Terrorism is a global scourge. How has it manifested in India? Elaborate with contemporary examples. What are the counter measures adopted by the State? Explain.
Approach · directive: “how / elaborate / explain”
What it asks · Show the forms terrorism has taken in India with recent examples, then explain the State’s legal, institutional, operational and diplomatic responses.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- Elaborate how terrorism has manifested in India, with contemporary examples
- Explain the counter-measures adopted by the State — legal, institutional, operational and diplomatic
Open with · India has faced terrorism in nearly every form — cross-border, separatist, left-wing and urban — making it one of the democracies most affected by terror.
Cover
- Cross-border, state-sponsored terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir: the Pahalgam attack of 22 April 2025 killed 26 people, mostly tourists.
- Radicalisation and modules: online recruitment, ISIS-inspired cells and IED plots in the hinterland; lone actors are hard to detect.
- Narco-terror and financing: drones dropping arms and drugs across the Punjab border, hawala, fake currency, crypto-assets.
- Insurgency-linked violence in parts of the North-East and Maoist violence in central India, now sharply reduced.
- Legal and institutional: UAPA (2019 amendment allows designating individuals), NIA Act amendment (2019), PMLA, NATGRID, Multi-Agency Centre, NSG hubs.
- Operational: intelligence-led operations and border fencing; Operation Sindoor (May 2025) struck terror infrastructure across the border after Pahalgam.
- Diplomatic and social: FATF pressure on terror financing, UN listings, ‘No Money for Terror’, deradicalisation and community policing.
Close with · Zero tolerance must pair hard security with intelligence, financial tracking and social resilience — and a global legal consensus on terrorism, which India has long sought.
Add value (verified)
- On 7 May 2025 the armed forces launched Operation Sindoor against nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. PIB, Ministry of Defence — Operation Sindoor: precision strike at terrorist camps (7 May 2025) ↗“the Indian Armed Forces launched ‘OPERATION SINDOOR’, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed. Altogether, nine (9) sites have been targeted.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2025, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 209 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
India has faced terrorism in nearly every form — cross-border, separatist, left-wing and urban — making it one of the democracies most affected by terror.
Manifestations in India
- Cross-border, state-sponsored terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir: the Pahalgam attack of 22 April 2025 killed 26 people, mostly tourists.
- Radicalisation and modules: online recruitment, ISIS-inspired cells and IED plots in the hinterland; lone actors are hard to detect.
- Narco-terror and financing: drones dropping arms and drugs across the Punjab border, hawala, fake currency and crypto-assets.
- Insurgency-linked violence in parts of the North-East and Maoist violence in central India, now sharply reduced.
Counter-measures by the State
- Legal: UAPA, amended in 2019 to designate individuals as terrorists; PMLA against terror finance; the NIA Act amendment (2019) widening the agency's reach.
- Institutional: NIA, the Multi-Agency Centre for intelligence sharing, NATGRID, regional NSG hubs and State anti-terror squads.
- Operational: intelligence-led operations, border fencing and surveillance; Operation Sindoor (7 May 2025) struck nine terror sites across the border after Pahalgam.
- Diplomatic and social: FATF pressure on terror financing, UN listings, the 'No Money for Terror' conferences, deradicalisation and community policing.
Zero tolerance must pair hard security with intelligence, financial tracking and social resilience — and the global legal consensus on terrorism that India has long sought.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.