Hijacking and Terror in Sky/Giriraj Shah. New Delhi, Anmol, 2002, 322 p., $72. ISBN 81-261-1090-2.

Contents: Preface. 1. Terrorism. 2. Terrorism in India. 3. Covert war. 4. Operation blunder. 5. The Jehad. 6. Theology and terrorism: the root behind Hijacking-Maulana Masood Azhar. 7. ISI and the covert war. 8. ISI Hand in blasts. 9. ISI sending foreign groups into Kashmir. 10. Terrorism in the air. 11. The Hijack drama. 12. IC 814 Hijack-made in Mumbai. 13. Who goofed. 14. The negotiations in Kandahar. 15. Strange bedfellows. 16. The deal. 17. Valley of fear. 18. Defeat at Kandahar. 19. An eight-day ordeal. 20. Crisis and mismanagement. 21. Taliban: Devil’s Militia. 22. Sky safety: a flight of fancy. 23. The age of violence. 24. Corridor of terror. 25. Terror in the skies. 26. Airport security: groping in the dark. 27. Passengers and V.I.P. security at Airports. 28. Airline security and fraud prevention. 29. Hijacking and anti Hijacking measures. 30. How to cope with Hijacking? 31. Security and safety arrangements at Airport. 32. The clearing house. 33. The business of war. 34. Extradition of Hijackers. 35. Training. 36. India-Pakistan relations. 37. Security measures—reviewed. 38. An appeal to supercop. 39. Self-pity is an Alibi. 40. An ‘Islamic’ escape route. 41. The core issue of Kashmir must be addressed. 42. How not to combat terrorism? 43. Twist in terrorism tactics and turn of the history. 44. Airlines turbulence causes ripple effect. Annexures. References. Index.

"Hijacking is not a recent phenomenon though the attention of the international community has been focused on it only after the hijacking of IC-814 from Kathmandu to Kandahar and now hijacking of four planes in America and subsequent attack on WTC and Pentagon.

"The first recorded incident of hijacking took place in 1930 when an aircraft which landed at an aerodrome in Peru was seized by army rebels who demanded to be flown to Chile. Since then several hundred incidents of hijacking have taken place resulting in many cases in the destruction of aircraft, death of crew members and of passengers as well as the hijacker(s). To begin with the incidents were few in number and did not involve significant acts of violence. In the sixties, beginning with the first ‘Cuban’ hijacking in 1961, the problem became more devious.

"Attempts to formulate legal measures to deal specifically with the problem began in 1962 when the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) considered a draft convention on offences on board aircraft, criminal jurisdiction and the rights and duties of the aircraft commander. In March 1962, the United States submitted a proposal to be included in the draft convention a provision to deal with unlawful seizure of aircraft.

"This work is a pioneering effort which deals with the hijacking and terror in the sky." (jacket)

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