[IMC-Editorial] Issues in Secular Politics-Oct.2002-II

[Ram Puniyani]

Friends


This bulletin circulated on e-mail, will be carrying fortnightly article
on an issue relevant to the contemporary threat to Secularism and
Democracy in South Asia. This bulletin is meant to discuss the topics of
current relevance and to raise the debate and questions in the
context of the dangers being faced by the democratic ethos from the
Religious Fascist politics.

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Ram Puniyani

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Combating Terrorism

Ram Puniyani

In recent times the country has witnessed a long list of acts of insanity,
attack on Sabarmati train, Parliament, Kashmir assembly and Akshardham.
Since this violence is supposedly being perpetrated by the International
terrorism, which derives its legitimacy from Islam, all the Muslims have
become suspects and the slogan goes that all terrorists are Muslims. It is
in this backdrop that Bal Thackerays magic solution to solve terrorist
problem is dished out for the benefit of the nation. First get rid of Four
crore Bangladeshis who have infiltrated, the pro-Pakistan Muslims should
leave the country and Hindu suicide squads should be formed. With this
triad of solution coming from Hindu Hridaya Samrat (Emperor of Hindu
Hearts), as some of his followers call him, the Nation will be rid of the
menace of terrorism and this Hindu Rashtra can relive the great glories,
says Mr. Thackeray!

His prescription that Hindu suicide squads are the answer to the Islamic
terrorism is not only flawed but it also labels the acts of political
motives as having their roots in a particular religion only. It totally
betrays the basic unwillingness to understand the causes of violence,
terrorism etc. One can add that it is not only an unwillingness to
understand the basic causes but also it is a deliberate ploy to instigate
the aggressive sentiments, to provoke the violence in the society. One
knows that the ilk of Thackeray have political motives in ensuring that
communal violence continues. It is only on the chariot of communal hatred
that the parties like BJP, Shiv Sena are able to gain electoral mileage.
Be it the case of Mumbai riots in 92-93 or be it the Gujarat violence, the
basic agenda of Thackeray-Modi combine is the same.

During post independent India the riot victims, the unfortunate lot, have
mostly been from the poor community. This statement has to be qualified by
the addition that this was so prior to Gujarat 2002. In Gujarat the
earlier observation that it is only poor who are victims of communal
violence has been upturned and now even the affluent can be the recipient
of the wrath of the bloodthirsty politics. Again in the similar vein one
will add that though the percentage of Muslims in the population is around
13, the same percentage amongst riot victims is 80%, and that too is per
the Pre-Gujarat statistics. That the observations in Gujarat will change
this for the worse, is sure. This violence derives its legitimacy from the
stray acts, which are either provoked or occur due to insecurity of the
community under the battering ram of the violence. The agenda of
majoritarian politics projects the battered minority as the threat to the
majority and in order to protect the majority the pre-emptive strikes are
undertaken. And thats how the butchers and violators are accorded, or get
themselves accorded, the prefix Emperors of Hindu Hearts. One notes here
that Thackeray was accorded this prefix in the aftermath of Mumbai riots
and Modi is being accorded this in the aftermath of Gujarat carnage!

To add to the good fortune of Thackeray-Modi, George Bush has provided the
international ideological support. Now the equation of Osama Bin
Laden-International terrorism-Pakistan and Indian Muslims being together
in their mission to attack the virtuosity of Western civilization globally
and the glorious Indian traditions here has been put together into a
single combination pack. Why and how the likes of Osama and Kashmiri
terrorist came up, what is the role of American Imperialism in promoting
the same is forgotten in the process. When and who trained the Osma group
into Jihad techniques, why only in oil rich zone, the terrorism originates
and prevails is also forgotten. It is also forgotten that the most initial
act, which prompted the terrorism to come up on the big scale in the
Middle East was violation of International norms by Israel, fully backed
up by the mighty US. The suppression of democratic aspiration in this
region, starting from overthrowing the Mossadegh regime by the US, the
previous aggression of US on Iraq and the forthcoming aggression on Iraq
by US are again understated.

The merry alliance of Sheikhs and despots with Uncle Sam, who is crushing
democracy in a ruthless manner wherever possible, is a matter of deep
concern for all the conscientious citizens of the World, be it Vietnam
where America unsuccessfully tried to crush the Vietnamese Nationalism or
be it Chile where a democratic Govt was overthrown and a butcher of the
status of Pinochet was installed by US, all has been forgotten from the
public memory. As a matter of fact the self-proclaimed upholder of Freedom
is the biggest suppressor of democracy all over the world. And this of
course is done to pursue its Imperialist designs. In a way Palestanian
militancy was a reaction to Israels highhandedness, Osama, himself a
product of CIA training, turned against its mentors for their dominating
presence and intervention in the Middle East once the Russian army was
thrown out from Afghanistan. What is the cause and what is the effect? The
popular perceptions, thanks to the Manufacturing consent by the dominating
states and the doctoring of mass consciousness by the dominating social
groups, ensures that the likes of Thackeray and Modi can merrily conduct
pogroms to support their political agenda favoring social status quo. One
can undertake an exercise of seeing the parallel between the agenda of
Uncle Sam and Hindutvavadis. One recalls that during McArthy era when
communists were being hunted down our own M.S. Golwlakar, the ideologue of
RSS, was writing to the Indian Govt. offering all his support to eliminate
the menace of Communism from Indian Nation. Five decades later when Uncle
Sam has unleashed a crusade against Islamic Terrorism the inheritors of
the legacy of Golwalkar are busy actually wiping out the Islamic
Terrorists.

Closer home, post Babri demolition, the anger of Muslim youth can be used
as a pretext to unleash the pogrom. Similarly the acts, which have no
religious motive, like murder of Mathadi workers or the burning of Bane
family (Mumbai) can be projected to be the attack of Muslims (since the
victims were Hindus) to annihilate the Hindus and so the mini fuehrer can
take over the streets and his minions can supply arms to the marauding
mobs to do their job. In this background the polarization of communities
keeps going on and the electoral chickens hatch soon enough for the
leaders of the pogroms. Thanks to the painstaking work of Shrikrishna
commission one can confidently state this a decade down the line. But
damage has been done. Popular perception has no time for such commissions,
they can well be fed with the soup that Muslims attack first and so we
have to... That the violence is not spontaneous, neither non-avoidable has
been more that proven by a comparison of projected Post Godhra carnage and
post Akshardham calm.

But here again the popular perception has no time to introspect. One,
people have enough problems on hand and two, the doctors of mass
consciousness are working overtime to ensure to enforce the message that
Godhra has links with international terrorism, Osama Bin Laden, Pervez
Musharrf and the Muslim next door. By the time the reports of inquiry
commission will bring out the truth, the ilk of Chote Sardar, the newly
anointed Emperor of Hindu Hearts, will en-cash the resulting polarization
in to the electoral arena. By the time the inquiry commission report comes
out, if at all in this case, the graves of those who perished in the
carnage will be submerged deep down.

The suicide squads in a way already exist. The impoverished poor
unemployed mainly Adivasis and Dalits, who can be made handmaiden of the
communal agenda, are already willing to risk their lives for a price. And
this is the new acquisition of the perpetrators of the cult of politics in
the name of religion. The march of the present policies are already
creating fertile ground for the squads, who for mere biological survival
will be coming in handy to be used as foot soldiers of Hindutva sponsored
violence. The trick involved is that the attack is projected as the
self-defense and the victim is projected as the culprit.

Is Mr. Thackerays concerned about eliminating terrorism? No way. This
terrorism is his best support. So he wants to see that the terrorism
flourishes, and so he gives the call for suicide squad. The proposed
squads can be the best incitement to the feeling of insecurity, which
promotes terrorist acts. Surely Balasaheb is on the right tract for his
political agenda.

(The writer works for EKTA, Committee for Communal Amity, Mumbai)