Suicide bombing has become emblematic of political violence and terrorism in the modern world. South Asia is increasingly becoming one of its main sites. Between 1981 and 2011 there were 2287 suicide attacks which killed about 30,000 people in 36 countries. South Asian countries accounted for 942 or 41 per cent of all attacks making it one of two major sites of suicide bombings.
The genesis of suicide terrorism is rooted in intractable asymmetrical conflicts between state and non-state actors over political rights, territorial occupation and dispossession. Empirical evidence largely discredits the common wisdom that the personality of the suicide bombers and their religion are the principal cause. It shows that the driving force is a cocktail of motivations including, politics, humiliation, revenge, retaliation and altruism. The causes of suicide terrorism lie not in the individual psychopathology but in broader social conditions. Understanding and knowledge of these conditions is vital for developing appropriate public policies and responses to protect the public from this heinous form of violence.
This session will be chaired by Mr Arun Mahizhnan, IPS Special Research Adviser.
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