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: As an ancient civilisation but a young nation-state, India is still engaged in the process of nation building. This process has been mostly tumultuous and has been marked by communal riots, unending insurgencies in most of the north-eastern states, Pakistan-supported militancy in Jammu and Kashmir and left-wing extremism in large parts of Central India. However, the phenomenon of urban terrorism is of more recent vintage and is more diabolical in nature. By striking terror into the hearts of the work force living and working in the most productive metros and larger cities of India and frequently paralysing economic activity, urban terrorism is tending to undermine India’s booming economy and is vitiating the investment climate.

While urban terrorism is relatively new to India, it has a long history in the international arena. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) had successfully fought British forces in Northern Ireland for several decades before a political settlement was finally negotiated with the Sinn Fein. Members of the IRA had well-established links with the FARC narco-terrorists in Colombia. The Baader-Meinhof gang, a communist urban guerrilla group, was responsible for several acts of terrorism in Germany in the 1960s and 1970s. Palestinian militants have managed to launch numerous terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians despite Israel’s vigorous pre-emptive measures and a pro-active response strategy. In May 1980, Arab gunmen had seized the Iranian Embassy in London and held about 20 people hostage. Members of Aum Shinrikyo, a cult group, carried out five coordinated sarin gas attacks on several lines of the Tokyo metro in March 1995. In September 2004, Chechen rebels seized a school building in Beslan, Russia, and held more than 1,000 students and teachers hostage; over 350 hostages died in the botched up rescue attempt.