India faces terrorism sponsored or sheltered across its borders, ethnic insurgencies in the North-East, and home-grown radicalisation. This chapter connects those threats to the legal and institutional answers — the laws that define terrorism, the agency that investigates it, and the special powers used in “disturbed areas”.

What UPSC asks

Mains GS III: the role of external state and non-state actors; cross-border terrorism and hybrid threats; the balance between counter-terror laws and civil liberties; insurgency and peace processes in the North-East; India’s push for international cooperation.
Prelims: provisions of UAPA and the NIA Act (especially the 2019 amendments), AFSPA, UN counter-terrorism mechanisms, and peace accords in the news.

Key sub-topics

Sub-topic	Anchor
Counter-terror law lineage	TADA (1985) → POTA (2002) → UAPA (1967, amended 2004, 2008, 2012, 2019)
Central investigation	NIA Act, 2008 (amended 2019)
Special powers	AFSPA, 1958; Naga People’s Movement (1997); EEVFAM (2016)
North-East	Mizo Accord (1986), NSCN (IM) Framework Agreement (2015), Bodo Accord (2020)
External actors	Cross-border sponsorship, safe havens, terror financing, online radicalisation
Global cooperation	UNSC Resolutions 1267 and 1373, CCIT proposal (1996), FATF