ABOUT THE BOOK

The Indian Ocean is the world`s third-largest body of water through which cross the vital sea lanes that help feed some of Asia`s largest economies. Nearly 80 percent of the world`s seaborne trade in oil passes through the choke-points in these sea lanes of which 40 percent passes through the Strait of Hormuz, 35 percent through the Strait of Malacca and 8 percent through the Bab el-Mandab Strait. This gives an extremely vital importance to the Indian Ocean.

The Indian Ocean Rim has 26 littoral states and is home to 2.3 billion people. These states as well as their immediate hinterland vary in terms of geography, population, culture, political structures and economic development.  But all of them are impacted by the phenomenon of terrorism and of growing incidents of piracy in and around the Horn of Africa. Today, it is in the Indian Ocean Region that a large majority of armed conflicts are currently taking place.

This book is a compendium of the proceedings of the third Counter Terrorism Conference organised by India Foundation and the Government of Haryana (CTC 2017) with focus on terrorism in the Indian Ocean Region.  As in the earlier two conferences organised by India Foundation, CTC 2017 brought together a galaxy of political and thought leaders from India and across the world to highlight various aspects of the subject.

The book highlights how countries across the region are handling counter terrorism.  The approaches may differ, but they aim to achieve the same result.  Most importantly, what comes out clearly is the fact that terrorism can no longer be viewed as a problem of any one affected country; because of its global ramifications, it has to be fought as a joint regional and global effort.  The radicalisation of sections of the population, the steps needed to counter its spread and also de-radicalise those affected populations have been emphasised in this volume.  Fighting the scourge of terrorism would perforce have to be a united effort encompassing many fronts.  States that use terrorism as an instrument of state policy would need to be addressed to eliminate it.

ABOUT Author

Maj. Gen. Dhruv C. Katoch, SM, VSM is an alumnus of Sherwood College, Naini Tal, National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla, Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Higher Command Course, Mhow and National Defence College, New Delhi.  He holds MSc and MPhil degrees in Defence Studies from Madras University and is a Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris Causa) from Indira Gandhi University, Rewari.

A third-generation Army officer, he took part in ‘Operation Pawan’ for two years as part of the IPKF in Sri Lanka. He has also served and participated in operations against terrorists and insurgents in J&K and various states of North East India. He commanded his battalion on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, a sector in Mizoram and a division in Arunachal Pradesh where he was responsible for the defence of Kameng Sector. Before retiring from the Indian Army on 31 January 2009, he was the Chief of Staff of an Operational Corps on the Western Sector. Post retirement, he joined the Indian Army’s premier think-tank, Centre for Land Warfare Studies, later rising to be its Director till November 2014.

He has authored innumerable papers and study reports on defence and security-related issues and edited/co-edited six books. He speaks on these issues on television news channels and at military training establishments and universities across India.  Based in the NCR, he is currently Director, India Foundation; Editor, SALUTE magazine and Secretary-General, Indian War Veterans Association.