Terrorism rooted in rancour, distrust

THE blast that killed 15 people near the Red Fort on November 10 came as a rude shock not only to our muscular government but also to citizens across the country. A terror module allied to the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed was unearthed. Most of those arrested so far are doctors.

What is so surprising? The common man can’t imagine that those whose noble profession expects them to serve the public can play a part in terror activities. Among the accused are Muslim doctors from states/UTs such as J&K, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and West Bengal.

There is tough competition for seats in medical colleges. Studies continue for over five years, and if students wish to specialise in any branch of medicine, it entails another two years or more. Having spent the best years of their youth preparing for a profession that is all about curing patients and saving lives, why would they turn to killing or maiming innocent people?

The answer lies in the motives of other terror modules that have been busted over the years. Abhinav Bharat was a lone module surprisingly embedded in the majority community; it was unearthed by Maharashtra’s Anti-Terrorist Squad. Its members resorted to terrorism because they were dissatisfied with the steps taken by the ruling BJP against jihadi terrorists.

Deep anger drove even those who were advantageously placed in the political sphere. So, what about those who had already got a raw deal? The ground was prepared for rancour and hate to thrive when the Muslim-majority J&K was deprived of statehood and condemned to an inferior status by those who should have welcomed it into the ranks of the secular and the equal. It was a rude reminder to the people of the state-turned-UT that they could not be trusted.

The Modi-Shah duo could not stop boasting about the transformation it had engineered in J&K. The UT was flooded with more troops and paramilitary forces, expecting thereby that cross-border terrorism and separatism among the Kashmiris would be curbed. That happened initially because of the surprise factor. It took a few years for the disgruntled elements to regroup, but the inevitable rejection has surfaced and become a reality.

Legendary statesman Atal Bihari Vajpayee had approached this ticklish and perennial Hindu-Muslim problem with much thought and finesse. He placed his trust in AS Dulat (R&AW chief in 1999-2000), who had cultivated a lasting friendship with Farooq Abdullah. The Abdullahs have been largely responsible for the Kashmiri Muslim siding with India in its territorial dispute with its Muslim-majority neighbour Pakistan. But the present BJP-led government had other plans. It decided to use aggression to subdue the native Kashmiri Muslim and prove to its supporters that it was a strong government, unlike the Congress-led UPA and even the Vajpayee dispensation.

Such an approach rarely works. If citizens do not welcome the prospect of brotherhood, there is no way that the Indian State — or any State, for that matter — can rule except by force. Terrorism sprouts in such settings. The Irish Republican Army kept the British Army on its toes for a century and more in Northern Ireland. It was an uneasy peace that was enforced till the British government decided to change tack and began to concentrate on winning hearts and minds instead.

Some of the main conspirators in the Red Fort blast case are from Pulwama, which had witnessed a suicide bombing in February 2019 that claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel. India retaliated with the Balakot airstrikes. Earlier this year, Operation Sindoor was our successfully executed reply to the Pahalgam terror attack. The Indian Air Force and the supporting ground forces carried out their jobs with precision by dismantling several terror hideouts in our neighbour’s territory.

Unfortunately, our Prime Minister could not restrain his euphoria and threatened to repeat Op Sindoor if and when Pakistan dared to sponsor terror across the border again. Neither warring neighbours nor major world powers will be able to cope with the consequences of never-ending hostilities in the Indian subcontinent.

After the Delhi car blast, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement praising India’s “studied response” and success in identifying terror modules within the country. He voiced America’s support for stern action against terrorists according to the law of the land.

Reading between the lines, it can be guessed that he advised against another round of Op Sindoor. It would be foolhardy to enter into an armed conflict with our nuclear-armed neighbour. We may suffer some loss of ego and pride but that would be a small price to pay in the backdrop of the progress we have made through infrastructure development and economic advancement during PM Modi’s reign.

The investigation into the Red Fort case has been entrusted to the National Investigation Agency, presently led by Sadanand Date, easily one of the best IPS officers I have come across in my years in the police and after my retirement. He is an officer with a conscience — fair, just and honest to the core. He will deliver the culprits to the courts and hope that justice is done.

The terror module had planned attacks all over India. Its tentacles had spread far beyond Haryana and the Al Falah University where it incubated. At least one major task has been achieved as several smaller modules have been neutralised, but the strife will continue in the foreseeable future.

Distrust between Hindus and Muslims has existed for centuries, and I dare say the animosity will not disappear in a hurry. But a modus vivendi has to be worked out for the simple reason that even a muscular regime cannot just wish away 15 per cent (Muslims) of India’s population. Lynchings, bulldozer justice, allegations of love jihad — all this has to stop.