A Turning Point For Terrorism?
Malegaon in perspective
Praful Bidwai
2006
The bombings in Malegaon, which killed more than 30 innocent people, are a reminder of the abysmal depths to which Indian society has sunk under the weight of sectarian hatred. Unlike many recent terrorist incidents, the blasts in the powerloom town of northern Maharashtra-often called a communal "tinderbox"-had a specific, well-defined target: Muslims. The victims were struck as they emerged from a mosque after the Friday afternoon prayers to observe Shab-e-Barat, or remembrance of the dead, in an adjoining graveyard.
After some initial hints that militant Hindutva elements were responsible for the bombings, Indian security and police agencies have attributed them to jehadi elements, possibly connected with the July 11 Mumbai attacks. Many security "experts" claim that the attackers' sole motive was to randomly spread "mayhem, confusion and fear". Some cite the long history of communal "apartheid" in Malegaon, three-fourths of whose population consists of impoverished Muslim weavers.
It's possible that the culprits were disaffected Muslims acting under extremist influence. But the police haven't established a good prima facie case for this. They're overlooking the fact that the bicycles on which the bombs were planted had Hindu names painted on them. They're overplaying the claimed "tell-tale" use of RDX explosive, although only one of three forensic laboratories detected is presence. The Union Home Secretary, no less, had ruled RDX out. RDX is not a Muslim monopoly. It can be procured by any determined group.
The official hypothesis also assumes that the sole aim of radical Islamists is to widen India's communal divide by creating disorder and mayhem-even if that means killing devout Muslims on a day of special religious importance. It also holds that "Islamic" terrorists are so completely irrational and so mad as to unleash massive destruction on other Muslims at the drop of a hat-with or without a clear, location-specific purpose.
But the Malegaon violence was not random. Besides, jehadi violence as a rule is not "mad" or "mindless". Typically, it involves a certain (perverse) rationality. It aims to send a "message"-about the vulnerability of a powerful adversary (the 9/11attacks), register a protest (against, for instance, the Spanish government's pro-US Iraq policy two years ago), or avenge an injustice (Abu Ghraib and atrocities against Iraqi or Palestinian civilians), etc.
Even suicide bombers don't act randomly. They follow a particular logic: Chicago University researcher Robert Pape recently studied 462 cases of "successful" suicide attacks in his book Dying to Win. He found that about 95 percent were "demand-driven" and aimed at foreign occupation forces, and not driven by the supply of religious fanatics. Southern Lebanon witnessed many suicide attacks during the post-1982 Israeli occupation, but these ceased after Israel withdrew in 2000. Iraq had no suicide attacks until the US invasion of 2003. Since then, fidayeen attacks have become commonplace. Besides, there's no organic link between suicide bombings and Islam. The world leader in suicide bombing is the non-Islamic LTTE.
Votaries of the "jehadi attack" hypothesis use extremely convoluted arguments bordering on sophistry, to which specific circumstances and facts are irrelevant. Islamic terrorists strike, they say, because they are, well, terrorists… Many such votaries had explained the Mumbai bomb blasts as having been motivated by a desire to damage India's "shining" financial capital. Surely, that doesn't apply to wretchedly poor Malegaon.
There's a simpler, more direct, counter-hypothesis. Malegaon's Muslims were vengefully targeted by Hindutva militants. Many location-specific facts support this view-especially recent Bajrang Dal activities in neighbouring Marathwada. This past April 6, two Dal activists Naresh Rajkondwar and Himanshu Panse were killed in Nanded while attempting to fabricate a bomb along with fellow-extremists Rahul Pande, Yogesh Deshpande, Maruti Wagh and Gururaj Tupttewar. The incident occurred in the house of a known RSS activist and Bajrang Dal-VHP member. A second bomb was recovered from the same place. Earlier, in April 2003, Bajrang Dal militants are believed to have detonated a bomb in a mosque in Parbhani, also in Marathwada, injuring 25. In August 2004, BD members allegedly carried out bombings in mosques at Jalna and Purna, injuring 18.
Shortly after the April 6 explosion, the Secular Citizens' Forum and People's Union of Civil Liberties, Nagpur and Movement for Peace and Justice, Nanded, did some serious fact-finding. They collected photographic evidence to show that the BD ran a bomb-fabrication operation in Nanded. Some of the pictures showed that of the local police tried to cover up Bajrang Dal-VHP involvement by planting fire-crackers-to suggest that the blast was caused by crackers, not bombs. The activists specifically warned of an imminent attack by Hindutva elements and pleaded for greater official vigilance. They were ignored.
It's impossible to justify the government's reluctance even to countenance the Bajrang Dal's involvement of Malegaon. One can only hope that it's not led by the belief that Hindu extremists are somehow more "patriotic", and therefore less evil, than Islamic extremists. The belief can only be premised upon Hindu-majoritarian, anti-secular views. It presumes that Hindus, by virtue of being the majority, are quintessentially more committed to India than Muslims or Christians, and hence deserving of sympathy, even when they're extremists. This obnoxious presumption profoundly misrepresents and seriously violates India's civic nationalism, based on the modern concept of equality of all citizens irrespective of religion or ethnicity. It's incompatible with our Constitution's foundational values.
Powerful refutation of this ugly presumption is offered by the barbaric burning alive of Graham Staines and his two children in Orissa by BD activist Dara Singh in 1999. The BD-VHP-BJP butchered 2,000 Muslims in 2002-one of the goriest episodes of violence against citizens and the Constitution in Indian history. This was a grave offence against India's plural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious foundations, and a crime against humanity.
Long delays in investigating the Malegaon blasts and arresting suspects speak poorly of the Maharashtra government. Even worse is the measly compensation (Rs 2 lakhs), offered to the victims' families, as against Rs 11.5 lakhs for Mumbai's victims. Some of the families scornfully returned the initial payment of Rs 25,000. Many thoughtful and sober Muslims are dismayed by the official double standards. Their concerns must be honestly addressed.
It'd be wrong to blame the Hindutva forces for Malegaon without solid evidence. But it'd even more wrong to tar with the same brush diverse organisations like Tablighi Jamat, SIMI, Muslim Personal Law Board, Lashkar-e-Tayyeba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, and condemn them without irrefutable proof. The state must not drag its feet on acting against Hindutva's lumpen elements. It must allay fears among Muslims that they are being selectively targeted.
The government should produce a White Paper fully documenting the VHP-Bajrang Dal's involvement in violence. The importance of this task is underscored by the report of an independent fact-finding team headed by a former Bombay High Court judge (B.D. Kolse-Patil), which says the anti-RSS Nagpur terrorist "plot" of last June might have been "staged".
The Malegaon bombings must be seen in context. Militant majoritarianism has held sway in India over the past 20 years and created great fear and insecurity among Muslims. Hindutva's rise has deeply affected official thinking and given India's counter-terrorism strategy an Islamophobic edge. A significant number of police and intelligence officials, both serving and retired, have embraced hard or soft Hindutva. Muslim alienation from the government has never been greater. This is especially so where Muslims have been harassed or treated with suspicion, as in Maharashtra.
The BJP's electoral defeat in 2004 has not radically changed this. Indeed, many official comments on recent terrorism betray vulgar anti-Muslim prejudice. They speak of "us" (Hindus) and "them" (Muslims) as if the two belonged to two different classes of citizens. The communal poison that has penetrated these agencies must be systematically purged.
First and foremost, the agencies must be ordered to conduct their counter-terrorism operations impartially, and to be seen to be doing so. They must be told by India's highest leadership that no anti-Muslim bias would be tolerated. Dr Manmohan Singh made a good beginning while addressing Chief Ministers on September 5. He has since asked them to rapidly implement the government's 15-point plan for the minorities. He must go further.
Second, an energetic drive must be launched to win Muslim hearts. Muslims must find a place in the core functions of police and intelligence agencies. Today, their representation in Central and state police agencies is barely five percent. This must be sharply raised through affirmative action and recruitment programmes. Prosecution of the culprits of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the 1992-93 post-Babri demolition violence must be expedited. At the same time, the government must launch a "mass contact" campaign to reach out to Muslims, not through religious leaders, but through the emerging secular, liberal intelligentsia.
Finally, the Centre must set up a high-level commission on Gujarat to bring the guilty to book. The Gujarat carnage is far too important to be left to the Nanavati commission alone. An unambiguous message must be sent out to Hindutva forces: their hatreds and prejudices won't be allowed to destroy inter-religious harmony and tear this society asunder.
Copyright 2006
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