THE INTERNATIONAL - International Indian

[ COMMUNAL MATTERS - INDIA ]
Sandeep Khardekar, Vice-President of the BJP’s Pune Unit
austerity, an Islamic lifestyle, and religious
devotion to gullible recruits, but he led a
lavish lifestyle. He is believed to have used
the funds he gathered from terrorist activities
for his real estate business. And IM collected
money through hawala, extortion and even
kidnapping. In fact many of those recruited
by Bhatkal alias Khan were petty criminals.
At the same time it is also worth noting
that the coastal town of Bhatkal in Karnataka
from where Khan operated, had suffered
severe communal violence in 1993 - 17
people were killed, almost a hundred injured
and hundreds of houses were burnt and
shops looted. But again, one should take into
account that most victims of communal riots
do not become terrorists. An example is that
of Qutubuddin Ansari, whose pleading face
became the face of the victims of the Godhra
riots. He was furious when the IM used his
photograph in a chilling e-mail sent by them
a few minutes before the Delhi blasts.
Psychological factors and brainwashing
But if a man has no criminal antecedents,
does not come from the deprived classes,
has not been a victim of injustice, then what
makes him turn to terrorism? Weak minded
individuals, particularly those with a lack
of closeness to family are susceptible to
brainwashing by the criminal masterminds.
This explains why educated people who
have led a privileged life get indoctrinated
by terrorists and also manage to fool their
own family members! A high profile
Prakash Javadekar, Rajya Sabha MP
example is that of techie Mohammed
Mansoor Asghar Peerbhoy who had a
coveted job. Not that it was easy to recruit
him. It is said that it took the IM 2-3 years
to brainwash him, but finally he did turn…
after being bombarded with horror stories of
Muslims suffering not just in the rest of the
world but also in India. He was also shown
material from the Gujarat riots. Recruiting
people with non-criminal and well-to-do
family backgrounds is difficult, but it’s not
impossible. And it doesn’t always work. It is
believed that several boys who were worked
on by the IM backed out of the bombing
plans as they felt killing of innocents was a
wrong thing to do. These very boys are now
cooperating with the police.
Says Engineer, “While family background,
the circumstances, social situation all
play a part, the psychological aspect is
also important.” Finally, it does depend on
how strong your mind is. That is why the
masterminds always pick on young people:
some of the members of IM are teenagers.”
Is India a soft state?
One reason cited for the increasing number
of terror attacks in India is that the Indian
government has a soft approach towards
terrorists. The BJP points out that the
withdrawal of the tough terror law - POTA
(Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act
which allowed the police to detain terror
suspects without the filing of charges and
also allowed them to withhold the identities
of witnesses and treat a confession as proof
of guilt) was a big mistake. “The government
has removed TADA and POTA, and today
we have no effective law in India against
terrorism,” complains Sandeep Khardekar.
But there are accusations that TADA and
POTA helped the police terrorise the
innocent. After all, a person will say almost
anything under torture. “Our police are still
the colonial police. All arrests are arbitrary
and most of the evidence is by confession
after torture,” says Engineer.
And worse, the police are believed to be
communal. “Great injustice is happening as
in the name of combing operations,” says
Siddiqui. Ribeiro admits that there is a bias
in the police force. “Some of it is natural as
they are part of the society,” he says.
So poor is the standing of the police
that many Muslim leaders doubted the
genuineness of the Delhi Jamia Nagar
police encounter in October where two
suspected terrorists were killed. The courts
have rejected the demands for an Inquiry.
“There is no hanky panky there,” confirms
Ribeiro. “But if Muslims leaders do not
believe it, then it is a reflection on the
credibility of the police.”
Conclusion
Communal feelings aren’t new to India and
nor is inequality. In fact, the very fabric of
our society is built on inequality and a strong
hierarchy…the feudalism, the caste system,
the wrenching class divide. The police are
known to favour the rich and the powerful,
and there are allegations of corruption too.
It is these very inequalities which have
made India a fertile breeding ground for
violence…whether it is Naxalite violence,
separatist violence or terrorist violence. If
more and more terrorists are springing up
from Indian soil, it is not too surprising. It
would have happened earlier if the global
masterminds had decided it should.
The solutions seem complex and elusive
but if one has to get to the root of the
problem, then it’s best to make a start with
the new generation by making changes in
the education system, by inculcating ideas
of secularism. There also needs to be zero
tolerance for communal politics.
Nita Jatar Kulkarni is a freelance writer
based in Mumbai.
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