This document discusses several challenges facing democracy: communalism, terrorism, globalization, and technological advancement. It provides background on each topic, including how terrorism has become a global problem, how communalism has led to violence in India, how globalization has increased international integration, and how technology has impacted societies. The document concludes by comparing the unilateral and military-focused approach of the US to counterterrorism versus the need for global cooperation to effectively address the threat of terrorism.

1. Name : Sarachandran Nair H L
Roll No : 46
Option : Social science

2. TOPIC : Challenges to
Democracy, communalism,
terrorism, globalisation and
technological advancement

3. Introduction
The study of challenges to democracy, communalism, terrorism,
globalisation and tecchnology advancement. It essentially involves the
study of global politics and violence. There is much apprehension about
journalists, government bureaucrats, and law enforcement officials being
objective and scientific in their observations. This is true about most of the
academicians also. Terrorism is the problem of the modern world and is
said to be a bye-product of New World order. Modernization, development,
and communication revolution are considered to be the main sources of
this menace. Global structures of production, trade and communication
have brought rapid and revolutionary changes in the world order.
Advancements in technology and communication have facilitated the
groups and states sponsoring terrorism to extend the reach and the
organization of their subversive activities through flow of funds from abroad
and foreign sanctuaries. Spectacular terrorist activities have stimulated,
alienated and frustrated individuals and groups to undertake their personal
ward in order to settle their grievances. One of the most important weapons
of the terrorist groups is propaganda through media. The media and
terrorism hold a special relationship. The present paper seeks to
understand the relationship between these important variables of politics of
the day. One of the most serious problems before modern politics these
days is terrorism. Terrorism has become the most dangerous enemy of the
civilized society and the democratic system. It destroys the soul of the
society by creating and recreating a state of permanent fear, provoking and
legitimizing authoritarian answers. Terrorism has been a strategic threat to
the internal security and even survival of countries. It is now seen as a
threat to the security of the whole international community. One of the
greatest concerns of all the civilized cultures is the alarming incidence of
violent crimes in today’s world.

4. NEED AND SIGNIFICANCE
DEMOCRACY
India is the seventh largest (by area) and the second most populous
country in the world, with roughly one-sixth of itspopulation, of about a
billion and a quarter. It is the world's largest democracy by electorate. It is
one of the world's oldestcivilizations, yet a very young nation. This is due to
the fact that it was under Moghul control for much of its history until its
colonisation by European powers, before finally gaining its freedom in 1947
after a long independence movement initiated by individuals such
as Mahatma Gandhi. Elections to its Parliament are held once every 5
years. Currently, Prime minister Shri Narendra Damodardas Modi is the
head of the government, enjoying a majority in the Parliament, while
President Pranab Mukherjee, is the head of state. India is a
constitutional republic governed under the world's longest
writtenconstitution, federally consisting of 29 states and seven centrally
administered union territories, with New Delhi as the nation's capital. The
country has six main national parties: the Indian National Congress (INC),
Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), Communist Party of India (CPI) and the
Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). At the level of its states, many
regional parties stand for elections to state legislatures, every five years.In
rajya sabha elections will be held for every 6 years.
Factors affecting democracy
The origins of Indian democracy lie in its well-developed nationalist
movement, which both promoted egalitarian ideals that were imported into
India's constitution and which effectively resolved contentious governing
conflicts upon independence in 1947.

5. COMMUNALISM AND TERRORISM
The issue of terrorism and war against terror has received much attention
world over in the past two decades. The acts of terror have been
perpetrated either in the name of religion or as a violent response to both
real and imagined oppressions. Whatever may be the reason, it is a fact
that terrorism today is not confined to any one country or religion and has
started creating unprecedented anxieties as well as new challenges to a
peaceful and democratic co-existence of people.Terrorism, however, is
usually linked to violent deaths of innocents in the name of Islamic Jihad. It
is true that thousands of people have become victims of religious terrorism,
but today it is not confined to or carried out by only Muslim fundamentalists.
Like many other things, terrorism has also gone global and taken many
insidious forms. Everyday hundreds of people are becoming victims of so-called
‘development' models and ruthless state action; many more are
suffering because of lack of justice. Above all, the rising fascist tendencies,
both within the state and civil societies, have given rise to new forms of
racism, communal hatred and oppression.In India too terrorism has taken
many forms. The RSS led Sangh Parivar has been trying to create a Hindu
fundamentalist state for the last 85 years, by systematically targeting the
Muslims and other minorities. According to one estimate, more than 60,000
communal clashes have taken place since 1950. After the 90s it has taken
the form of genocide. Hindutva terrorism today is no longer a mere
suspicion, since several cases have been registered against the
perpetrators of ‘Hindu bombs'. These developments have given rise to a
number of disturbing questions: Is terrorism limited only to one religion?
What could be the causes for the rise of terrorist activities today? Is Islamic
terrorism a statement against Americanisation of the world? Are increasing
acts of terror indicative of a civilization in crisis? Is Hindutva terrorism
directed only against minorities in India or does it have a larger agenda?
These and many more related questions beg a deeper probing and debate,
particularly in the context of India. Most importantly, it is necessary to
explore and analyse how the various apparatus of the state, like judiciary,
bureaucracy and media, have responded to the growing communalism in
India. One naturally looks up to the judiciary to be objective in addressing

6. the issue, but recent judgements and enquiry committee reports make one
wonder if they are tilted in favour of the majority community. The recent
judgements on Ayodhya, the Graham Steins' incident and the Somashekar
Committee report on the attack on Christian minorities in Karnataka are a
case in point. The workshop is an attempt to focus on some of these
issues, more particularly on the growing communalisation of India in the
context of global terrorism. The objective of the workshop is to move
towards a better understanding of the mechanisations of communalism and
religious terrorism, in order to strengthen the movement for communal
harmony and building a democratic India.
GLOBALISATION
Globalization (or globalisation) is the process of international integration
arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other
aspects of culture.Advances in transportation and telecommunications
infrastructure, including the rise of the telegraph and its posterity the
Internet, are major factors in globalization, generating further
interdependence of economic and cultural activities.Though scholars place
the origins of globalization in modern times, others trace its history long
before the European age of discovery and voyages to the New World.
Some even trace the origins to the third millennium BCE. In the late 19th
century and early 20th century, the connectedness of the world's
economies and cultures grew very quickly.The term globalization has been
increasingly used since the mid-1980s and especially since the mid-1990s.
In 2000, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) identified four basic aspects
of globalization: trade and transactions, capital and investment movements,
migration and movement of people, and the dissemination of knowledge.
Further, environmental challenges such as climate change, cross-boundary
water and air pollution, and over-fishing of the ocean are linked with
globalization.Globalizing processes affect and are affected by business and
work organization, economics, socio-cultural resources, and the natural
environment.
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT

7. Technology "art, skill, cunning of hand"; and -λογία, -logia[1]) refers to the
collection of tools, including machinery, modifications, arrangements and
procedures used by humans. Engineering is the discipline that seeks to
study and design new technologies. Technologies significantly affect
human as well as other animal species' ability to control and adapt to their
natural environments. The term can either be applied generally or to
specific areas: examples include construction technology, medical
technology and information technology.The human species' use of
technology began with the conversion of natural resources into simple
tools. The prehistoric discovery of how to control fire increased the
available sources of food and the invention of the wheel helped humans in
travelling in and controlling their environment. Recent technological
developments, including the printing press, the telephone, and the Internet,
have lessened physical barriers to communication and allowed humans to
interact freely on a global scale. However, not all technology has been
used for peaceful purposes; the development of weapons of ever-increasing
destructive power has progressed throughout history, from clubs
to nuclear weapons.Technology has affected society and its surroundings
in a number of ways. In many societies, technology has helped develop
more advanced economies (including today's global economy) and has
allowed the rise of a leisure class. Many technological processes produce
unwanted by-products, known as pollution, and deplete natural resources,
to the detriment of Earth's environment. Various implementations of
technology influence the values of a society and new technology often
raises new ethical questions. Examples include the rise of the notion of
efficiency in terms of human productivity, a term originally applied only to
machines, and the challenge of traditional norms.Philosophical debates
have arisen over the present and future use of technology in society, with
disagreements over whether technology improves the human condition or
worsens it. Neo-Luddism, anarcho-primitivism, and similar movements
criticise the pervasiveness of technology in the modern world, opining that
it harms the environment and alienates people; proponents of ideologies
such as transhumanism and techno-progressivism view continued
technological progress as beneficial to society and the human condition.
Indeed, until recently, it was believed that the development of technology

8. was restricted only to human beings, but recent scientific studies indicate
that other primates and certain dolphin communities have developed
simple tools and learned to pass their knowledge to other generations.
Conclusion
In the current security environment, the focus has shifted from state
territorial security to broader and deeper security dimensions and towards
global security interdependence. Only military means for addressing
security threats and challenges is increasingly perceived to be ineffective.
Today, terrorism has a strong transnational dimension. As recognized by
the US, NATO and the EU there is need for global action to address this
threat.Let us conclude by drawing a comparison on the recent measures
taken as a response to global terrorism. The states have decided to take
actions against terrorists and their supporters. International cooperation is
emphasized in combating terrorism. However, we found out that the
response of the US emphasized preponderance of US power, especially
military power and preemptive strike. Many analysts pointed out the
unilateralist tendencies of the US perception of the war on terror. This was
more significant in the war against terrorism gave anti-terrorism ultimatum
that was with us or against us ultimatum. The United States has applied
this new policy in Iraq emphasizing ‘the risks of inaction are far grater than
the risks of action.’ The NSS (2002) outlined this new policy of the US.