial plans of the acting terrorist(s); namely, to delegitimize the state.
2.3 SocialLife
Social life is the combination of variouscomponents: activities, people, and places. While all of those components arerequired to define a social life, the nature of each component isdifferent for every person, and can change for each person, as affected by avariety of external influences. There are different kinds of things that affectone’s social life. There are the obvious factors that affect our social livesover the course of our lifetime, like age – a teenager’s social life of hangingout at the closest mall accessible by bike is different from a 35-year olds sociallife of going to a dinner party at a friend’s house, or even stage in life –two 30-year-olds will have very different social lives if one is married withthree kids, living out in the suburbs. There are also more immediate thingsthat can affect one’s social life on a day-to-day basis. Availability offriends and/or dates, current cash flow, personal schedule, recent positiverestaurant reviews, and perhaps a post on where the celebs are hanging out canall determine with whom you interact, the nature of activities, how often you socialize,and where such social activities take place.
2.4 SocialImpact
The word socialImpact tells us about the Society, In order to understand it first we’lldiscuss the definition of society.
“An extended social group is having a distinctivecultural and economic organization”
Or
“A formal association of people with similar interests”
As the definition shows, asociety is a grouping of individuals, which is characterized by commoninterest and may have distinctive culture and institutions.In a society members can be from a different ethnic group. A"Society" may refer to a particular people such as Pakistani,or to a broader cultural group, such as Western society. Society canalso be explained as an organized group of people associated together for religious,benevolent, cultural, scientific, political, patriotic,or other purposes. Implicit in the meaning of society is that its members sharesome mutual concern or Interest, a common objective or common characteristics.
CHAPTER NO.3
HYPOTHESIS
These were the following hypothesis formulated for our research:
· H-2 People are bravely facing the currentvolatile and adverse situation
CHAPTER NO.4
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The methods selected for theresearch were as follows:
· Survey
· Secondary Analysis
· Documents
4.1 Survey
The primary research was carriedout through surveys including questionnaires and interviews. The interviewswere taken from our relatives and different faculty members of our universityincluding students. Questionnaire was particularly devised for testing theselected hypothesis by randomly selecting the individuals of different agegroups of Air University Islamabad.
There were eight close endedquestions and one open ended question. They were informed about the key termsand guided in order to remove any sort of confusion which could lead toinappropriate results. The total sample size of the questionnaires was 100.Someof the questionnaires which were not filled properly were discarded, 100questionnaires were floated out of which 90 were selected. The results areanalyzed based on assessment of individual question given in later section ofthis report.
4.2 Secondary Analysis
The secondary data and researchesthat were already there helped us study and brain-storm about what we wanted toget out of this research. This research methodology was mainly used to test oursecond hypothesis that people of Pakistan are bravely facing the current volatileand adverse situation. It helped us a lot to get the desired information andcome up with the effects of terrorism on their social life and culture.
4.3 Documents
Internet, Magazines, Articles & Journals, Newspapers, Library booksof AU were mainly used to collect all the information related to theeffects of terrorism on social life and culture of Pakistan.
CHAPTERNO.5
RESULTSANALYSIS
5.1 Discussion
Nowadays people avoid going to social gathering due to terrorist attackswhich clearly shows that the terrorism has affected the social life of generalpopulation. Nobody can afford to trust in their social circle and personal lifenow. They are afraid of being the victims of terrorism. Most of them agreedthat the violent acts of terrorism has badly damaged their mental growth and created a constant stressfulsituation for them and their family. Asituation full of stress, frustration only helps in boosting troubles for themthus frustrated and stressed out due to everyday terrorist activities. Religion is our core value which howeverstarted being affected by the terrorism. Thequestion we asked in relation to this was that “Do you feel safe to offerprayers in the mosque?” 50% preferred to stay neutral; the other major portionthat is 20% strongly disagreed. This shows that people are confused right now,but yes they did have an impact. The cultural value of Pakistan likehospitality is changing due to the terrorist actions. Hospitality is again a core value of our nationwhich is on its way to down. Like said above, there’s word trust does not lieanymore anywhere, the good example of hospitality will be even before you say ‘Salam’to a plumber, you make sure he leaves your place as soon as possible. Peoplehave been psychologically affected due to the current adverse scenario of thecountry. Terrorist activities have affected our social relationships with othercountries. 46% of the respondents strongly agreed to it.We have lost our respect internationally. The good example is that Cricketchampion’s trophy was to be held in Pakistan, instead in South Africa. Each year there is an arts festival held inLahore where performers from all over the world come, it was cancelled.Moreover, we have to hear now ‘do more do more’ slogans which furtherfrustrates our nation. The open ended question that the measures taken by thegovernment to prevent terrorist attacks are satisfactory was designed to checkthe solidity of the people and their trust on Government. Many valuableinputs also came in with this question. Respondents said that creating a warlike situation in the country like these huge concrete walls, sand bags, nothey will also build a concrete wall between divider on Islamabad highway, theywon’t help in preventing terrorist attacks. They were of the opinion that theGovernment should rather take concrete measures then creating a war likesituation as it is in Iraq. For detailed results (see Appendix-B)
5.2 Analysis
Eighty two percent of H1 is fullyaccepted which shows that theterrorism is effecting the social life and culture of Pakistan. H2 is acceptedthrough our secondary analysis including different videos proving that thePakistanis are bravely facing the current volatile and adverse situation. Thiscan be authenticated through our study as both the hypotheses have been proved.
CHAPTERNO.6
EFFECTS OF TERRORISM ON SCOIALLIFE AND CULTURE OF PAKISTAN
The end sufferer of the terrorism is the general public.It is general consensus among the social scientists that human conflict andcorruption cannot be done away from the society. The human conflict results inthe form of violence or terrorism. The repercussions of the terrorism are veryserious for the masses. No doubt, the terrorism not only directly affects economicdevelopment and prosperity but the psycho-social repercussions and heavily damagehuman personality and the society. The effects of terrorism may vary fromdifferent persons to different societies. These are some of the followingeffects and impacts devise through our research:
· Firstof all the terrorism has created a sense of fear in the minds of the people.This fear has further lead to sense of dissatisfaction and terror among thepeople.
· Dueto terrorism the sense of helplessness has prevailed in the human minds. Thissense of helplessness has further lead to hopelessness among the peopleregarding their personal and social well-being.
· Theviolent acts of terrorism has badly damaged the mental growth of the humanbeings and put them in to constant stressful situation. Such attacksespecially, leave harmful and far reaching effects on the minds of the childrenwhen they see dead bodies and horrible scenes of the terrorism on the media.These days the media gives extra ordinary coverage to the incidents ofterrorism all over the world and people find themselves involved very muchwhich creates resentment in their minds.
· Beingaffected by the repercussion of the terrorism the snobbish attitude has beendeveloped among the masses. It has further damaged human and familialrelationships which ultimately affects the working performance of theindividuals.
· Governmenthas lost their trust and solidity. It has enhanced anger and resentment amongthe masses against the government and the state apparatus.
· Thepeople have become the victims of psychological diseases such as anxiety andfrustration, aggression, and deprivation. The social relationships haveseverely suffered from great loss in the presence of these psychologicaldiseases.
· Dueto terrorism social splits has widened among the people belonging to thedifferent schools of thought. This split has become the cause of significantsocial division which harms the social fabric and unity negatively.
· Dueto the fear of terrorist attacks the people are trying to escape from theirsocial and professional responsibilities. For example a soldier cannot performhis duty if he/she has witnessed other companions dying in the deadly terroristattacks. Of course, one will join his/her duty but due to constant fear oflosing the life he/she would perform duty in the state of fear.
· Terrorismhas promoted social segregation and isolation among the different strata of thesociety. It has created distance between the supporters and suffers of theaccused terrorist attacks. That means the terrorism has enhanced the socialdisturbance and people feel divided in the society.
· Terrorismhas affected the social progress and well-being of the people. Because of theterrorists activities the businesses and economy of the country has suffered agreat loss. As a result poverty has increased which damages the society verymuch.
In short, terrorism has long lasting effects on the individuals,groups and overall society. The social prosperity and the well-being of the massesare at the risk and in the situation of constant strain and stress. The human beingsfind it difficult to live their life properly and calmly. The violent behaviordevelops among the people who lead to socio-economic decline and destroy thehuman and social relationships.
CHAPTER NO.7
CONCLUSION
7.1 Implication
Our research project can be very usefulfor the Government, Public, Sociologist and Psychologist to study and work onthese effects of terrorism on social life and culture of Pakistan.
7.2 Research Limitations
Due to some limitations weweren’t able to conduct research up to its full potential level. Securityconcerns in Pakistan limited our research to the greater extent. Many of therespondents were avoiding talking on this topic because of the current adversescenario. We were bound to research within the university and couldn’t visitdifferent people who are actually the sufferers of terrorism to carry out theresearch work.
7.3 Future research
Future researchers on this topiccan research on the causes and cures of these effects of terrorism on sociallife and culture of Pakistan.
7.4 Recommendations
· Governmentshould establish some rehabilitation centre for the sufferers who have becomethe victims of these psychological diseases due to the psycho-social effects ofterrorism.
· The effort of the international community in generaland the institutions working against terrorism in special should help individualstates in diagnosing the causes and issues which need to be resolved.
· The international community should try to agree uponthe minimum common agenda to curb terrorism.
· The clear cut distinction should be established andmaintained to work closely in the fight against terrorism.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_impact_theory
· Schweitzer,Y. (2000) Suicide Terrorism: Development andCharacteristics. http://www.ict.org.il/
· The BritishJournal of Psychiatry (2003) http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/full/182/6/475
· CHARLES, TOWNSHEND (2002). Terrorism a very ShortIntroduction. Oxford University Press, Pakistan.
· MUHAMMAD, IMTIAZ ZAFAR DR. (2007). Violence Terrorismand Teaching of Islam. Higher Education Commission, Pakistan.
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