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| Ram Puniyani |
Ram Puniyani
Protests are being organized and threats to stall the
proceedings of next Lok Sabha session are being dished out to oppose the Home
Minister Sushil Kukar Shinde’s statement about the Hindu terrorism, its links
with BJP and RSS. (23 Jan 2013). There are two major components of this
statement. One is the use of the prefix Hindu for terrorism, and two about
RSS-BJP links with terror training camps. What Shinde called Hindu terrorism has
also been called Saffron terrorism or Hindutva terrorism. This prefix is to
point out to acts of terror indulged in by the likes of Sadhvi Pragya Singh
Thakur, Swami Aseemanand, Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit, Kalsangara, Sunil Joshi
and many like them who were either actively associated with the ideology of
Hindutva, or even were organizationally associated with RSS. Others were at
that time or previously linked with some progeny of RSS like ABVP, Bajrang Dal etc.
Many of them were part of organizations like Sanatan Sanstha, Abhinav Bhararat,
who again aim at the goal of Hindu Nation or are ideologically inspired by the
agenda of RSS.
The home minister’s remarks are based on investigations done Anti
Terror Squads of different states and by National Investigation Agency. Earlier
the announcement was made by the former Union home minister P. Chidambaram, in
July 2010, to Parliament that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will
probe the terrorist attacks on the Samjhauta Express and examine the conspiracy
behind the attack, including the links of the accused in terrorist attacks at
Malegaon (September 8, 2006), Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad (May 18, 2007) and at
the Ajmer dargah (October 11, 2007). He had used the word Saffron terror.
Various such acts of terror in which these people have
been involved have been coming to light from last ten years or so. In 2003, in Parbani, Jalna
and Jalgaon districts of Maharashtra; in 2005, in Mau district of Uttar
Pradesh; in 2006, in Nanded; in January 2008, at the RSS office in Tenkasi,
Tirunelveli; in August 2008, in Kanpur etc. Few of the details of some of these
acts are very revealing
- On 6th
April 2006 two Bajrang Dal workers died when making the bombs. The place
where they died belonged to the RSS worker and saffron flag was hoisted
atop the hose. There was also a board of Bajrang Dal Nanded Branch on the
wall of the house.
- In Thane on
4th June 2008, two Hindu Jagran Samiti workers were arrested
for planting the bombs in the basement of Gadkari Rangayatan, due to which
7 people got injured. The same group was involved in the blasts in Vashi,
Panvel also.
- In Goa a
bomb kept in a scooter went off on the eve of Divali (17th Oct 2009) in
Margao. It killed Malgonda Patil and seriously injured Yogesh Naik.
Another bomb was detected in Sancoale in a truck carrying 40 youth for
Narkasur competition. Both the activists belonged to Sanatan Sanstha. The
second aim of this blast was to create communal tension in Margao, which
has a history of communal violence. This group takes inspiration from
Savarkar (Hindu Mahasabha) and Hedgewar (RSS) and indoctrinates its
members into hating Christians and Muslims.
- On 24th
August 2008 two Bajrang Dal activists died in Kanpur, while making bombs.
The Kanpur zone IGP S.N. Singh stated that their investigations have
revealed that this group was planning massive explosions all over the
state.
- Indian
Express, 23 Oct 2008 reports that those involved in the bomb blast in
Malegaon and Modasa (Sept 2008) had links with Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi
Parishad. Similarly in Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu pipe bomb attack on RSS office
(Jan.2008) was projected to have been done by Jehadi Muslims.
The
common pattern of these acts of terror has been twofold. One, that in few of
such cases the activists related to Bajrang Dal or fellow travellers were killed
while making the bombs. Second these acts of terror were targeted to kill the
Muslims, so these acts were organized at times when the Muslims congregations
take place, at the time of namaz or festivals like Shab-e-Barat in Malegaon, or
in Ajmer Sharif where they come in large numbers or Samjhauta express where the
major number of travellers is Muslims.
While in the initial phase police authorities working
under the prejudice that ‘all terrorists are Muslims’ misdirected their probe,
the probe came on the proper track after the Malegaon blasts when the motor
cycle of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, the former activist of Akhil Bhartiya
Vidyarthi Parishad, a wing of RSS, came under the scanner and her links with
many of those who have been named above and are currently in jail, came to the
surface. These facts came to light due to the initiative and immaculate
investigation done by the then chief of Maharashtra ATS, Hemant Karkare.
Karkare pursued the investigation professionally putting together the threads due
to which today most of them are in jails. While pursuing these investigations
Karkare came under immense pressure from the politicians belonging to BJP and
its close cousin, Shiv Sena. During this time Narendra Modi said that Hemant
Karkare is an anti National, (Deshdrohi) and Bal Thackeray in his
Saamana wrote that’ we spit on the face of Karkare.’ Later Karkare got killed
in the Mumbai terror attack of 26/11, 2006.
The people involved in some way were associated to the
affiliates of RSS or RSS itself. Mr. Singh, Home secretary has given
some of the names from RSS stable who have been allegedly involved in acts of
terror
1. Sunil Joshi
(dead), he was an “activist of RSS” in dewas and Mhow from 1990s to 2003.
2. Sandeep Dange (absconding), He was “RSS pracharak” in Mhow, Indore,
Uttarkashi and Sajhapur from 1990s to 2006.
3. Lokesh Sharma (arrested) He was RSS ‘nagar karyavahak’ in Deogarh.
4. Swami Assemanand (arrested), He was “associated with RSS wing Vanavashi
Kalyan Parishad” in Dang, Gujarat in 1990s to 2007.
4. Rajender alias Samunder (arrested), He was “RSS Varg Vistarak.”
5. Mukesh Vasani (arrested), He was an “activist of RSS” in Godhra.
6. Devender Gupta (arrested), was a “RSS pracharak” in Mhow and Indore.
7. Chandrasekhar Leve (arrested), was a “RSS pracharak” in Shajhanpur in 2007.
8. Kamal Chouhan (arrested), was a “RSS activist.”
9. Ramji Kalsangra (absconding), was a “RSS associate”.
This is in
addition to Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Swami Dayanand Pandey, Lt Col Prasad
Shrikant Purohit, Retd Major Upadhyay, who have been close to them.
While some beans were spilled by many of these accused
the whole picture was pieced together by Swami Aseemanand, when he decided to confess
in front of the magistrate. In his confession Swami gave the details of the
whole set up raised under his coordination and involving many RSS workers and
their associates. The major reason for this whole planning as per him was to counter
the Islamic terrorism as witnessed in Sankat Mochan temple etc. and second goal
of theirs’ was to pave the path of Hindu nation.
The later investigation of ATS and now NIA has
unearthed the linkages due to which these activists are cooling their heels in
jails. Meanwhile in the wake of most of these terror blasts many a Muslim youth
were arrested, some of whom were later released for the lack of any credible
evidence. So this whole series of terrorists are Hindus. Does this then justify
to label this type of terrorism as Hindu terrorism? By no means! Shinde is
wrong to label this terrorism as Hindu terrorism.
Is the term ‘saffron terrorism’ correct? No way. This
term was used by many including the then Home minister P. Chidambaram in the
wake of the investigations done by Hemant Karkar in the case of Malegaon
blasts. While one does not approve the term Hindu terrorism or saffron
terrorism at all, one will like to see the background in which this term came
to be used.
The RSS routinely adopts resolutions seeking to “curb Islamic
terrorism with an iron hand”. The term Islamic terrorism was first coined by American
media in the light of 9/11 act of terror. This was the first major attempt to
label an act of terror with religion. This became the most popular word and all
and sundry resorted to this word time and over again. This was a deliberate
mischief by US to target the Muslims and thereby get legitimacy to launch
attacks in the West Asia to control over the oil resources. In India also large
section of media picked it up. RSS and its progeny in particular highlighted
the religious nature of this terrorism, and the word Jehadi terrorism was the
common one to be used. In a way associating terrorism with religion became a
dominant norm and it became part of popular perception.
In this backdrop when the
acts of terror done by many Hindus came to light, it somehow came to be labelled
with prefix Hindu or Saffron. Term Islamic terrorism and Jehadi terrorism is as
much wrong as the term Hindu or saffron terror. The right word for first one
may be Al Qaeda type of terrorism and for the second, Hindutva terrorism. Here
again using Hindutva terrorism is fraught with some misunderstanding. As such
Hindutva is a politics aiming at creation of a Hindu nation but due to its
containing the word Hindu in it, it is also taken to be a religion in popular
understanding. So the dilemma for Shinde! How to label this group of terror deeds?
Probably one will like to make it clear that it is Hindutva terrorism, it has
nothing to do with Hindu religion and the difference between the terms Hindu (a
religion) and Hindutva (a politics) needs to be made clear in popular parlance.
So it’s hypocritical to make
the intense noise while the word Hindu-saffron terrorism is used. Same set of
people are using the word Islamic terrorism, Jehadi terrorism and propagating
that all terrorists are Muslims. One has to know that the phenomenon of terror
has been promoted in the Madrassas specially set up by America in Pakistan to indoctrinate
the Muslim youth and bring up Al Qaeda type formations. So why demonize Islam,
Muslims and use the term Jehadi terrorism? Both such abuses of religion run
parallel to each other.
What about the statement
that training camps run by RSS and BJP? In all fairness one conceded that the
training camps run by RSS have gone to give the training in rifles but the
training centres of bomb making and use are not directly conducted by RSS-BJP.
Surely these activities are done by those associated with RSS-BJP. One can’t
take lightly the picture making rounds on social media, which shows Rajnath
Singh and Shivrajsingh Chowhan with Sadhvi Pragya Thakur. One also can’t
dismiss the fact that Lal Krishna Advani and Sushma Swaraj had gone to see the
prime minister to plead the case of Pragya Singh Thakur in particular. One cant
ignore that those running these training camps had or were associated with RSS
in some way, actively at that time or in the past.
So all this protests and
threats of BJP, threats to disrupt the session of Parliament are their usual
political tactics and do not have any meaning, as their indirect or direct
association with the terrorists is so much obvious. What Shinde is stating is
factual but terminology is confused, and that’s not due to his own fault. We as
a society have not been able to come to coin correct terminologies for
different acts of terror anyway, so why get away with using the word Jehadi
terrorism and haul Mr. Shinde to the coals for such a use of the term.?
The onus contents of the article rest on the writer,not necessarily of the blog publisher AmityIndias.
Kamal Hasan, the veteran
and versatile silver screen icon is in acute anxiety as his much awaited film
"Vishwaroopam",a film on which millions of dollars spent, finds no
way to entertain the big fans as scheduled, and he is running pillar to post
caught in legal battle as a few Muslim group protested against the film.
