Words have a purpose. That is why they are used. Indiscretion in the choice of words employed could convey an entirely different picture than intended. Carelessness can be with disastrous consequences.
Tristan Stewart-Robertson, a Glasgow-based journalist who writes a column for Firstpost.com deals with the use of the word 'terrorist' in describing the alleged killers of a person in Woolwich the other day.
His argument is that in the context of wild attacks anywhere which are now routinely classified as 'terror' and the attackers as 'terrorist(s)' in the media could well be a huge error. A murder could be plain murder, and a terror attack quite something else.
His piece can be read here.
In this context, when we speak or write of the sway of bahubalis in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, gangsters elsewhere, including the local goons who just like to keep the areas around them under their thumbs, are also terrorists. They were covered under a law, Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act. These days we use the term terror in an entirely different context, to explain the attacks on Mumbai, the attacks on the World Trade Centre, especially after the rise of al-Qaida.
Stewart-Robertson is clear - don't call a murder a terror attack.
Tristan Stewart-Robertson, a Glasgow-based journalist who writes a column for Firstpost.com deals with the use of the word 'terrorist' in describing the alleged killers of a person in Woolwich the other day.
His argument is that in the context of wild attacks anywhere which are now routinely classified as 'terror' and the attackers as 'terrorist(s)' in the media could well be a huge error. A murder could be plain murder, and a terror attack quite something else.
His piece can be read here.
In this context, when we speak or write of the sway of bahubalis in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, gangsters elsewhere, including the local goons who just like to keep the areas around them under their thumbs, are also terrorists. They were covered under a law, Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act. These days we use the term terror in an entirely different context, to explain the attacks on Mumbai, the attacks on the World Trade Centre, especially after the rise of al-Qaida.
Stewart-Robertson is clear - don't call a murder a terror attack.
