English

Goa chargesheet is a wake-up call

The chargesheeting of 11 members of the Sanatan Sanstha for last October’s Goa bomb blast case by the National Investigation Agency recently should serve as a warning that particular religions should not be associated with acts of terror. This requirement is all the more important in a society which is rather proud of its democratic political system and credentials. Initially the idea had seemed preposterous to many that those born in the Hindu faith in this country would resort to terrorism. There was no ideological, political, or analytical basis for such a cosy belief to arise. Perhaps what can be said in the light of experience is that because there was so much reporting from around the world of a great number of Islamic people leaning toward extremist ideological tendencies at the present moment in history, and a good number of these engaging in terrorism to secure their political aims in several countries, it generally became easy to accept that fingers could be pointed at Muslims alone for terrorist acts. Evidence to the contrary was dispensed with. Sri Lanka’s LTTE were a Tamil but also Hindu outfit. But their strike zone was mainly Sri Lanka and their actions didn’t trouble much of the rest of the world. In any case, the LTTE advertised itself in overtly political — not religious — terms, unlike the jihadi outfits which proudly professed political Islam. The so-called Christian terrorism on account of its appeal in the name of the Catholic faith, of which Northern Ireland used to be cited as an example, was on the wane with the political accord signalling the closure of that streak of militant politics. On the other hand, Pakistan has established itself over the past quarter century as the hotbed of international terrorism of the overtly jihadist variety. Given the history, this fuelled the belief that the archetypal terrorist had to be Muslim.The NIA’s probe into the Goa explosions leading up to the first judicial requirement of filing chargesheets should dispatch this notion for good. In any case, it is now established that it is Hindu far-right groups that conspired to arrange explosions at Malegaon in 2006, at the Macca Masjid in Hyderabad, and at the Ajmer sufi shrine subsequently. The attempt in these instances was to get Islamic outfits blamed to create an anti-Islamic spirit in society. Unlike what appears to be happening in Pakistan and certain other Muslim countries, it is not probable that Hindu groups in India professing extreme-right views leading up to terrorism can plausibly be looking to capture state power. If their aims can be said to be more modest, the tactical purpose that suits their enterprise is to discredit Muslims in India. This sits well with the general outlook of Hindutva-oriented groups in the country from the inception, the Hindu Mahasabha and the RSS being prime examples. Great socio-political upheavals represented by the destruction of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya and the Gujarat pogrom should have alerted us to the possibility of right-wing religious-oriented Hindus adopting extreme postures to promote their cause. Looking back, however, it can be said that this strand was obscured in the haze of the constant anti-India terrorism emanating from Pakistan.Exposing the terrorist activities of extremist Hindu outfits goes to the credit of the Indian state and its instruments. There are no signs fortunately to suggest that the investigation is slack in cases where Hindu groups come under suspicion, or that the judiciary has been less than purposeful. This strengthens the society and the state in dealing with jihadist or any other variety of terrorism, whether the religious angle attaches to it or not.