Here a few shocking news headlines in the recent past-
- Devendra Gupta and Lokesh Sharma chargesheeted for Ajmer and Mecca Masjid blasts
- Pragya Singh Thakur chargesheeted for Malegaon blast case. Her name figures in the Ajmer Sharif blast also
- Sandeep Dange and Ramchandra wanted for the terror strikes at Ajmer Sharif and Mecca Masjid
- Sunil Joshi – the key player in the saffron terror plot, linked to the accused in the saffron terror bombings
- Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit and Swami Aseemanand arrested for involvement in Malegaon blast
Saffron terror has been a great threat to the integrity and security of the nation for some time now. If you look at any radical state, it can be generalized that radicalization usually occurs among minority, poor, uneducated and deprived groups, in areas where the rule of law is weak. Radicalization occurred in Afghanistan due to the continuous poking by Pakistan and the Soviet invasion. Interestingly, the Saffron radicalization in India does not meet this generalization. A relatively literate, rich and affluent group of people have been radicalized in India. This is the scary part.
The intriguing question is, why have some Hindus resorted to violence of this kind.? What makes them make bomb and kill innocent people? Is it revenge? Or merely the fear of Muslims? I think it’s a byproduct of our government’s inability to neutralize Islamic terror, because of their inherent inefficiencies mixed with their policies of minority appeasement, these people possibly decided to take matters in their own hands.
Historically, the separation of Pakistan and the issues surrounding the Hyderabad state have always aired the fire. Recent Kashmir issues and terrorist attacks have not helped either. That today a section of both Muslim and Hindu communities are resorting to terrorism, our successive governments have to take a large part of the blame.
If the government had done its job in neutralizing Islamic terror, Hindu terrorists would not have been born. But all these years, government was busy cooking politics out of these sensitive human sentiments.
Recently, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat publicly told extremists to leave RSS. It was really brave of Bhagwat in admitting that there was indeed a section, although small, within the Hindu society which believed in such actions. In a society driven by religious sentiments, where international media is busy tagging Muslims as terrorists, Bhagwat had the guts to blame people in his own organization!
These Hindu fundamentalists have surely managed to terrorize people, not just Muslims, but also Hindus. An eye for an eye can make the whole world go blind. No one wants terror. It is only on the whim of a few mindless brutes that people are killed. In the event of another bomb blast who will come under suspicion? Hindu fundamentalists or Muslim fundamentalists? Or will it be decided by the religion of the majority of victims? Of course we know our intelligence will claim to be clueless.
It is high time we realize that radicalization of any faith is bad. Pakistan is on the verge of becoming another talibanised nation, because of just this. Fighting terror with terror is not an option. Isn’t Naxalism enough a problem in India that proves this? As Noam Chomsky states - “Everyone’s worried about stopping terrorism. Well, there’s really an easy way: Stop participating in it!”
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Being a programmer analyst in Brocade Communications, Bangalore, Sourav has more than coding and software development on his mind. He passionately writes poems in Hindi, and has authored two books of 101 poems each. He is a freelance writer and has written many articles for several newspapers, magazines and websites. You will often find him coding in his computer, reading journals, or discussing world politics and culture over endless cups of tea...
Peta Jinnath Andersen is a freelance and fiction writer. Born in Sydney, Australia, to a Fiji-Indian father and Scottish mother, she’s a bit confused about her background, but loves it all the same. Currently living in the US, she has just had her first child, and is busy studying hard in an effort to learn more about her Indian heritage – including taking Hindi lessons – so she can teach her son about just what it is that makes an NRI special.
on July 27, 2011
at 7:13 am
For many of us Hinduism means tolerance and freedom to believe in our religion the way we wish to. The words “Hindu fundamentalist” sound like anachronism, so perhaps we refuse to take it seriously.
But perhaps we do need to take it seriously, because of their way of looking at Hindu as only one particular way, which if you do not follow, you are not Hindu. And their willingness to use verbal abuse, physical violence, for anything they consider as “insult”, is same as of any other fundamentalist group.
on July 28, 2011
at 9:28 pm
be wary of fighting a demon looking into its eyes, lest you become the demon that you fight….
on July 29, 2011
at 3:23 pm
This is another one I have a problem with. Hinduism, as I have always seen it, has always been one of the most tolerand, relaxed religions in the world. Its adherents are generally peaceful and accepting of all kinds of religions, cultures, faiths etc. theer tends to be less dogma and restrictive practices and commandments than any other religion I know, except perhaps buddhism. Every hindu I know is super relaxed about virtually everything!
And yet, saffron terror is being touted as a huge problem? It doesn’t add up, at least in my experience. There may certainly be an element of extremism but the vast majority of Hindus, again from my experience, have no interest at all in these kinds of things.
Contrast hinduism with the strong dogma of many other religions and the idea of saffron terror being a big seems ridiculous, at least to me.