The Hindu Business Line : Serial blasts: Don’t blame the government alone

No government can measure up when it comes to detecting terror plots and sub-plots with adequate time to spare to prevent their coming to fruition. They desperately need the help of citizens to tip them off. And it is here that a vigilant Muslim community can help, says RASHEEDA BHAGAT.

Targeting hospitals only shows the new depths to which terrorist organisations have plunged in their dubious attempt to get ‘justice’.

The horrendous serial bomb blasts in Ahmedabad and Bangalore, which killed 46 in Gujarat’s commercial capital and two in the IT capital of India, and triggered a wave of panic across the country, deserve condemnation in the strongest possible terms.

As expected, political innuendos have been tossed across from both sides of the political divide — the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government in Delhi and BJP leaders of various hues — as both the targeted States are ruled by the saffron party. The BJP leadership has once again made a pitch for the revival of Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), and some disparate, though subdued, voices have come from the Congress camp about how crime management is a State subject.

Watching heart-rending scenes of the destruction of lives, the misery and pain caused to families of the dead and the injured and the realisation that in such an atmosphere of terror nobody can be safe in any part of the country, has also evoked public anger. “India has become a soft State; we should learn how to deal with terrorism from the US and the UK”, and other similar sentiments can be heard from angry Indians sending theirs response to television channels and the print media.

That in Ahmedabad the terrorists had targeted two hospitals — a place where those already in disease, pain and suffering come for succour — only shows the new depths to which terrorist organisations have plunged in their dubious attempt to get ‘justice’ for whatever cause they might claim to propound. The very sight of doctors and other medical staff, patients and visitors — some of them children — getting battered and bruised in these attacks will result in these fanatics losing the slightest bit of sympathy that anybody might have for their cause.

Terrorist always one step ahead

Over the last 48 hours, a lot of lung power has been spent on what the government, security agencies, etc can do to prevent such serial blasts. But many voices have also conceded that the terrorist always has the advantage and is always one step ahead… he gets to choose when or where to strike, particularly in a heavily populated country such as India with its limited resources in stuff like surveillance cameras and other sophisticated equipment required to monitor the movement of people in crowded areas such as malls, theatres, railway and bus stations and places of worship.

India is not the only country where terror strikes with such deadly precision and frequency; most parts of the world have become vulnerable to the warped thinking of sick minds. But, in more ways than one, India is a country that needs to become ruthless in dealing with such acts because more than any other country, it has had an ugly history of communal polarisation.

It is a country that was partitioned on the basis of religion and the ugliest face of this communal poison was revealed at the time of Partition. The baggage of that ugliness and poison has been carried through 60 long years on either side of the divide, and has found a voice in the acrimony and anguish ingrained in the Kashmir dispute.

Hence, when terrorists strike, and organisations such as the Indian Mujahideen send out lengthy and triumphant e-mails not only claiming responsibility but justifying their dastardly acts in the name of the Quran, there is always fear of a backlash. Needless to say, when such mayhem is let loose — lives are lost, property destroyed, children orphaned, women widowed — the pressure is felt much more among Indian Muslims. How can they help not feel ashamed? Whether Jaipur, Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi or Ahmedabad, the signature is evident; it was the work of terrorists who are Muslim and who claim to be waging a jihad for causes that don’t deserve to be spelt out. That is because no cause, however just, can be served by killing innocent people.

But over the last few times serial blasts were carried out — all of them in BJP-ruled States — Muslim leaders at the local level have been quick to condemn the bomb blasts. What gives hope is that increasingly Indian Muslims are disowning such terrorists claiming to wage a jihad in the name of Islam.

And so we are hearing lines such as “these are not Muslims; Islam does not preach violence; these people will burn in hell as they are stealing parents from children or bread winners from families.”

Prof Bandukwala from Surat, himself a victim of the 2002 Gujarat riots, appeared on a television channel on Sunday, armed with suras from the Quran, which clearly spelt out how Allah has assigned hell for those who take the lives of innocent people.

He was trying to give more such examples but, of course, the anchor had no time for such stuff, and quickly moved on to the politicians and corporate honchos lined up on the show. But an important point that he made, and which has been endorsed by Muslims cutting across various organisations, is that Islam has no place for such acts of terrorism; “we do not recognise these people as Muslims”, he said.

Muslims have to do more

It was indeed good to hear such strident voices. But the Indian Muslims will have to do more. Mere condemnation is not going to help prevent such crimes.

They will have to go a step ahead and help the authorities to weed out such poisonous weeds from their community. Let’s face it; no government can measure up when it comes to detecting terror plots and sub-plots with adequate time to spare to prevent their coming to fruition. They desperately need the help of citizens to tip them off. And it is here that a vigilant Muslim community can help.

I cannot believe that somebody can get sucked into the cause of terrorists without those around him — family, friends, neighbours, etc — not getting a whiff of the changes that are bound to be discernible.

To remain silent spectators when something is brewing in the mind of a friend or a relative is also a crime. One concedes that it is an extremely difficult task to report the suspicious behaviour/activities of somebody close to you. But look at it this way… by tipping off the authorities you will be able to help that person in the long term. For instance, how many parents would want to see their child ending up in splintered pieces as a suicide bomber?

Fortunately, and one certainly hopes so, most often it will not have to be such an acid test. Suspicious movement by some youth in your neighbourhood; purchase of stuff that goes into the making of a bomb — crude or sophisticated — such as gelatine sticks, also need to be reported.

Close and intense co-operation from the community is absolutely vital for detecting such terror plots before they can explode into death and destruction.

Bitter though it might be, the fact remains that if Muslim youth are going to be involved in such misguided terror missions in the name of jihad, then the odds are that their friends, associates or relatives from the Muslim community are likely to get the first signal.

On its side, the investigative agencies will also have to address the just grievance of the Muslim community, that they will not use such information to unnecessarily harass and torture people under the guise of investigation. Let’s not forget, trust begets trust and there is no substitute to justice and fair play.

Another challenge before the Indian Muslims is to ensure that their young get quality education; it is here that the leadership will have to rise to the occasion. Education brings not only good jobs but also enlightenment and the capacity to reason and see through designs aimed at exploitation. But, sadly enough, this is one commodity that is grossly lacking in the Indian Muslim community.

(Response may be sent to rasheeda@thehindu.co.in)

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