Security agencies have said pretty openly now that each individual needs to fend for himself in the war against terror. For those who are wondering as to how one could fight terror, a college run by an NGO in Pune is offering a course of counter-terrorism.
The NGO, called Sarhad will launch a two year course on counter terrorism from the new academic session which commences in July. The course will be launched at the Sarhad College of Arts, Commerce and Science, a government affiliated college in Pune.
Sanjay Nahar, the founder of the NGO and whose idea it was to start such a course told rediff.com that it is very important to study counter terrorism as a subject. This subject becomes more important considering the number of teroorist attacks India is facing.
The main objective of the course would be to educate citizens about the pshyche of the terrorist so that they are aware and well equipped pshycologically to deal with the fall out of terrorism.
Nahar says that there two types of courses available, one is a two year post graduate course and the other a certificate course.
The two year course offers the following subjects:
First year:
Etymology and philosophy of terrorism and its genesis
History of terrorism, its causes and manifestation
Terrorist ideologies, beliefs, objectives and motivation
Terrorist modus operandi
Piracy, maritime and cyber terrorism
Aviation terrorism
Counter terrorism strategy
Policing, national policy and international network
Herostratism, bellicosity, belligerency and expanisionism giving rise to terrorism
Second Year:
Different types of terrorist groups and their ideologies
Socio-economic factors creating the terrorist mindset
Land, maritime and air security initiatives
Control strategy and role of police, private and security agencies
Evolution of multi national comprehensive security regime to help deal with emerging trends
Terrorism and human rights
Detention camps and jails
Existing legal system and challenges posed by terrorists
Drug trafficking and arms trading
Media and terrorism
The certificate course is six month course which deals with the following subjects
Genesis of terrorism and its present forms
Threats posed by terrorism to economy, sociiety and politics
Land, maritime and aviation terrorism and counter strategy
Human rights on a legal framework vis-à-vis mounting terrorist violence
Transborder terrorism and counter strategy
Complete understanding of terrorist violence and threat posed by it
Media in relation to terrorist violence
Nahar says that the course will help and prepare its students to identify potential threats and take note of suspicious behaviour of people. He also points out that the course has been developed with the help of experts from the field of law, policing, academics, and security,which was done under the guidance of Mahmid-ur-Rahman, the former vice chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University.
The 50 seat course is designed for university graduates, bankers, administrators, NGOs, police personnel and journalists. Senior policemen and army personnel who have dealt with this subject apart from lawyers and journalists will offer their expertise. Militants who have surrendered too have been roped in to speak during the duration of the course. We would also have a visiting faculty from other terror affected countries such as Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iraq and Bangladesh. We have also written to the UGC seeking accredition for the course, Nahar added.