Can we please nail the truth?
Something new has come up on the Indian spectrum - something called "Hindu terror." Besides sounding alien, it also sounds alarming.
So far, no Hindu party has gone the whole hog to justify it as "reaction not terror." Privately, they say it is a witchhunt, a ploy by the "Government-controlled ATS" to divert attention from UPA's real laxity towards terrorists and also a means to get some brownie points for the upcoming elections.
All this may be the case, but fact is that there was a blast in Malegaon and six innocent people died. Even if a little-known and a barely followed Hindu outfit could have been involved in triggering a blast anywhere in India, it gives tremendous cause for concern - mostly because this means that the till-now strong fabric of Indian society stands changed forever, that irreparable damage may have already been done to it, that the situation from hereon is only slated to get more violent, more polarised and worse than ever before.
Hinduism has withstood the pressures of attacks, invasions and limitations of turf for centuries. It is neither expansionist nor does it believe in intolerance. Added to that is the traditional DNA of an average Hindu which radicals may tag as "loser" but more practically it is the hallmark of his quiet strength against all odds.
That there had to be some reaction among the modern-day Hindus to the sustained terror killings by Islamic forces, that the Government would do precious little to curb, let alone end that, was a possibility that had entered intense drawing room speculation.
But to actually have the Government say without doubt that a terror attack was engineered by a Hindu outfit, with the involvement of a serving Armyman and some sadhus, was shocking enough to still be considered incredible. Only time will tell how true allegations on both sides of the spectrum are - whether it is a calculated and dangerous gameplan, or an actual case of counter terror - as things stand today, a lot of moral high-ground has been lost.
Till now, "all terrorists are Muslims" was a line with no contradictions. Till now, the innocent man had been victim of only one kind of religious violence. But now, there will be so many voices - both Hindu and Muslim - blaming each other of oneupmanship. That this would be at the sole cost of the common man is unfortunate.
One can only pray, that Malegaon is a peripheral case of reaction, terror or whatever. It looks like it, because, as I said, Hinduism does not genetically have the drive to go on a killing spree. It can barely shout and scream against oppression, it can barely get together on punishment to, say an Afzal Guru, it is yet to end the debate on secular vs pseudo-secular. Can such a disorganised religion actually carry on a bloody campaign on any ground over any issue? Does not seem likely.
As for the men and woman who are being questioned by the ATS for the Malegaon blasts, the investigating agency does seem to have gone over the top in leaking information about almost everything about the investigation - some nuggets of "confessions" sounding more ridiculous than birds swimming in oceanic deep.
Also to be noted is the fact that somewhere along the ATS trail, both the public and the authorities have forgotten to follow-up on the Jamia encounter, the serial blasts from Bangalore to Delhi to Assam, and where Tauqeer has vanished, how a demographically changed North-East is about to be exploded by illegal migrants and how there has been no progress - none at all - on all previous terror cases. By all means, go after Abhinav Bharat if it did Malegoan, but not with motive beyond brief.
So far, no Hindu party has gone the whole hog to justify it as "reaction not terror." Privately, they say it is a witchhunt, a ploy by the "Government-controlled ATS" to divert attention from UPA's real laxity towards terrorists and also a means to get some brownie points for the upcoming elections.
All this may be the case, but fact is that there was a blast in Malegaon and six innocent people died. Even if a little-known and a barely followed Hindu outfit could have been involved in triggering a blast anywhere in India, it gives tremendous cause for concern - mostly because this means that the till-now strong fabric of Indian society stands changed forever, that irreparable damage may have already been done to it, that the situation from hereon is only slated to get more violent, more polarised and worse than ever before.
Hinduism has withstood the pressures of attacks, invasions and limitations of turf for centuries. It is neither expansionist nor does it believe in intolerance. Added to that is the traditional DNA of an average Hindu which radicals may tag as "loser" but more practically it is the hallmark of his quiet strength against all odds.
That there had to be some reaction among the modern-day Hindus to the sustained terror killings by Islamic forces, that the Government would do precious little to curb, let alone end that, was a possibility that had entered intense drawing room speculation.
But to actually have the Government say without doubt that a terror attack was engineered by a Hindu outfit, with the involvement of a serving Armyman and some sadhus, was shocking enough to still be considered incredible. Only time will tell how true allegations on both sides of the spectrum are - whether it is a calculated and dangerous gameplan, or an actual case of counter terror - as things stand today, a lot of moral high-ground has been lost.
Till now, "all terrorists are Muslims" was a line with no contradictions. Till now, the innocent man had been victim of only one kind of religious violence. But now, there will be so many voices - both Hindu and Muslim - blaming each other of oneupmanship. That this would be at the sole cost of the common man is unfortunate.
One can only pray, that Malegaon is a peripheral case of reaction, terror or whatever. It looks like it, because, as I said, Hinduism does not genetically have the drive to go on a killing spree. It can barely shout and scream against oppression, it can barely get together on punishment to, say an Afzal Guru, it is yet to end the debate on secular vs pseudo-secular. Can such a disorganised religion actually carry on a bloody campaign on any ground over any issue? Does not seem likely.
As for the men and woman who are being questioned by the ATS for the Malegaon blasts, the investigating agency does seem to have gone over the top in leaking information about almost everything about the investigation - some nuggets of "confessions" sounding more ridiculous than birds swimming in oceanic deep.
Also to be noted is the fact that somewhere along the ATS trail, both the public and the authorities have forgotten to follow-up on the Jamia encounter, the serial blasts from Bangalore to Delhi to Assam, and where Tauqeer has vanished, how a demographically changed North-East is about to be exploded by illegal migrants and how there has been no progress - none at all - on all previous terror cases. By all means, go after Abhinav Bharat if it did Malegoan, but not with motive beyond brief.
Published November 16, 2008, http://www.dailypioneer.com/134640/Can-we-please-nail-the-truth.html
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