Behaviour science now underlines group dynamics as being of prime importance in shaping the actions of those who join outfits propagating violent means to achieve an end. Israeli expert Ehud Sprinzak has outlined three stages in the group process that comes into operation. First, a crisis of confidence. Then a questioning of the legitimacy of the system. And last of all, a process of dehumanisation, by which stage the group members come to believe that society deserves the attacks they are planning.
Theoretical formulation and research has been carried out in the US, UK and Europe, focusing on hijackers, Palestinian groups, and more recently, the Al Qaeda. Some preliminary impressions have emerged about terrorism in South Asia. Unfortunately, little work has been done in India on the psychological and social aspects of terrorism. Some experienced forensic psychiatrists do support the theories emerging in the other parts of the world, and those theories can be useful in understanding terror in India.
The two e-mails received by the media convey an increasing level of sophistication in thought and language. But if we deconstruct the language and syntax, it can be seen that the underlying thinking is of the nature of a street fight, with the hurling of daring challenges. It is also a clear articulation of the isolationist feelings of the group, based on perceived humiliation on ethnic-religious lines. Sprinzak’s three-stage process seems valid here and dehumanisation of group members seems to have taken place.
Once the third stage is reached, there are many internal group pressures which also come into operation, creating compulsions to keep the activities going. The e-mails also convey the conscious and deliberate intent of the perpetrators. It is also clear that the very purpose of the e-mails is to explicitly reveal intent. When the terrorist group reaches a certain stage in its evolution, it will have a natural urge to declare its intent.
The frequent use of first and second person plural pronouns "we" and "you" in the e-mails suggests that the group perceives itself separate from the general population. The e-mails do, of course, recognise some groups of populations as not being on "either side" and the reference to these groups in sympathy is the need to draw others into collective extremist ideology.
A study of these e-mails also confirms the possibility of such collective group processes having already occurred in India. It is important that the correct context be seen and shared. A scientific perspective will help in avoiding the use of psychobabble or psychiatric mumbo-jumbo. Clearly, the phenomenon of terrorism has reached levels requiring a different kind of response and management.
(The author is head, Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Human Behaviour & Allied Sciences, New Delhi)
