Old Wine in a New Bottle: A New Face of Hindutva Terror By Yoginder Sikand
In a recent issue of an Urdu magazine I came across an absorbing article that sums up the general Muslim attitude to the well-organised campaign that has engulfed the country that seeks to blame every terrorist attack that occurs on Muslims, ignoring completely the role of Hindutva terror groups. The article mentioned an interesting anecdote in this regard, which, though pathetically heart-rending, provides a valuable lesson for those who seem, consciously or otherwise, to be complicit in what is nothing short of a concerted effort to demonise Muslims as 'terrorists'. The story goes like this: Sometime in the mid-1960s, a leading Islamic scholar and professor at the Aligarh Muslim University , Maulvi Syed Ali Naqvi, was apprehended in Aligarh on suspicion of being a Pakistani agent. He was taken to the police station, where he was asked if he knew anyone in Aligarh . He mentioned the name of the then Vice-Chancellor of the University, Col. Bashir Husain Zaidi. A police officer rang up Col. Zaidi, and told him that he had apprehended a person who appeared to be a Pakistani infiltrator, but when Col. Zaidi learned that it was actually the Maulvi who had been arrested he was stunned and rushed to the police station to have him released. When they were leaving the police station the police officer profusely apologized to the Maulvi. In response, the Maulvi simply asked, 'If you are not able to recognize friends, how will you be able to identify your enemies?'. This was a case of mistaken identity that occurred half a century or so ago, but the Maulvi's question holds hauntingly true today, at a time when a virtual witch-hunt of Muslims seems to be being aggressively pursued by certain political parties, and sections of the police and the media. The Maulvi's question to the police officer demands to be asked even today, particularly in the face of mounting evidence of Hindutva terrorist groups having been responsible for terror attacks across the country, for which Muslims had all along been blamed.
It is not my contention that absolutely none of the deadly bomb blasts that we have witnessed in recent years could have been the handiwork of Muslims. It is quite possible that some Muslims, driven to despair at the indifference, indeed hostility, of agencies of the state to their plight, particularly the lack of justice to the thousands of victims of anti-Muslim violence and the state's support to Hindutva groups, might have been responsible for some terror attacks in recent years. Although I do not condone such attacks at all, it is probable that contrary to what the media and Hindutva forces claim, such attacks, if they have taken place, are driven more by an urge to seek revenge rather than by any grand radical Islamist conspiracy. The state must realize that to stop such attacks there is no way it can continue to renege on its Constitutional duties of providing safety, justice and equality to its all its citizens, including the 160 million or more Indian Muslims, and to take strong and effective action against all destructive communal forces, including Hindutva fascist groups, something that it is evidently not doing.
To the contrary, the fact of the matter is that today, agencies of the state, particularly the police, are indiscriminately hounding perfectly innocent Muslims, particularly the youth, irrespective of class. No one knows exactly how many such people have been rounded up by the police throughout the country and continue to languish in jails, subjected to brutal torture. Many of them have been picked up in the wake of bomb attacks for being allegedly associated with SIMI or some or the other foreign outfit with a 'Muslim' –sounding name, despite there being absolutely no proof of this. A large number of them simply do not have the financial means or the knowledge of how to fight their legal battles, and Muslim organizations appear, on the whole, completely helpless and heedless in this regard. The on-going wave of bomb attacks, in which innocent Hindus, Muslims and others lose their lives, appears to show no sign of stopping. In some of these attacks a disproportionate number of people killed have been Muslims, such as in Malegaon , Hyderabad and Ajmer and in the Samjhauta Express train blast. However, even in these cases the media, the police and certain political parties have blamed Muslims, without offering any convincing proof whatsoever. The question arises as to how and why Muslims would engage in even these sorts of attacks because obviously such attacks damage Muslims the most. The question also arises as to which political forces gain most from these attacks. It is obvious that the beneficiaries of the mounting communal polarization that these terror attacks have led to are not Muslims, but, rather, the ultra right-wing Hindutva camp. This, therefore, might suggest a hidden Hindutva terror hand in several blasts for which Muslims might have been wrongly blamed. It is quite possible that, in addition to the blasts in Malegaon and Modassa, Hindutva terror groups have engineered other deadly blasts across the country, and, instead of owing up responsibility, have, with the help of their pliable agents in the police, intelligence agencies and in the media, craftily sought to present these as the handiwork of 'radical' Muslims in order to whip up anti-Muslim hysteria and thereby consolidate their Hindu vote-bank. Fortunately, sections of the media are now increasingly recognizing this possibility and are waking up to the reality of Hindutva terror. Yet, it is important to note that, contrary to what some sections of the media new claim, this is by no means a new phenomenon or simply a reaction to terror engaged in by some fringe radical self-styled Islamist groups, whose pernicious ideology and wild dreams of turning India into an Islamic state cannot be denied. Unleashing terror and bloodshed on a massive scale directed against innocents—which is, after all, what terrorism is all about—has been a consistent and characteristic feature of Hindutva groups all along. As the noted social activist and Arya Samaj leader Swami Agnivesh mentioned to me in an interview I recently did with him, 'The very ideology of Hindutva is premised on terror, and is even more dangerous than that, being identical with fascism'. The only difference now is that Hindutva groups have added bomb blasts to their repertoire of time-tested methods of engaging in terror.
Recently, a tribunal headed by a judge of the Delhi High Court recommended that the ban on the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) not be extended, although the Central Government stiffly opposed this. The tribunal declared that sufficient and reliable evidence of SIMI being a 'terrorist' and 'anti-national' organization, as claimed by the Government of India, had not been presented before it. This obviously suggests that the allegations against the SIMI are questionable, but, backed by the media, the next day after the tribunal expressed its decision the Government of India submitted an appeal in the Supreme Court, claiming that lifting the ban on SIMI would have dangerous consequences. Consequently, the ban on the SIMI was extended, contrary to what the tribunal had recommended. The Supreme Court apparently did not find the time to hear the appeal of SIMI's lawyers for years against the decisions of the previous tribunals, but, in just a single day, it admitted the Government's appeal and acted on it. It is striking to note that the same sort of passion and vigour is never exhibited by the police, the media, political parties and the courts when it comes to taking action against radical Hindu outfits that are openly promoting anti-Muslim hatred and that have also engaged in large-scale massacres of Muslims. Personally, I am stiffly opposed to the SIMI's approach and ideology, and I also believe that it has done much more harm than good to the Muslims themselves. But yet I must present certain facts here. The SIMI was first banned on 27 September 2001. From then on, during the rule of the BJP and now the Congress, the SIMI has become a convenient label that can be stuck on any Muslim who is picked up by the police. Such Muslims are most often arrested under such laws that entail stern punishments, including life imprisonment. In innumerable instances, the police remand continues to be extended, no charge-sheet is presented and most of those arrested are denied bail. In a few cases, the courts refuse to accept the fake 'evidence' and false confessions of the police, and these fortunate few are released. But these innocent people are scarred for life because of having been arrested and, in addition, for being branded as having been allegedly associated with the SIMI. A large number of people who may have at one time, well before the ban, been associated with SIMI have been thrown into prison although they have had absolutely no involvement in any violent activities. Forced and fake 'confessions' are extorted by the police through brutal torture, and they are made to sign documents supposedly admitting that they were the alleged masterminds behind various deadly blasts. These 'confessions' and statements that are not made before a magistrate, are inadmissible as 'evidence', according to Indian law, but yet the police and the media presents them as genuine, even before the courts have had a chance to give their verdicts. The media simply parrots the police line, and is hand-in-glove with it in spreading anti-Muslim hatred on a frightening scale all across the country. This has been brought out very clearly in the investigative reporting of the intrepid Ajit Sahi of the weekly Tehelka, who deserves the deepest gratitude for the remarkable bravery which he has displayed in uncovering the cases of literally scores of innocent Muslims, including some who at one time were associated with the SIMI, who have been wrongly arrested and tortured, falsely accused of being involved in some terror attack or the other. Ajit Sahi has pointed out the startling fact that despite all the media propaganda against it, not a single court in India has been able to prove the allegation against SIMI of being 'anti-national' and engaging in terrorism. On the other hand, no similar action has been taken against radical Hindutva outfits that are known to be engaged in terrorism, and that openly call for the slaughter of Muslims and for setting up Hindu 'suicide squads' to liquidate Muslims. Is one to conclude, therefore, that sections of the Indian state are bent on manufacturing Muslim 'terrorists' by framing innocent Muslim youth and stocking the prisons with them and by turning a blind eye to Hindutva terrorism, which is threatening to drag the country to the brink of full-blown fascism? This question must be asked by any and every patriotic Indian genuinely concerned about the welfare of our country. |
__._,_.___
*****************************************
Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm
*****************************************
Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf
*****************************************
MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona.
*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm
*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm
*****************************************
Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/
*****************************************
MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari
http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm
*****************************************
German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/
Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm
*****************************************
Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.htm
****************************************************
VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/
****************************************************
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
-Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
__,_._,___