On 13th September, Delhi was again shaken by serial blasts. September 19, Delhi Police cracked down on “terrorist suspects” in South Delhi’s Jamia Nagar. In the Police encounter two ‘alleged terrorists’ were killed, one more arrested, while two others escaped. Three cops were also injured. Senior encounter specialist Mohan Sharma succumbed to bullet injuries latter in the evening in a city Hospital. The Police clamped down heavily on ‘suspected terrorists’ and arrested several others in Delhi and other places.
Things look quite hunky-dory. But what appears is so straight forward can often be very deceiving. Hyderabad, Jaipur, Mumbai, Bangluru, Ahmedabad, Delhi; after every blasts the officials line is that some “foreign hands” are funding home bred (and sometimes trained abroad) terrorists, who carry out those horrendous crimes to avenge oppressions on fellow Muslim brothers in Gujarat and elsewhere. What is perplexing is that even if there are blasts in some mosques, the point of view that, perhaps, some opposing extremists might be behind the explosion does not even feature in Police’s prima facie investigations. After every attack, members of a particular community are detained, harassed, arrested, tortured, and sometimes even killed in ‘encounters’. The famous Sohrabuddin “fake encounter” case still hounds up humans with hearts.
Tehleka ran a special series on the issue and what came out was astounding. For any attacks the way media and Police act, it seems as if entire community is the conspirator. It has forced the Muslims against the wall. I am in no way suggesting that Muslims’ hands are all clean and all encounters are fabricated. Perhaps there is some truth in what the Police and the Government say.
But for some bad fishes of the pond, holding entire community responsible and branding every Ahmed, Akhtar and Khan as ‘terrorist’ will only further alienate the community. Any one who is guilty must be punished. However, what happens most of the time is that while cops keep beating about the bush and real culprits are seldom escort free. The Police, the Judiciary, the Government, political parties, all seem to have some biasness or prejudices.
I don’t mean to say that culprits of the Bombay blasts should be given some clemency. But then hardly there has been any real progress in the Bombay riot cases. Cops, who were involved, according to the Report, still continue in offices. Nanavati Commission does not see any relation between Godhra carnage and riots that followed or finds no hands of Mr. Modi or his cabinet. This contradicts Narendra Bhai Modi’s theory of ‘action-reaction’.
Sachar Commission’s Report documented what Muslims knew very well- the deplorable conditions of most of them economically, educationally and socially. Yet not much is being done really on the ground.
I have my reservations in calling those perpetrators ‘Indian Mujaheden’, for I doubt the authenticity of their ‘Islamism’. Either those handful ‘Islamists’ are right, or the majority of Muslims, whom Islam teaches patience, brotherhood and peace; the very name of whose religion comes from Arabic word ‘salam’ meaning surrender and peace. It’s a religion which says “with you is your religion, with me mine”.
Naxal or Islamic militants, they may have different ideologies, but both of them believe in bringing revolution with the ‘barrel of the gun’. But the Government too wants to curb and check all forms of rebellion by ‘barrel’. This is not going to solve the problem. Going by the Police version of the entire incident, the situation has really become very grave, and hence needs to be tackled sincerely. If 17 and 22 year old (and sometimes even 32) guys, most of whom are University graduates are involved in such “antinational” activities, mere brainwash by some ‘foreign hands’ and mouth are not the real cause. Such doctors and engineers need serious counseling and more than that there needs to be greater efforts to try and integrate a particular section of the society, who feels alienated and left out.
My appeal to all politicians, left right and centre (and this includes Muslim politicians) is that do not look upon Muslims just as vote banks or follow the so called policy of appeasement. Look at Muslims, and Christians, and every Indian as citizens of one country, and more importantly look at them just as fellow beings as our Hindu brothers.
My even greater appeal is to all Mullahs or scholars of Islam, and the larger intelligentsia of the community is to try and understand the world reality, and do not keep a narrow view of a great religion like Islam. I remember a couplet from Jagjeet Singh’s ghazal:
“Mai na Hindu, na Musalman; Mujhe Jeene do.
Dosti hai mera imaan, mujhe jeene do.”
