Editorial: ‘Saffron terrorism’Source:
Editorial: ?Saffron terrorism? - Arab News
Is there no limit to the hypocrisy and double standards of India’s political parties?
The Bharatiya Janata Party and its ideological ally Shiv Sena brought down the house on Friday over Home Minister Chidambaram’s innocuous remarks cautioning the nation against the phenomenon of “saffron terrorism.” (Saffron is a color associated with Hinduism).
Interestingly, in his speech, made at a conference of top police and intelligence officials this week, the minister had also talked of “jehadi terrorists.” The Hindutva parties, of course, had no issues with that. True to their rabble-rousing style, the BJP and Sena not just managed to ground Parliament proceedings, they put the government on the mat by demanding the minister’s head and an apology for insulting all Hindus.
So much so the governing Congress, ever fearful of hurting the sensitivities of the majority community, had to field its spokesperson to water down Chidambaram’s “saffron terror” remarks. Terror has no color, was more or less the thrust of his hypothesis.
Of course, no faith, race or country has a monopoly over terrorism. This is why we are opposed to all convenient and misguided labeling and stereotyping of any particular group or community. Terror is terror and crime is crime, no matter who the perpetrators or victims are. This, however, does not mean there’s no substance in Chidambaram’s caveat on the Hindu militancy threat facing the world’s largest democracy.
Indeed, the Hindutva brigade’s clamorous protests and their claim that there’s no such thing as saffron terrorism are simply breathtaking. It’s the same parties that have for years shouted from the rooftops about the threat of “Muslim terrorists and Islamic terrorism” stigmatizing an entire community. Now they have suddenly developed a distaste for labels.
But they cannot suppress the truth forever. And the truth about the Hindutva terror and the dangerous games fascist organizations such as RSS and its numerous avatars and fronts that include BJP, VHP and Bajrang Dal have long played is finally coming out.
Over the past several months, the Central Bureau of Investigation and security agencies have made some sensational arrests that include top RSS and VHP functionaries, who have been involved in numerous terror attacks across India. It is now established beyond doubt that Hindu extremists were behind the 2007 terror strikes on the historical Makkah Masjid in Hyderabad and the famous Ajmer shrine. Their hand has also been found in the serial blasts targeting Malegaon in Maharashtra in 2008 that killed scores of Muslims and attacks in scenic Goa in 2009. Even the terror strike on the cross-border Samjhota Express in 2007 that killed 68 people is now suspected to have been carried out by the same forces.
Interestingly, all these attacks were initially blamed on “Muslim terrorists” and Pakistan-based groups, leading to hundreds of innocent young Muslim men being picked up from cities like Hyderabad and tortured for months. In fact, many innocent Muslims such as Ishrat Jahan and her four friends were killed in cold blood as terrorists. Painstaking investigations over the past couple of years have found the hand of a dangerous labyrinth of Hindutva groups such as Abhinav Bharat, Rashtriya Jagran Manch, and Sanatan Sanstha behind the attacks. Cleverly exploiting the prejudice against Muslims in India’s security establishment, these outfits plotted against the “usual suspects” as well as the nation that they claim to love.
This is why it is rather rich for BJP and Shiv Sena to protest Chidambaram’s measured words. India cannot fight the challenges it faces on this front without calling a spade a spade. This does not mean there can be no terrorists in Muslim ranks or that the community can lower its guard against the threat of extremism in its midst.
If India remains a vibrant democracy with infinite tolerance for diversity, the credit largely goes to the all-embracing Hindu majority. This is why if extremist forces are preying on the community, it should come as a wake-up call to everyone.
in the first report TOI was sensible enough to mention the source but in the second they have decided to carry on the theft by adding some Indian masala.
