Terrorists Vs Militants: What's The Difference And Why Foreign Media's Pahalgam Coverage Has Sparked Row
Militants may use violence as part of their strategy without aiming to terrorise civilians, whereas terrorists deliberately target non-combatants to coerce governments or societies
The BBC is facing criticism over its coverage of the Pahalgam attack in Kashmir on April 22, in which 26 people died. The issue is gaining momentum after the Centre formally objected to the media outlet's use of the term 'militants" instead of 'terrorists" in reporting.
As per sources quoted by media, the government will be 'monitoring further reporting by BBC".
What Has The Centre Told The BBC?
As per reports, the government has issued a formal letter to the BBC, expressing strong disapproval of its reporting of the Pahalgam carnage, and its description of terrorists as militants.
News agency PTI reported that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) communicated India's strong sentiments to Jackie Martin, BBC's India Head, regarding the network's coverage of the Pahalgam incident.
'A formal letter has been sent to the BBC on terming terrorists as militants. The External Publicity Division of the MEA will be monitoring the reporting of the BBC," an official was quoted as saying by PTI.
News18 asked AI about the difference between a terrorist and a militant, and here's what it said.
Militants are particularly seen engaged with state forces or in armed insurgency, whereas terrorists typically target non-combatants civilians to instil fear in them.
Usually, militants avoid using politically charged labels and negative legal statuses. Terrorists, on the other hand, are designated under a group, which can have significant legal and diplomatic consequences.
In conclusion, the key difference between terrorists and militants lies in intent: militants may use violence as part of their strategy without aiming to terrorise civilians, whereas terrorists deliberately target non-combatants to coerce governments or societies.
Understand Militancy And Terrorism In Legal Contexts
As per Merriam-Webster, a militant is someone 'having or showing a desire or willingness to use strong, extreme, and sometimes forceful methods to achieve something," such as militant protesters. They may be part of armed resistance, like insurgencies, without the primary aim of terrorizing.
A terrorist, however, is specifically a practitioner of terrorism, defined by Merriam-Webster. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) clarifies that international terrorism involves violent acts inspired by foreign terrorist organisations. While domestic terrorism stems from domestic ideological goals, both often targeting civilians to instil fear.
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967, defines a terrorist as someone acting with intent to threaten India's unity, integrity, or security, or to strike terror in people. It also says terrorist intend to intimidate the public and disturb the public order.
Subjectivity And Controversy
The classification of militants and terrorists is controversial and subjective. For instance, the BBC avoids calling Hamas militants 'terrorists" to maintain impartiality.
In the Pahalgam attack, it has been seen how media and governments may label actors based on agendas as the perpetrators have been referred to as 'militants" instead of 'terrorists".
The BBC report titled 'Pakistan suspends visas for Indians after deadly Kashmir attack on tourists" referred to the attackers as 'militants." This terminology was perceived by the Indian government as an attempt to downplay the severity of the incident and avoid labelling it as a terrorist attack.
Critics, including the Hindu American Foundation and Indian media outlets, accused the BBC and other Western media of 'whitewashing" the attack by using terms like 'militants" instead of 'terrorists." They argued that the choice of language minimised the religious and ideological motivations behind the attack and portrayed the perpetrators in a less negative light.
The New York Times faced similar criticism for its coverage, leading the US Foreign Affairs Committee to publicly correct the newspaper's terminology of the word 'militants" in a news article on the Pahalgam attack instead of 'terrorists".
The New York Times said: 'At Least 24 Tourists Gunned Down by Militants in Kashmir'. Quoting the screenshot of the same, America's Foreign Affairs Committee said, 'Hey, @nytimes we fixed it for you. This was a TERRORIST ATTACK plain and simple. Whether it's India or Israel, when it comes to TERRORISM, the NYT is removed from reality".
BBC's Earlier Controversies In India
Before the current controversy surrounding the Pahalgam terror attack coverage, the BBC faced criticism in 2023 when the Delhi High Court issued a notice to the media outlet. The notice was based on a suit filed by a Gujarat-based NGO, which alleged that the BBC's documentary 'India: The Modi Question" defamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian judiciary.
The BBC defended the film, saying it 'was rigorously researched according to the highest editorial standards", while the Indian government dismissed the documentary as 'propaganda" and a product of the 'colonial mindset".
In January of that year, the BJP government directed video-sharing platform YouTube to remove the documentary and asked Twitter to remove related posts. In February, the Supreme Court rejected a public interest litigation that sought a ban on the BBC in India, calling the petition 'completely misconceived".
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had also initiated a FEMA investigation against BBC India in April 2023, following findings from the Income Tax Department's three-day survey at the broadcaster's offices in Delhi and other cities in February that year.
Pakistani Channels Banned In India
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In view of the Pahalgam carnage, the Indian government has blocked 16 Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading provocative, communally sensitive, and misleading narratives against India, its Army, and security forces.
The blocked YouTube channels include: Dawn News, Irshad Bhatti, SAMAA TV, ARY NEWS, BOL NEWS, Raftar, The Pakistan Referenc, Geo News, Samaa Sports, GNN, Uzair Cricket, Umar Cheema Exclusive, Asma Shirazi, Muneeb Farooq, SUNO News, and Razi Naama.
Get Latest Updates on Movies, Breaking News On India, World, Live Cricket Scores, And Stock Market Updates. Also Download the News18 App to stay updated!
tags :
BBC News18 Explains Pahalgam attack
Location :
New Delhi, India, India
First Published:
April 30, 2025, 09:16 IST
News explainers Terrorists Vs Militants: What's The Difference And Why Foreign Media's Pahalgam Coverage Has Sparked Row
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