Letter From the Editor: The Business of Terror

Firming up the design for this edition’s cover was an agonising affair. Many different creative concepts and layouts were tried — and junked. And just when we had given up all hope, Dinesh Krishnan, our never-say-die Director-Photography, discovered celebrated photo-journalist Gary Knight’s bone-chilling image, just hours before the edition was to be packed off to the press. Just one look and we knew we had hit pay dirt.

Knight’s image sets the tone for this fortnight’s package on international terror. Combating its menace will be one of the biggest challenges of this decade. And for most part, nations like India have failed to stifle the growth of terrorism. Perhaps we still haven’t developed a robust understanding of its root causes — and also an effective tool-kit to deal with it. That’s why we requested Sundeep Waslekar, president of Strategic Foresight Group, a leading think tank which advises governments around the world, to focus on that question. He and his team have studied every major terrorist group across the world and their practices over several decades. His defining essay on page 26 is a must read. It challenges many of our established assumptions about the phenomenon of global terrorism and brings new understanding to the subject.

India is at the crossroads in its war on terror. Waslekar’s essay is a wake-up call for those who believe success lies in simply fighting terror with terror. And that doesn’t necessarily make us a soft state.

You can also hear Waslekar on our audio podcast around this cover package. That’s available on www.business.in.com. I’ll be waiting for your feedback.