Giving reason to terrorism, as usual

One article in our newspaper — The Asian Age — opined that the recent serial blasts in Mumbia were the cumulative outcome of the vicious politics being played in the country in general and in Mumbia in particular. The author has first tried to link the “backlash” to the Shiv Sena’s inflamatory campaigns targeting the Muslim community, and then she has stretched the chronology right till the Babri Masjid demolition. Whereas, the actions of Shiv Sena and the tragic demolition cannot be condoned, presenting them as reasons for terrorist strikes is not only outright stupid, it also insults the citizens of this country who are trying to grapple with a monumental tragedy. We cannot rout-out a problem without going into the root-cause, of course, but attributing such barbaric acts to one reason or another justifies these acts in the eyes of at least a few. Terrorism can strike you just for being there, there in this world where there are always people who try to give a human face to diabolical acts. If you really want to know what terrorism is, go ask a family who has lost a bread winner or who has been rendered physically challenged for the rest of his or her life because of the so called “backlash”.

Terrorism of this kind is not driven by reason; it is driven by ideology — ideology to destroy everything that represents thoughts and ideas other than those espoused by a certain community. If you don’t think in a particular manner, you deserve destruction. It is as simple as that. Even if the mosque hadn’t been destroyed, even if the Shiv Sena hadn’t existed, these blasts would have occurred because they are not a backlash, they are a furthering of an ideology. An ideology doesn’t wait for reasons.

We’ll never be able to deal with terrorism if all the time we are trying to attach a human face to it. The terrorists only understand the language of destruction, and unless you don’t talk to them in a language they understand, you can expect no conducive communication. That’s why they don’t talk and negotiate, that’s why they carry out violent acts. There are no ifs and buts and perhaps and althoughs in terrorism.

To an extent I agree that terrorism, at least in India, is fomented by the opportunistic parties in India and most who play crucial roles in terrorist strikes are the locals, unlike in the West, they should be dealt with strictly. And this strictness will only pay if there is a general sense of justice in the country, like, do something undemocratic, and action shall be taken against you, whether you are a Hindu, a Muslim, a Yadav, a Sikh, a Jat, or a monkey. There should be no scope for discrimination.

People like Modi, Mulayam, Laloo, Bal Thakeray etc. too are a big part of the problem. They flare up communal tensions all the time and since most of the local terrorists in India have born the brunt of communal tension one time or another, this adds to the whole conflagration. In Maharashtra and Gujarat Modi and Thakery encourage Hindu rioters and in UP and Bihar Mulayam and Laloo support the fanatical maulanas. Laloo Yadav was so desperate to woo the Muslim votes that he used to move around during the elections with an Ossama-lookalike. It is tragic that one is supposed to “appeal” to the Muslim community by looking like a notorious terrorist.

If our government, at least in India, is really interested in tackling the problem then all the people mentioned above need to be dis-empowered at the earliest. This will solve 70% of the problem within the country. Second, the Muslim community needs to be proactive in its stand. They only show their secular side when they are threatened by a “majority reaction”. I agree that why should they explain every terrorist strike happening in the country and in the world? But an unavoidable fact is, most of the terrorists originate from their community. So there is certainly something fundamentally flawed in their thinking and value system. They have to stop glorifying the sundry terrorists and the underworld dons. They should decide something like, “Let the world be dammed, but there are going to be no terrorists amidst our localities.” They have to denounce the archaic madarsas and embrace the modern education system so that their children can be a part of the world economy and consequently stay away from destructive influences. They should not tolerate people in their community — this also holds true for Hindus — who flare up needless communal passions.

To achieve something tangible, a sense of fairness must prevail in the country, backed with strict actions against the terrorist. It’s a two-pronged process. Terrorists should be crushed like insects (no, I don’t mean insects should be needlessly crushed) but at the same time we should also tackle with the unguent socio-political soil that gives them the ground to grow.