Dealing with Radicals by Occupiers and Democrats

  •   Thu, Nov 27 2025
  •   By Prof Sunney Tharappan

November 27, 2025

In a recent discussion on leadership development, the issue of the leadership of terrorists came up. One participant; he was a former corporate executive officer; made a casual statement stating that even the supporters of terrorists should be killed. As the director, leading the discussion of these sixty enthusiastic intellectuals, who collected themselves together for greater understanding of a theme called leadership, it became necessary for me to intervene very carefully, especially because I had made certain statements that may sound like an approval of terrorists. I did mention at that time that if the participant’s statement had to be taken at its face value, I might have to conclude that there is no difference between the terrorist and this participant because both believe in killing. Whatever one may say or disapprove of the terrorists, the concept of exterminating them is not a solution acceptable to the peace-loving people of any country because the terrorists may die, but their cause may stay. Also, some persons conveniently defined as terrorists were responsible for several achievements, including the freedom of the country.

Despite being colonialists, the British killed the freedom fighters by taking them through legal provisions; of course, the legality was based on their own draconian imperial laws.

Hadzhi Dimitar and Stefan Karadzha were two revolutionaries, indeed terrorists in the modern language, from Bulgaria. Originally they organised a group of fighters from Romania, crossed the Danube River as a contingent, and attacked the forces in Bulgaria, in the famous battle of Buzludzha Peak. Both were aged twenty-eight years, and this battle happened in 1868. Karadzha was caught and killed, but Dimiter led the remaining rebels on the final losing battle of July 18, when he got wounded and died thereafter. It took fifty years thereafter for the people of Bulgaria to establish their political party and win a battle against the then empire. There is a popular monument at Buzludzha Peak in the Central Stara Planina Mountains, near the Bulgarian town of Kazanlak in honour of the two revolutionaries and their fights. Hristo Botev, a national hero and poet whose poem is reverberating in the minds of the Bulgarians even now, wrote, ‘He who falls while / fighting to be free / can never die; for him the sky / and earth, the trees and / beasts shall keen / to him the minstrel’s song / shall rise.’

The occupiers directly killed the radicals who stood against them; they responded violently against the patriots, of course, the latter used violence as a strategy to win freedom.

A revolutionary or a terrorist can become a national hero, for obvious reasons of the cause for which he has led a revolution or terrorism. There is no doubt that a country needs more Mahatmas than revolutionaries or terrorists. However, it does not mean that those who fought for freedom using a different strategy should be condemned, even when the violence involved is disapproved.

During the early part of the struggle for independence, there were many freedom fighters whose activities bordered on revolution and terrorism, in which killing an enemy was justifiable for them. The first one to be remembered is The Muzaffarpur Conspiracy Case of 1908, in which Khudiram Bose, eighteen years old then, planned to kill the British judge Douglas Kingsford by throwing bombs at him. Though he did not succeed in it, as the carriage in which the judge travelled was different, two British women were killed, for which Bose was sentenced to death. While the Mahatma disapproved of the act of this terrorism, Bal Gangadhar Thilak approved of it and demanded ‘Poorna Swaraj’, for which he was charged with sedition and arrested immediately.

Despite being colonialists, they killed the freedom fighters, who used violent strategies through court proceedings; of course, the laws were from their own imperialism.

There is another famous revolutionary that one may remember, Bhagat Singh, who killed the British probationary police officer, John Saunders, considering him to be James Scott who was the superintendent of police. Bhagat Singh was enraged by the brutal killing of Lala Lajpat Rai by James Scott. There are plenty of other names that can be referred to as terrorists like Chandra Shekhar Azad, Rajguru or Sukhdev. The administration as well as the then rulers considered them terrorists. Today, they have memorials erected in honour of them. Hence, the radical, a revolutionary or a terrorist need not remain so forever and their reputation may depend on the cause for which they must have broken an existing law.

And the colonialists took all these cases through a court of law to punish them with death; of course, the laws were their own.

It will be more beneficial to recall and study the Naxalbari movement in West Bengal during the third quarter of the twentieth century. Charu Majumdar, Kanu Sanyal and Jangal Santhal were the three leaders of the Naxalbari uprising in 1967, in which they killed upper class landlords. It shocked the country. They were arrested and went through judicial scrutiny and were punished. Charu Majumdar died in police lockup, Kanu Sanyal committed suicide and Jangal Santhal died of depression and isolation. None of them were killed in a police encounter, a fact that has to be seriously considered, particularly taking into consideration that the Naxalbari movement shook the government and the people of the country.

The Naxalites were arrested and sentenced as per the Indian Penal Code.

Nagalism, a proposal of Naga majority areas from Assam, Manipur, Arunachal, and even some parts of Myanmar and China on their borders, was led by Muivah. The movement was dealt with by the then Government of India with a firm hand and was suppressed, and those involved in violence were punished; the leader himself later was in the Dimapur Peace Camp in Nagaland for fifty years and presently is returning to Manipur for negotiations with the Government of India.

The Naga armed resistance for Nagalism in Naga majority areas was dealt with legally by negotiating with the protestors by the Government of India from around 1997.

What is distressing the peace-lovers in this country, is the militant ways in which the Maoists are treated by the Central and State governments, particularly in Chhattisgarh. More than three hundred Maoists have been killed in so called encounters. What is to be specially noticed in all these encounters, is only Maoists get killed and not the police. Recently, Maharashtra negotiated with their Maoists and more than 1,000 of them surrendered.

Killing is not a solution, even when dealing with militant or violent resistance or organised killings by groups of people based on even unacceptable ideology. What is necessary is to negotiate with them and find amicable solutions wherever possible. What one has to address is the root cause rather than the strategies adopted or methods used, even while disapproving and taking actions against such strategies. It will be worthwhile to remember that there may be statues or other memorials erected in honour of those who may be killed in encounters by the people of different regions in the country, if not the whole country.

Terrorism cannot be countered by a similar type of terror cloaked in a certain semblance of escapist and supportive legal sanctions. Such countermeasures and associated pretentious legal performances are within the border of immorality. Instead, these should be dealt with, within the laws of governance and social order, and definitely not through encounters. Such actions can have an impact on the individual consciousness of independent and thinking people, leading to the creation of collective consciousness that could, in turn, beget similar movements and forces even among people who think righteously, sociably, and even culturally, leading to civilised living with humane considerations.

 

 

 

 
By Prof Sunney Tharappan
Prof Sunney Tharappan, is director of College for Leadership and HRD, Mangaluru. He trains and writes and lives in Mangaluru. Email: tharappans@gmail.com
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