By M H Ahssan
The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday designated the Jamaatut Dawa (JuD) as a terrorist organization and imposed sanctions on the Pakistan-based group that has called itself a charity. The JuD is believed to have masterminded the terrorist attacks in Mumbai last month that left nearly 200 dead and another 300 injured.
JuD projects itself as a charity organization, a claim that India has repeatedly dismissed. India has maintained that it is simply a front for the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) which was outlawed by the United Nations in 2002. When the LET was banned, JuD emerged as a charity organization.
Besides, designating JuD as a terrorist organization, the Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council has also declared its chief, Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, operations chief Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi (who is regarded by India as the brains behind the Mumbai attacks), its chief of finance Haji Muhammad Ashraf and a Saudi-based financier of the group, Mahmoud Mohammad Ahmed Bahaziq, as terrorists, subject to sanctions. These names have been added to a list of people and firms who are under sanctions for their ties to al-Qaeda or the Taliban, the world body said.
Despite the association of the JuD and these individuals with terrorism, their designation as terrorist by the UN Security Council has not been easy. At least three attempts at labeling them terrorists were blocked by China. According to a note distributed by the Sanctions Committee among representatives of its 15 member states, over the past two years, China stalled the world body's move for a Saeed-specific ban on two occasions.
Indian officials were anxious that China would block the move again this year. It did not.
Indian officials say that it was at the behest of Pakistan that Beijing had been blocking the UN move all these years. But this year it would have been difficult for it to do so, given the unanimity of opinion in the international community that action was needed against JuD and its leaders.
An official in India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), who spoke to HNN on condition of anonymity, said that in the wake of the international outrage triggered by the Mumbai attacks, the Pakistan government realized that whether or not the UN body designated JuD as terrorist, it would be compelled by the US to act against the group. "In the circumstances, it felt it would be better to be seen to be acting under UN orders rather than pressure from India or the US. Hence the Pakistan-China decision to go along with the other Security Council members this time."
Like Pakistan, China has maintained for several years that the JuD is a charity organization. It has justified its stalling of a ban on the outfit and sanctions on its leaders on the grounds that there is not enough evidence to prove that the JuD is indeed terrorist.
Adding to India's irritation over China's pro-Pakistan position on anti-India terrorist groups operating on Pakistani soil was a report in the People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the central committee of the Communist Party of China, which alleged that the Mumbai attack was the work of radical Hindus from India rather than terrorists who came from Pakistan.
It is ironic that even as China has been hardly supportive of India’s terrorism concerns, the armies of the two countries have been holding joint counter-terrorism exercises over the past week in Belgaum in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. Named "Hand-in-Hand", the nine-day military exercises have been touted as "historic" as it is the first time since the 1962 Sino-Indian war that the two armies have met for military training on Indian soil. A year ago, the two armies participated in joint exercises in Kunming, in China's Yunan province.
At Belgaum, soldiers from the two sides are participating in joint tactical maneuvers and drills, inter-operability training and joint command post procedures. The program will culminate in a joint counter-terrorist operational exercise with simulated enemies.
China-watchers in India are doubtful whether there are gains to be made from such Sino-Indian joint counter-terrorism exercises. For one thing, the two countries don't agree on who they regard as terrorists. Chinese officials rail at the Dalai Lama and his supporters as terrorists, but the Dalai Lama is highly revered in India. And China had until this week gone along with Pakistan in describing the JuD as a charity organization.
Many believe the main terrorist threat to India comes from organizations based on Pakistan soil, many of whom allegedly have the backing of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). But China has refused to endorse India's concerns with cross-border terrorism.
In a discussion with HNN last year, a retired Indian diplomat pointed out that "mindful of Islamabad's sensitivities on the matter [of terrorism emanating from its soil]" China was "reluctant to speak out against Pakistan's role in fostering anti-India terrorist groups".
Joint terrorism exercises he said would "remain meaningless so long as the Chinese are reluctant to endorse India's concerns with regard to cross-border terrorism".
That Pakistan's concerns are always on China's mind, even with regard to the location of joint military exercises with India, is evident from the fact that a couple of years ago Beijing refused to participate in an India-Russia-China joint exercise in Rajasthan, which borders Pakistan.
"If China is so mindful of Pakistan's sensitivities in a mock situation, what cooperation can India expect in a situation of a real terrorist threat?" the retired diplomat asked.
In real terms, the joint terrorism exercises have little value for India, say strategic experts. No anti-India terrorist outfit is believed to be based in China.
But both India and China face threats from terrorist groups based in Pakistan. Chinese nationals working in Pakistan have been killed in Pakistan's Balochistan province. Some were taken hostage in Islamabad last year. Beijing has been concerned that some of armed Uyghur groups have been getting sustenance from organizations in Pakistan.
Chinese officials have been quick to clarify that the ongoing counter-terrorism exercise has "no specified background and is not aimed at any third parties".
"The primary objective [of joint counter-terrorism exercises] is to enhance mutual understanding and trust between the two countries and their armies," Major General V K Narula of the Indian army has said.
Even this limited objective is unlikely to be achieved if China remains cool to India's terrorism concerns. China's shift in position on the JuD will be welcomed in India, but it is unlikely to be seen as anything more than a one-time step. This is a shift that has come under international pressure rather than from a change in Beijing’s perception of the issue. Delhi is unlikely to miss that point.
Articles by China's India-watchers in the Chinese media have expressed concern over the possibility of another India-Pakistan war. While some have suggested that China should seek to prevent this, in the event of a war, they have said that Beijing must back Pakistan as it did in the past by putting pressure on Indian troops along the Sino-Indian border as well.
Whatever trust the "Hand-in-Hand" exercises can help build between the two armies is being undermined by these ideas coming out of China.
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query terrorism. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query terrorism. Sort by date Show all posts
Monday, December 15, 2008
Friday, November 28, 2008
Wanted: An integrated approach for Terrorism
By M H Ahssan
The latest attacks in Mumbai — still unresolved at the time of writing — are aimed at undermining international confidence in India and to instil a sense of pervasive insecurity and terror within the country, in an attempt to weaken the economy at large.
International perceptions of India over the past years have been increasingly positive and there is clearly an effort to alter such perceptions to affect foreign investments as well as tourism.
What remains both tragic and astonishing is that after the attacks on the Marriott Hotel in Pakistan, greater precautionary measures had not been implemented in the country’s top hotels. Security at the Taj and Oberoi (Trident) was virtually non-existent in terms of preventing or containing a terrorist attack of significant magnitude.
There has, for some time now, been a great deal of talk about giving more powers to private security agencies to effectively carry out protective functions in private establishments and particularly for collecting surface intelligence. It is obvious, however, that little has been done in this direction, and private security remains largely cosmetic, particularly in proportion to the challenges of counter-terrorist protection.
As regards the responses, it is premature to speak of particular details of the ongoing operations. However, one thing is clear — specialised counter-terrorism responses remain highly concentrated in particular locations and with elite ‘special force’ units, such as the National Security Guard and small units in the Armed Forces, Paramilitaries and the special Anti Terrorism units in the Police.
At a structural level, there is clearly an excessive measure of over-centralisation and an inability to delegate authority and capacities of response where these are most needed — at the level of the ‘first responders’, the forces available at each thana and police post. Response capacities must be distributed across the country, at the level of the police station and, in urban areas, effective response times must be reduced to between one and three minutes to any terrorist incident. With the absence of such capacities of response, there is little hope that we will be able to reduce the effectiveness of terrorist attacks and the concomitant costs in lives, material and perceptions — both domestic and international.
A comprehensive reorientation and retraining of police forces across the country is now an urgent imperative — one that can brook no further delay. Protocols of counter-terrorism response must not only be clearly defined and disseminated among all security agencies, all personnel must undergo processes of immediate and continuous retraining, including simulated operations and crisis management drills.
It must, by now, be abundantly clear that the prevailing ‘emergency response paradigm’, the principal, if not exclusive, paradigm of response in India, has failed. The challenges of terrorism, proxy and sub-conventional warfare and insurgency are no longer transient ‘emergencies’, but chronic afflictions across vast areas of the country. Permanent and institutionalised mechanisms of response must now be designed to cope with these persistent challenges. Existing institutions are neither sufficient for, nor geared to, the imperatives of response to terrorism.
Crucially, any response that may be evolved or designed must be composite. This implies, first, that responses must be embedded into the permanent institutional mechanisms of security, law and justice administration. Further, weakness in any one aspect of the mechanism, from the first or ‘lowest’ elements of intelligence and policing, and up to the highest levels of administrative, judicial and legislative functions, jeopardise any gains that may be secured by any other part of the system. Similarly gains in one region are often frittered away as conflict and terrorism quickly emerge in another, robbing the nation of any cumulative advantage arising out of counter-terrorism successes or the ‘peace dividend’. Critically, responses must not cancel out one another. The tactical and short-term must be fully reconciled with the strategic and long-term. The endless and ill-informed debates on legal versus developmental versus political versus negotiated versus policing versus military responses are fruitless. This spectrum — from use of extreme force to negotiations and conciliation — is comprehended within the notion of ‘counter-terrorism’.
The latest attacks in Mumbai — still unresolved at the time of writing — are aimed at undermining international confidence in India and to instil a sense of pervasive insecurity and terror within the country, in an attempt to weaken the economy at large.
International perceptions of India over the past years have been increasingly positive and there is clearly an effort to alter such perceptions to affect foreign investments as well as tourism.
What remains both tragic and astonishing is that after the attacks on the Marriott Hotel in Pakistan, greater precautionary measures had not been implemented in the country’s top hotels. Security at the Taj and Oberoi (Trident) was virtually non-existent in terms of preventing or containing a terrorist attack of significant magnitude.
There has, for some time now, been a great deal of talk about giving more powers to private security agencies to effectively carry out protective functions in private establishments and particularly for collecting surface intelligence. It is obvious, however, that little has been done in this direction, and private security remains largely cosmetic, particularly in proportion to the challenges of counter-terrorist protection.
As regards the responses, it is premature to speak of particular details of the ongoing operations. However, one thing is clear — specialised counter-terrorism responses remain highly concentrated in particular locations and with elite ‘special force’ units, such as the National Security Guard and small units in the Armed Forces, Paramilitaries and the special Anti Terrorism units in the Police.
At a structural level, there is clearly an excessive measure of over-centralisation and an inability to delegate authority and capacities of response where these are most needed — at the level of the ‘first responders’, the forces available at each thana and police post. Response capacities must be distributed across the country, at the level of the police station and, in urban areas, effective response times must be reduced to between one and three minutes to any terrorist incident. With the absence of such capacities of response, there is little hope that we will be able to reduce the effectiveness of terrorist attacks and the concomitant costs in lives, material and perceptions — both domestic and international.
A comprehensive reorientation and retraining of police forces across the country is now an urgent imperative — one that can brook no further delay. Protocols of counter-terrorism response must not only be clearly defined and disseminated among all security agencies, all personnel must undergo processes of immediate and continuous retraining, including simulated operations and crisis management drills.
It must, by now, be abundantly clear that the prevailing ‘emergency response paradigm’, the principal, if not exclusive, paradigm of response in India, has failed. The challenges of terrorism, proxy and sub-conventional warfare and insurgency are no longer transient ‘emergencies’, but chronic afflictions across vast areas of the country. Permanent and institutionalised mechanisms of response must now be designed to cope with these persistent challenges. Existing institutions are neither sufficient for, nor geared to, the imperatives of response to terrorism.
Crucially, any response that may be evolved or designed must be composite. This implies, first, that responses must be embedded into the permanent institutional mechanisms of security, law and justice administration. Further, weakness in any one aspect of the mechanism, from the first or ‘lowest’ elements of intelligence and policing, and up to the highest levels of administrative, judicial and legislative functions, jeopardise any gains that may be secured by any other part of the system. Similarly gains in one region are often frittered away as conflict and terrorism quickly emerge in another, robbing the nation of any cumulative advantage arising out of counter-terrorism successes or the ‘peace dividend’. Critically, responses must not cancel out one another. The tactical and short-term must be fully reconciled with the strategic and long-term. The endless and ill-informed debates on legal versus developmental versus political versus negotiated versus policing versus military responses are fruitless. This spectrum — from use of extreme force to negotiations and conciliation — is comprehended within the notion of ‘counter-terrorism’.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Terrorism in India: An Uncertain Relief
By M H Ahssan
While India's relations with most of her neighbours remain fraught with tensions, her most urgent security crises remain overwhelmingly internal. Indeed, even international friction increasingly articulates itself through sub-conventional and terrorist wars that are predominantly internal, in that they manifest themselves principally on Indian soil. Islamist extremist terrorism sourced from Pakistan and, over the past few years, increasingly from Bangladesh, falls into this category.
A relief, in numbers
The recent trajectory of internal conflicts in India has been mixed. Overall, fatalities connected with terrorism and insurgency declined marginally from 2,765 in 2006 to 2,598 in 2007, and dramatically, from their peak at 5,839 in 2001.
In Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), for over a decade and a half the bloodiest theatre of terrorism in the country, there was strong relief, with terrorism-related fatalities – at 777 – falling below the 'high intensity conflict' mark of a thousand deaths for the first time since 1990. At peak in 2001, fatalities in J&K had risen to 4,507. Clearly, 2007 brought tremendous relief to the people of the state, but a great deal remains to be achieved before normalcy is restored.
In India's troubled Northeast, wracked by multiple insurgencies, the situation worsened considerably, with fatalities more than doubling, from 427 in 2006 to 1,019 in 2007, principally because of a dramatic escalation in terrorist activities in Assam and Manipur.
Effects of the war on terror
The numbers alone, however, do not give a clear picture of the magnitude of the challenges confronting New Delhi. Indeed, the sheer spread of Islamist terrorist incidents across India – linked to groups that originally operated exclusively within J&K – is now astonishing, with incidents having been engineered in widely dispersed theatres virtually across the country.
The trend in J&K has little correlation with specific changes in operational strategies or tactics, or with the range of 'peace initiatives' the Government has undertaken domestically and with Pakistan. This is demonstrated by the fact that the downward trend in violence has been consistently sustained since 2001, irrespective of the transient character of relationships between India and Pakistan, or any escalation or decline of operations within J&K, and has been maintained even through periods of escalating tension and provocative political rhetoric. This trend commenced immediately after the 9/11 attacks in the US and the subsequent threat by the US for Pakistan to "be prepared to be bombed back into the Stone Age."
It was this threat, a steady build-up of international pressure, and intense international media focus on Pakistan's role in the sponsorship of terrorism, which combined to force Pakistan to execute a U-turn in its policy on Afghanistan, and dilute visible support to terrorism in J&K. Thereafter, the unrelenting succession of crises in Pakistan have undermined the country's capacities to sustain past levels of terrorism in J&K – particularly since a large proportion of troops had to be pulled back from the Line of Control and International Border for deployment in increasingly violent theatres in Balochistan, NWFP and the FATA areas. Pakistan's creeping implosion has undermined the establishment's capacities to sustain the 'proxy war' against India at earlier levels.
Regrettably, if Western attention is diverted from the region, or if the Islamists in Pakistan are able to carve out autonomous capacities and regions, free of their dependence on the state's covert agencies, or if there is a radical escalation in the 'global jihad' in the wake of the proposed US withdrawal from Iraq in the foreseeable future, the 'jihad' in Kashmir and across India could, once again, intensify dramatically.
Bad governance and marginalization
Similarly, there is overwhelming evidence that the limited 'gains' in terms of declining Maoist violence outside Andhra Pradesh, are the result, not of any significant initiatives on the part of the state's agencies, but rather, of a Maoist decision to focus on political and mass mobilisation in order to "intensify the people's war throughout the country, intending to cumulatively cover virtually the length and breadth of India.
Far from confronting this subversive onslaught, the incompetence of Governments – most dramatically the West Bengal Government and its actions in Nandigram, but less visibly in several other States – has presented the Maoists with proliferating opportunities to deepen subversive mobilization and recruitment.
Despite the dramatic macroeconomic growth experienced over the past decade and a half, vast populations have remained outside the scope of minimal standards on a wide range of developmental indices. Indeed, the processes of 'development' have themselves been severely disruptive; what we are witnessing today is at once a process of globalisation and marginalisation; the rise of oppressed castes through political processes, and parallel increases in the intensity of oppression; unimagined wealth and distressing poverty.
Need stronger political mandate
Nevertheless, in at least two major theatres of insurgency, Tripura in the Northeast and Andhra Pradesh in the South, local administrations have backed the police to execute extraordinarily successful counterinsurgency campaigns. Clearly, where the will and the vision exist, the Indian state has the capacity to combat violence and terrorism.
Unfortunately, a widening crisis of governance afflicts much of India today, with a continuous erosion of administrative capacities across wide areas. There is, moreover, an insufficient understanding within the security establishment of the details of insurgent strategy and tactics, and the imperatives of the character of response. The deficiencies of perspective and design are visible in the fact that no comprehensive strategy has yet been articulated to deal with insurgency and terrorism. The security forces have, at great cost in lives, made dramatic gains from time to time, but there have been continuous reverses, usually as a result of repeated political miscalculations and the refusal to provide the necessary mandate to the forces operating against the extremists.
While India's relations with most of her neighbours remain fraught with tensions, her most urgent security crises remain overwhelmingly internal. Indeed, even international friction increasingly articulates itself through sub-conventional and terrorist wars that are predominantly internal, in that they manifest themselves principally on Indian soil. Islamist extremist terrorism sourced from Pakistan and, over the past few years, increasingly from Bangladesh, falls into this category.
A relief, in numbers
The recent trajectory of internal conflicts in India has been mixed. Overall, fatalities connected with terrorism and insurgency declined marginally from 2,765 in 2006 to 2,598 in 2007, and dramatically, from their peak at 5,839 in 2001.
In Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), for over a decade and a half the bloodiest theatre of terrorism in the country, there was strong relief, with terrorism-related fatalities – at 777 – falling below the 'high intensity conflict' mark of a thousand deaths for the first time since 1990. At peak in 2001, fatalities in J&K had risen to 4,507. Clearly, 2007 brought tremendous relief to the people of the state, but a great deal remains to be achieved before normalcy is restored.
In India's troubled Northeast, wracked by multiple insurgencies, the situation worsened considerably, with fatalities more than doubling, from 427 in 2006 to 1,019 in 2007, principally because of a dramatic escalation in terrorist activities in Assam and Manipur.
Effects of the war on terror
The numbers alone, however, do not give a clear picture of the magnitude of the challenges confronting New Delhi. Indeed, the sheer spread of Islamist terrorist incidents across India – linked to groups that originally operated exclusively within J&K – is now astonishing, with incidents having been engineered in widely dispersed theatres virtually across the country.
The trend in J&K has little correlation with specific changes in operational strategies or tactics, or with the range of 'peace initiatives' the Government has undertaken domestically and with Pakistan. This is demonstrated by the fact that the downward trend in violence has been consistently sustained since 2001, irrespective of the transient character of relationships between India and Pakistan, or any escalation or decline of operations within J&K, and has been maintained even through periods of escalating tension and provocative political rhetoric. This trend commenced immediately after the 9/11 attacks in the US and the subsequent threat by the US for Pakistan to "be prepared to be bombed back into the Stone Age."
It was this threat, a steady build-up of international pressure, and intense international media focus on Pakistan's role in the sponsorship of terrorism, which combined to force Pakistan to execute a U-turn in its policy on Afghanistan, and dilute visible support to terrorism in J&K. Thereafter, the unrelenting succession of crises in Pakistan have undermined the country's capacities to sustain past levels of terrorism in J&K – particularly since a large proportion of troops had to be pulled back from the Line of Control and International Border for deployment in increasingly violent theatres in Balochistan, NWFP and the FATA areas. Pakistan's creeping implosion has undermined the establishment's capacities to sustain the 'proxy war' against India at earlier levels.
Regrettably, if Western attention is diverted from the region, or if the Islamists in Pakistan are able to carve out autonomous capacities and regions, free of their dependence on the state's covert agencies, or if there is a radical escalation in the 'global jihad' in the wake of the proposed US withdrawal from Iraq in the foreseeable future, the 'jihad' in Kashmir and across India could, once again, intensify dramatically.
Bad governance and marginalization
Similarly, there is overwhelming evidence that the limited 'gains' in terms of declining Maoist violence outside Andhra Pradesh, are the result, not of any significant initiatives on the part of the state's agencies, but rather, of a Maoist decision to focus on political and mass mobilisation in order to "intensify the people's war throughout the country, intending to cumulatively cover virtually the length and breadth of India.
Far from confronting this subversive onslaught, the incompetence of Governments – most dramatically the West Bengal Government and its actions in Nandigram, but less visibly in several other States – has presented the Maoists with proliferating opportunities to deepen subversive mobilization and recruitment.
Despite the dramatic macroeconomic growth experienced over the past decade and a half, vast populations have remained outside the scope of minimal standards on a wide range of developmental indices. Indeed, the processes of 'development' have themselves been severely disruptive; what we are witnessing today is at once a process of globalisation and marginalisation; the rise of oppressed castes through political processes, and parallel increases in the intensity of oppression; unimagined wealth and distressing poverty.
Need stronger political mandate
Nevertheless, in at least two major theatres of insurgency, Tripura in the Northeast and Andhra Pradesh in the South, local administrations have backed the police to execute extraordinarily successful counterinsurgency campaigns. Clearly, where the will and the vision exist, the Indian state has the capacity to combat violence and terrorism.
Unfortunately, a widening crisis of governance afflicts much of India today, with a continuous erosion of administrative capacities across wide areas. There is, moreover, an insufficient understanding within the security establishment of the details of insurgent strategy and tactics, and the imperatives of the character of response. The deficiencies of perspective and design are visible in the fact that no comprehensive strategy has yet been articulated to deal with insurgency and terrorism. The security forces have, at great cost in lives, made dramatic gains from time to time, but there have been continuous reverses, usually as a result of repeated political miscalculations and the refusal to provide the necessary mandate to the forces operating against the extremists.
Terrorism in India: An Uncertain Relief
By M H Ahssan
While India's relations with most of her neighbours remain fraught with tensions, her most urgent security crises remain overwhelmingly internal. Indeed, even international friction increasingly articulates itself through sub-conventional and terrorist wars that are predominantly internal, in that they manifest themselves principally on Indian soil. Islamist extremist terrorism sourced from Pakistan and, over the past few years, increasingly from Bangladesh, falls into this category.
A relief, in numbers
The recent trajectory of internal conflicts in India has been mixed. Overall, fatalities connected with terrorism and insurgency declined marginally from 2,765 in 2006 to 2,598 in 2007, and dramatically, from their peak at 5,839 in 2001.
In Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), for over a decade and a half the bloodiest theatre of terrorism in the country, there was strong relief, with terrorism-related fatalities – at 777 – falling below the 'high intensity conflict' mark of a thousand deaths for the first time since 1990. At peak in 2001, fatalities in J&K had risen to 4,507. Clearly, 2007 brought tremendous relief to the people of the state, but a great deal remains to be achieved before normalcy is restored.
In India's troubled Northeast, wracked by multiple insurgencies, the situation worsened considerably, with fatalities more than doubling, from 427 in 2006 to 1,019 in 2007, principally because of a dramatic escalation in terrorist activities in Assam and Manipur.
Effects of the war on terror
The numbers alone, however, do not give a clear picture of the magnitude of the challenges confronting New Delhi. Indeed, the sheer spread of Islamist terrorist incidents across India – linked to groups that originally operated exclusively within J&K – is now astonishing, with incidents having been engineered in widely dispersed theatres virtually across the country.
The trend in J&K has little correlation with specific changes in operational strategies or tactics, or with the range of 'peace initiatives' the Government has undertaken domestically and with Pakistan. This is demonstrated by the fact that the downward trend in violence has been consistently sustained since 2001, irrespective of the transient character of relationships between India and Pakistan, or any escalation or decline of operations within J&K, and has been maintained even through periods of escalating tension and provocative political rhetoric. This trend commenced immediately after the 9/11 attacks in the US and the subsequent threat by the US for Pakistan to "be prepared to be bombed back into the Stone Age."
It was this threat, a steady build-up of international pressure, and intense international media focus on Pakistan's role in the sponsorship of terrorism, which combined to force Pakistan to execute a U-turn in its policy on Afghanistan, and dilute visible support to terrorism in J&K. Thereafter, the unrelenting succession of crises in Pakistan have undermined the country's capacities to sustain past levels of terrorism in J&K – particularly since a large proportion of troops had to be pulled back from the Line of Control and International Border for deployment in increasingly violent theatres in Balochistan, NWFP and the FATA areas. Pakistan's creeping implosion has undermined the establishment's capacities to sustain the 'proxy war' against India at earlier levels.
Regrettably, if Western attention is diverted from the region, or if the Islamists in Pakistan are able to carve out autonomous capacities and regions, free of their dependence on the state's covert agencies, or if there is a radical escalation in the 'global jihad' in the wake of the proposed US withdrawal from Iraq in the foreseeable future, the 'jihad' in Kashmir and across India could, once again, intensify dramatically.
Bad governance and marginalization
Similarly, there is overwhelming evidence that the limited 'gains' in terms of declining Maoist violence outside Andhra Pradesh, are the result, not of any significant initiatives on the part of the state's agencies, but rather, of a Maoist decision to focus on political and mass mobilisation in order to "intensify the people's war throughout the country, intending to cumulatively cover virtually the length and breadth of India.
Far from confronting this subversive onslaught, the incompetence of Governments – most dramatically the West Bengal Government and its actions in Nandigram, but less visibly in several other States – has presented the Maoists with proliferating opportunities to deepen subversive mobilization and recruitment.
Despite the dramatic macroeconomic growth experienced over the past decade and a half, vast populations have remained outside the scope of minimal standards on a wide range of developmental indices. Indeed, the processes of 'development' have themselves been severely disruptive; what we are witnessing today is at once a process of globalisation and marginalisation; the rise of oppressed castes through political processes, and parallel increases in the intensity of oppression; unimagined wealth and distressing poverty.
Need stronger political mandate
Nevertheless, in at least two major theatres of insurgency, Tripura in the Northeast and Andhra Pradesh in the South, local administrations have backed the police to execute extraordinarily successful counterinsurgency campaigns. Clearly, where the will and the vision exist, the Indian state has the capacity to combat violence and terrorism.
Unfortunately, a widening crisis of governance afflicts much of India today, with a continuous erosion of administrative capacities across wide areas. There is, moreover, an insufficient understanding within the security establishment of the details of insurgent strategy and tactics, and the imperatives of the character of response. The deficiencies of perspective and design are visible in the fact that no comprehensive strategy has yet been articulated to deal with insurgency and terrorism. The security forces have, at great cost in lives, made dramatic gains from time to time, but there have been continuous reverses, usually as a result of repeated political miscalculations and the refusal to provide the necessary mandate to the forces operating against the extremists.
While India's relations with most of her neighbours remain fraught with tensions, her most urgent security crises remain overwhelmingly internal. Indeed, even international friction increasingly articulates itself through sub-conventional and terrorist wars that are predominantly internal, in that they manifest themselves principally on Indian soil. Islamist extremist terrorism sourced from Pakistan and, over the past few years, increasingly from Bangladesh, falls into this category.
A relief, in numbers
The recent trajectory of internal conflicts in India has been mixed. Overall, fatalities connected with terrorism and insurgency declined marginally from 2,765 in 2006 to 2,598 in 2007, and dramatically, from their peak at 5,839 in 2001.
In Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), for over a decade and a half the bloodiest theatre of terrorism in the country, there was strong relief, with terrorism-related fatalities – at 777 – falling below the 'high intensity conflict' mark of a thousand deaths for the first time since 1990. At peak in 2001, fatalities in J&K had risen to 4,507. Clearly, 2007 brought tremendous relief to the people of the state, but a great deal remains to be achieved before normalcy is restored.
In India's troubled Northeast, wracked by multiple insurgencies, the situation worsened considerably, with fatalities more than doubling, from 427 in 2006 to 1,019 in 2007, principally because of a dramatic escalation in terrorist activities in Assam and Manipur.
Effects of the war on terror
The numbers alone, however, do not give a clear picture of the magnitude of the challenges confronting New Delhi. Indeed, the sheer spread of Islamist terrorist incidents across India – linked to groups that originally operated exclusively within J&K – is now astonishing, with incidents having been engineered in widely dispersed theatres virtually across the country.
The trend in J&K has little correlation with specific changes in operational strategies or tactics, or with the range of 'peace initiatives' the Government has undertaken domestically and with Pakistan. This is demonstrated by the fact that the downward trend in violence has been consistently sustained since 2001, irrespective of the transient character of relationships between India and Pakistan, or any escalation or decline of operations within J&K, and has been maintained even through periods of escalating tension and provocative political rhetoric. This trend commenced immediately after the 9/11 attacks in the US and the subsequent threat by the US for Pakistan to "be prepared to be bombed back into the Stone Age."
It was this threat, a steady build-up of international pressure, and intense international media focus on Pakistan's role in the sponsorship of terrorism, which combined to force Pakistan to execute a U-turn in its policy on Afghanistan, and dilute visible support to terrorism in J&K. Thereafter, the unrelenting succession of crises in Pakistan have undermined the country's capacities to sustain past levels of terrorism in J&K – particularly since a large proportion of troops had to be pulled back from the Line of Control and International Border for deployment in increasingly violent theatres in Balochistan, NWFP and the FATA areas. Pakistan's creeping implosion has undermined the establishment's capacities to sustain the 'proxy war' against India at earlier levels.
Regrettably, if Western attention is diverted from the region, or if the Islamists in Pakistan are able to carve out autonomous capacities and regions, free of their dependence on the state's covert agencies, or if there is a radical escalation in the 'global jihad' in the wake of the proposed US withdrawal from Iraq in the foreseeable future, the 'jihad' in Kashmir and across India could, once again, intensify dramatically.
Bad governance and marginalization
Similarly, there is overwhelming evidence that the limited 'gains' in terms of declining Maoist violence outside Andhra Pradesh, are the result, not of any significant initiatives on the part of the state's agencies, but rather, of a Maoist decision to focus on political and mass mobilisation in order to "intensify the people's war throughout the country, intending to cumulatively cover virtually the length and breadth of India.
Far from confronting this subversive onslaught, the incompetence of Governments – most dramatically the West Bengal Government and its actions in Nandigram, but less visibly in several other States – has presented the Maoists with proliferating opportunities to deepen subversive mobilization and recruitment.
Despite the dramatic macroeconomic growth experienced over the past decade and a half, vast populations have remained outside the scope of minimal standards on a wide range of developmental indices. Indeed, the processes of 'development' have themselves been severely disruptive; what we are witnessing today is at once a process of globalisation and marginalisation; the rise of oppressed castes through political processes, and parallel increases in the intensity of oppression; unimagined wealth and distressing poverty.
Need stronger political mandate
Nevertheless, in at least two major theatres of insurgency, Tripura in the Northeast and Andhra Pradesh in the South, local administrations have backed the police to execute extraordinarily successful counterinsurgency campaigns. Clearly, where the will and the vision exist, the Indian state has the capacity to combat violence and terrorism.
Unfortunately, a widening crisis of governance afflicts much of India today, with a continuous erosion of administrative capacities across wide areas. There is, moreover, an insufficient understanding within the security establishment of the details of insurgent strategy and tactics, and the imperatives of the character of response. The deficiencies of perspective and design are visible in the fact that no comprehensive strategy has yet been articulated to deal with insurgency and terrorism. The security forces have, at great cost in lives, made dramatic gains from time to time, but there have been continuous reverses, usually as a result of repeated political miscalculations and the refusal to provide the necessary mandate to the forces operating against the extremists.
Terrorism in India: An Uncertain Relief
By M H Ahssan
While India's relations with most of her neighbours remain fraught with tensions, her most urgent security crises remain overwhelmingly internal. Indeed, even international friction increasingly articulates itself through sub-conventional and terrorist wars that are predominantly internal, in that they manifest themselves principally on Indian soil. Islamist extremist terrorism sourced from Pakistan and, over the past few years, increasingly from Bangladesh, falls into this category.
A relief, in numbers
The recent trajectory of internal conflicts in India has been mixed. Overall, fatalities connected with terrorism and insurgency declined marginally from 2,765 in 2006 to 2,598 in 2007, and dramatically, from their peak at 5,839 in 2001.
In Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), for over a decade and a half the bloodiest theatre of terrorism in the country, there was strong relief, with terrorism-related fatalities – at 777 – falling below the 'high intensity conflict' mark of a thousand deaths for the first time since 1990. At peak in 2001, fatalities in J&K had risen to 4,507. Clearly, 2007 brought tremendous relief to the people of the state, but a great deal remains to be achieved before normalcy is restored.
In India's troubled Northeast, wracked by multiple insurgencies, the situation worsened considerably, with fatalities more than doubling, from 427 in 2006 to 1,019 in 2007, principally because of a dramatic escalation in terrorist activities in Assam and Manipur.
Effects of the war on terror
The numbers alone, however, do not give a clear picture of the magnitude of the challenges confronting New Delhi. Indeed, the sheer spread of Islamist terrorist incidents across India – linked to groups that originally operated exclusively within J&K – is now astonishing, with incidents having been engineered in widely dispersed theatres virtually across the country.
The trend in J&K has little correlation with specific changes in operational strategies or tactics, or with the range of 'peace initiatives' the Government has undertaken domestically and with Pakistan. This is demonstrated by the fact that the downward trend in violence has been consistently sustained since 2001, irrespective of the transient character of relationships between India and Pakistan, or any escalation or decline of operations within J&K, and has been maintained even through periods of escalating tension and provocative political rhetoric. This trend commenced immediately after the 9/11 attacks in the US and the subsequent threat by the US for Pakistan to "be prepared to be bombed back into the Stone Age."
It was this threat, a steady build-up of international pressure, and intense international media focus on Pakistan's role in the sponsorship of terrorism, which combined to force Pakistan to execute a U-turn in its policy on Afghanistan, and dilute visible support to terrorism in J&K. Thereafter, the unrelenting succession of crises in Pakistan have undermined the country's capacities to sustain past levels of terrorism in J&K – particularly since a large proportion of troops had to be pulled back from the Line of Control and International Border for deployment in increasingly violent theatres in Balochistan, NWFP and the FATA areas. Pakistan's creeping implosion has undermined the establishment's capacities to sustain the 'proxy war' against India at earlier levels.
Regrettably, if Western attention is diverted from the region, or if the Islamists in Pakistan are able to carve out autonomous capacities and regions, free of their dependence on the state's covert agencies, or if there is a radical escalation in the 'global jihad' in the wake of the proposed US withdrawal from Iraq in the foreseeable future, the 'jihad' in Kashmir and across India could, once again, intensify dramatically.
Bad governance and marginalization
Similarly, there is overwhelming evidence that the limited 'gains' in terms of declining Maoist violence outside Andhra Pradesh, are the result, not of any significant initiatives on the part of the state's agencies, but rather, of a Maoist decision to focus on political and mass mobilisation in order to "intensify the people's war throughout the country, intending to cumulatively cover virtually the length and breadth of India.
Far from confronting this subversive onslaught, the incompetence of Governments – most dramatically the West Bengal Government and its actions in Nandigram, but less visibly in several other States – has presented the Maoists with proliferating opportunities to deepen subversive mobilization and recruitment.
Despite the dramatic macroeconomic growth experienced over the past decade and a half, vast populations have remained outside the scope of minimal standards on a wide range of developmental indices. Indeed, the processes of 'development' have themselves been severely disruptive; what we are witnessing today is at once a process of globalisation and marginalisation; the rise of oppressed castes through political processes, and parallel increases in the intensity of oppression; unimagined wealth and distressing poverty.
Need stronger political mandate
Nevertheless, in at least two major theatres of insurgency, Tripura in the Northeast and Andhra Pradesh in the South, local administrations have backed the police to execute extraordinarily successful counterinsurgency campaigns. Clearly, where the will and the vision exist, the Indian state has the capacity to combat violence and terrorism.
Unfortunately, a widening crisis of governance afflicts much of India today, with a continuous erosion of administrative capacities across wide areas. There is, moreover, an insufficient understanding within the security establishment of the details of insurgent strategy and tactics, and the imperatives of the character of response. The deficiencies of perspective and design are visible in the fact that no comprehensive strategy has yet been articulated to deal with insurgency and terrorism. The security forces have, at great cost in lives, made dramatic gains from time to time, but there have been continuous reverses, usually as a result of repeated political miscalculations and the refusal to provide the necessary mandate to the forces operating against the extremists.
While India's relations with most of her neighbours remain fraught with tensions, her most urgent security crises remain overwhelmingly internal. Indeed, even international friction increasingly articulates itself through sub-conventional and terrorist wars that are predominantly internal, in that they manifest themselves principally on Indian soil. Islamist extremist terrorism sourced from Pakistan and, over the past few years, increasingly from Bangladesh, falls into this category.
A relief, in numbers
The recent trajectory of internal conflicts in India has been mixed. Overall, fatalities connected with terrorism and insurgency declined marginally from 2,765 in 2006 to 2,598 in 2007, and dramatically, from their peak at 5,839 in 2001.
In Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), for over a decade and a half the bloodiest theatre of terrorism in the country, there was strong relief, with terrorism-related fatalities – at 777 – falling below the 'high intensity conflict' mark of a thousand deaths for the first time since 1990. At peak in 2001, fatalities in J&K had risen to 4,507. Clearly, 2007 brought tremendous relief to the people of the state, but a great deal remains to be achieved before normalcy is restored.
In India's troubled Northeast, wracked by multiple insurgencies, the situation worsened considerably, with fatalities more than doubling, from 427 in 2006 to 1,019 in 2007, principally because of a dramatic escalation in terrorist activities in Assam and Manipur.
Effects of the war on terror
The numbers alone, however, do not give a clear picture of the magnitude of the challenges confronting New Delhi. Indeed, the sheer spread of Islamist terrorist incidents across India – linked to groups that originally operated exclusively within J&K – is now astonishing, with incidents having been engineered in widely dispersed theatres virtually across the country.
The trend in J&K has little correlation with specific changes in operational strategies or tactics, or with the range of 'peace initiatives' the Government has undertaken domestically and with Pakistan. This is demonstrated by the fact that the downward trend in violence has been consistently sustained since 2001, irrespective of the transient character of relationships between India and Pakistan, or any escalation or decline of operations within J&K, and has been maintained even through periods of escalating tension and provocative political rhetoric. This trend commenced immediately after the 9/11 attacks in the US and the subsequent threat by the US for Pakistan to "be prepared to be bombed back into the Stone Age."
It was this threat, a steady build-up of international pressure, and intense international media focus on Pakistan's role in the sponsorship of terrorism, which combined to force Pakistan to execute a U-turn in its policy on Afghanistan, and dilute visible support to terrorism in J&K. Thereafter, the unrelenting succession of crises in Pakistan have undermined the country's capacities to sustain past levels of terrorism in J&K – particularly since a large proportion of troops had to be pulled back from the Line of Control and International Border for deployment in increasingly violent theatres in Balochistan, NWFP and the FATA areas. Pakistan's creeping implosion has undermined the establishment's capacities to sustain the 'proxy war' against India at earlier levels.
Regrettably, if Western attention is diverted from the region, or if the Islamists in Pakistan are able to carve out autonomous capacities and regions, free of their dependence on the state's covert agencies, or if there is a radical escalation in the 'global jihad' in the wake of the proposed US withdrawal from Iraq in the foreseeable future, the 'jihad' in Kashmir and across India could, once again, intensify dramatically.
Bad governance and marginalization
Similarly, there is overwhelming evidence that the limited 'gains' in terms of declining Maoist violence outside Andhra Pradesh, are the result, not of any significant initiatives on the part of the state's agencies, but rather, of a Maoist decision to focus on political and mass mobilisation in order to "intensify the people's war throughout the country, intending to cumulatively cover virtually the length and breadth of India.
Far from confronting this subversive onslaught, the incompetence of Governments – most dramatically the West Bengal Government and its actions in Nandigram, but less visibly in several other States – has presented the Maoists with proliferating opportunities to deepen subversive mobilization and recruitment.
Despite the dramatic macroeconomic growth experienced over the past decade and a half, vast populations have remained outside the scope of minimal standards on a wide range of developmental indices. Indeed, the processes of 'development' have themselves been severely disruptive; what we are witnessing today is at once a process of globalisation and marginalisation; the rise of oppressed castes through political processes, and parallel increases in the intensity of oppression; unimagined wealth and distressing poverty.
Need stronger political mandate
Nevertheless, in at least two major theatres of insurgency, Tripura in the Northeast and Andhra Pradesh in the South, local administrations have backed the police to execute extraordinarily successful counterinsurgency campaigns. Clearly, where the will and the vision exist, the Indian state has the capacity to combat violence and terrorism.
Unfortunately, a widening crisis of governance afflicts much of India today, with a continuous erosion of administrative capacities across wide areas. There is, moreover, an insufficient understanding within the security establishment of the details of insurgent strategy and tactics, and the imperatives of the character of response. The deficiencies of perspective and design are visible in the fact that no comprehensive strategy has yet been articulated to deal with insurgency and terrorism. The security forces have, at great cost in lives, made dramatic gains from time to time, but there have been continuous reverses, usually as a result of repeated political miscalculations and the refusal to provide the necessary mandate to the forces operating against the extremists.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
A Journey Inside The Mind Of An Terrorist
Terrorists have written many books and pamphlets explaining their position, but most people are unable to understand them. HNN makes a major breakthrough by identifying the five pillars of radical philosophy- the bedrock beliefs that cut through all radical writings. HNN uses the writings of many terrorists and others to show how terrorists justify their actions through the Quran, the life of Muhammad and Islamic history. HNN tries to describes how earlier terrorist groups were stopped and shows how the world can work together to stop the terrorists of today. Ignorance is no ally in the struggle against Islamic terrorism.
Dissecting Terror
Whereas earlier researchers focused on the political roots of terrorism, many of today’s investigators are probing the psychological factors that drive adherents to commit their deadly deeds. Most terrorists are not mentally ill; rather they rationally weigh the costs and benefits of their actions and conclude that terrorism is profitable. Group dynamics and charismatic leadership play powerful roles in convincing people to embrace the expansive goals of terrorism. Terrorist groups often provide their members with a sense of belonging and empowerment.
In early May, intelligence officials foiled a plot to conceal a nonmetallic bomb under the clothing of an Al Qaeda operative. At the center of the drama of this second thwarted underwear operation is the bomb’s maker, a technical virtuoso who has created a range of explosive devices for Al Qaeda. This bomb maker is a shadowy, enigmatic, compelling figure, who is both fascinating and repellent.
What kind of man is this bomb maker? What motivates and sustains him? How can he be so recognizably human in some ways and yet in others stand outside of humanity? As an intelligence-community psychologist who has studied terrorism for many years, here are some provisional thoughts about this bomb maker's psyche.
Let us start with his highly developed technical skills. Irrespective of how his ideology may skew his worldview, in relation to his craft he is firmly grounded in material reality. His mind remains disciplined, meticulous and logical, which is why he is so dangerous. The FBI tells us this second underwear bomb of his design is an improvement from a previous design, so he adapts to failure and persists. He is not mentally rigid, at least with working on technical matters. In fact, his imagination is not anchored by normal conventions, squeamishness or taboos. This unrestricted quality of thought is evident in the very concept of a device that conceals lethal explosives beneath the groins of operatives where they are most likely to slip undetected through security pat downs at airports. The bomb maker knows the hard limits that respect for the privacy and dignity of other people impose on security personnel, and he twists these limits to his goals. He understands the boundaries of common decency yet is eerily free from them himself.
Psychological Imbalances
Terrorism cannot be dismissed as the work of psychotic individuals, says Professor Raj Khanna. Here, in a personal point of view which forms the basis of a free public lecture, the clinical psychiatrist says we need to understand the mind-control tactics which can lead people to commit vile acts.
These horrors seem inconceivable to us - what kind of people commit such acts of barbarity The aim of terrorists is to cause widespread fear in order to oppose an enemy which is usually stronger militarily.
Most severely mentally ill people become isolated precisely because their beliefs are so strange, caused as they probably are by disturbed brain biochemistry, that no-one else can comprehend them or talk to them.
Yet the influence of violent militants can garner sympathy and support among those in ordinary, hardworking communities. So terrorism cannot simply be legitimately ascribed as arising out of individual, abnormal experience or psychology. To explain terrorism you have to explain why millions of people endorse this extraordinary use of violence against unarmed combatants.
According to the theory, equilibrium is then restored and the individual and society as a whole can continue to function.
To take this concept of psychological freedom a step further: the groin region of a suicide operative equipped with an underwear bomb would be first thing destroyed when the operative explodes the device. This is why the very notion of suicide bombs concealed in underpants so readily becomes the basis for edgy jokes ("Have you heard? Fruit of the Loom is now Fruit of the Boom!" "Even if the bomb works, there's going to be seventy-two very disappointed virgins"). Such humor aims to defuse our unease at the unhinged quality of the psychology behind such devices. We ask ourselves: What kind of educated, informed mind does this? A design for an explosive device positioned to start killing from the groin out strikes us as unnatural, perverse and the imagination behind it both completely uninhibited and very twisted. His mind seems to lack some critical element endemic to the human spirit and to moral psychology.
He does not relate to human physicality in a normal way. For him, the bodies of terrorist operatives and anonymous bombing victims are tools, a means to an end, not the foundation of their personhood. The operatives' bodies—including purportedly his own brother's—become a component of the weapon systems he designs, and the destroyed or mangled bodies of the victims become props in a propaganda message he wants to send. The cold calculation behind the bomb maker's exploitation of these bodies contrasts sharply with what he expects—in fact counts on—will be the reaction of audiences witnessing the spectacles of carnage he helps to stage.
Terrorism is about hijacking the attention of the public with scenes of random carnage, and what locks the attention of viewers is fear and sympathetic horror. He understands the way others react to the use to which he puts human bodies but stands apart from such reactions while ruthlessly manipulating them. He exploits the compassion of audiences as much as he exploits the bodies of his comrades and victims.
Terrorist Modules & Strategy
This man is brave in a primitive sort of way. After all, in becoming an Al Qaeda terrorist he has become a hunted man and therefore courts death as much as he deals it. He is brave but not courageous. Courage requires persevering in the face of danger that is fully understood in all its facets—physical, psychological, moral, spiritual. Redefining danger contrary to fact to lessen its psychological impact is not courage but a distortion of reality. If you believe what you get by dying for the cause is an afterlife far better than what you get by living your ordinary life, being dead loses much of its menace. This is standard Al Qaeda doctrine, which incidentally also applies to devout Muslims randomly killed in the terrorist strikes. These anonymous innocents are considered fortunate to have donated their live for the cause, for which they garner guaranteed, glorious heavenly rewards far better than their everyday lives. They become "collateral martyrs" alongside the suicide operatives who killed them.
We can infer that the bomb maker subscribes to this strange inversion of the value of death over life. How else would he justify creating devices that kill so many? By way of contrast, let us consider how the deaths in combat of civilians and soldiers in professional militaries are viewed by most publics. These dead are certainly not seen as luckier than those who survive. We mourn and honor soldiers who fall in combat—even enemy soldiers—precisely because they knew beforehand that death would irretrievably destroy the treasured pleasures of their present lives and future hopes, and yet they went forward anyway. To consider them lucky to have died is to show contempt for the precise nature of their witting sacrifices when going into battle. Furthermore, to brand innocent civilians who die in war's path as somehow fortunate is a profound distortion of moral psychology.
We may conclude, therefore, that the bomb maker is brave though not courageous, that on technical matters his mind is precise, logical, firmly anchored in material reality, while at the same time free of ordinary constraints and taboos and therefore singularly daring and creative. His logic and technical imagination are cold and powerfully intact, but his judgment—that ephemeral mental quality that captures maturity, wisdom, sympathetic understanding of the totality of reality, including tolerance for the complexities and ambiguities of shared morality—is quite broken.
Friday, November 28, 2008
The tip of India's terror iceberg
By M H Ahssan
A wave of bomb blasts in four Indian cities over the past few months has drawn attention to a new, shadowy terror outfit which calls itself the Indian Mujahideen (IM).
In less than a year of existence, the group has a high rate of terror strikes - 43 bomb blasts over a four-month period in four cities leaving over 140 dead. The frequency and potency of the attacks have left India significantly rattled.
But it is not just the IM's capacity for terror that is troubling India. Just as worrying is the fact that the IM is, as its name suggests, Indian. Unlike terror outfits the Lashkar-e-Toiba, the Jaish-e-Mohammed or the Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami (HUJI), which are based across the border in Pakistan or Bangladesh, the IM - like the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) - is a homegrown outfit.
Although some of its funding might come from abroad - on Sunday, a Saudi national was detained at Delhi airport on suspicion of funding the IM - its members are Indian Muslims.
The IM first surfaced in November last year, when it sent an e-mail to a television channel minutes before serial blasts rocked civil courts in Varanasi, Faisabad and Lucknow in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. In May this year, it sent another claiming responsibility for seven blasts which killed 63 people and injured over 200 in the tourist hub of Jaipur.
In July, the IM struck in quick succession in Bangalore and then Ahmedabad. Four minutes before 17 bombs ripped through Ahmedabad, an e-mail sent in the name of the IM warned India would soon, "feel the terror of death". And then on September 13, the IM struck in Delhi, with five bombs exploding in busy commercial areas killing 8 and injuring 130. Once again the group claimed responsibility via e-mail for the blasts, saying they were intended to "stop the heart of India from beating".
Indian intelligence sources say a pattern is emerging which exposes the IM's modus operandi.
The IM plants bombs, made of easily available substances like ammonium nitrate (fertilizer) and nails, in crowded places and triggers them with timers during peak times to cause the maximum casualties.
Above all, "Its attacks carry the group's macabre signature - real-time e-mails to media outlets claiming responsibility for the blasts," an official of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) told Asia Times Online, adding that the e-mails are being sent through unsecured Wi-Fi internet connections.
The IM has used e-mails not only to claim responsibility for blasts but also to lay out its manifesto. The e-mails reveal that while it is inspired by the rhetoric of pan-Islamic groups, its motives clearly stem from anger directed against the Indian state.
The group's outlook was most explicitly detailed in the e-mail that preceded the Ahmedabad blasts, which it said were revenge for the Gujarat riots of 2002 in which over 2,500 people, mainly Muslims, were killed. It also drew attention to alleged injustices suffered by the Muslim community at the hands of the state, the police, the courts and enquiry commissions.
This anger with the country's justice system was expressed in its first e-mail, when it justified the attacks in Uttar Pradesh as revenge for lawyers beating up and refusing to defend three "innocent group members" detained for allegedly plotting the abduction of Congress party member of parliament Rahul Gandhi.
In its e-mail preceding the Delhi blasts, the IM railed against the approach taken by the Indian police, the media and the judiciary to terrorism, claiming it is hypocritical. "Why is it that Sangh parivar [a family of Hindu right wing organizations] violence is never dealt with the same intensity as Islamic terror?" it asked.
"The word terrorism is never used when a story on Sangh violence is told, no matter how large-scale the violence is. The violence unleashed by the Sangh Parivar in Gujarat was defined only as expression of communalism and the same is case with what happens in Orissa at the moment."
While the IM surfaced less than a year ago, its members are hardly new to the terror game, say intelligence officials. "The IM is simply a front for the hard-line faction of SIMI. It is just old wine in a newly labeled bottle," the IB official said.
The IM has emerged from a rift in SIMI between hardliners, keen to wage war against the Indian state, and moderates. While its increasing radicalism can be traced back to the destruction of a 16th century mosque by Hindu extremists in the early 1990s, the IM faction emerged only in 2005. But since then its members have been trained in bomb-making and explosives techniques in various camps around the country.
According to the IB official, while IM's ties with SIMI "have been evident for a while - the close links were underscored further during interrogations of detained SIMI and IM members". The IM had demanded the release of SIMI activists held on terrorism charges in the e-mail preceding the Ahmedabad blasts.
The IM's masterminds include many SIMI hard-line stalwarts, like SIMI general secretary Safdar Nagori. Now in jail, Nagori is said to be "the architect of SIMI's transformation to IM, its shift to all-out terrorism and war against the Indian state".
Abdus Subhan Qureshi alias Tauqeer, an expert hacker, worked for a major software firm in Mumbai before he joined SIMI and jihad activity. He is now on the run, wanted for masterminding the Delhi blasts and his role in several other attacks over recent years. "IM's emerging leaders are all 'graduates' from its terror training camps," the IB official said.
Police claim to have arrested several IM "masterminds" in recent weeks, with two suspected IM terrorists gunned down in a firefight with police in Delhi, and police telling the media of, "major successes in busting IM's terror modules".
However, in private they are not so confident. A senior police official admitted to Asia Times Online that what investigating agencies know about the IM could well be just "the tip of the iceberg", meaning the battle against the IM has only just begun.
It is not the size of the IM or its possible number of supporters that makes the outfit difficult to tackle, but rather the flawed approach of police and investigating agencies, which is only fueling further anger among Muslims towards the Indian state.
Civil society activists have been drawing attention to the harassment and random arrests of Muslim youth following the Delhi blasts, and claim the police version of the encounter in Delhi where two IM "terrorists" were killed is "riddled with holes".
The competition among various police agencies to claim credit for arresting terrorists and masterminds is resulting in the targeting of innocent Muslim youth, said a recent report written by a fact-finding team of lawyers, academicians and civil rights campaigners.
"This must stop immediately. It appears that after making SIMI the scapegoat, the police has now shifted focus to Azamgarh [a town in Uttar Pradesh from where most of those arrested in connection with the Delhi blasts hail] which is being dubbed the nursery of terrorism."
This groups adds that targeting young Muslim boys from Azamgarh or those who may have been members of SIMI in the past has led to an enormous sense of insecurity, fear and resentment in the Muslim community.
Terrorism is bound to be an important issue in upcoming parliamentary and state assembly elections, and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is already criticizing the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) for being "soft on terrorism". Having to defend its rather shabby performance in preventing terrorist attacks in the country, the Congress party is attempting to adopt a tougher position.
The UPA, which scrapped the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) passed by the BJP-led NDA government in 2002 on the grounds that the anti-terrorism legislation claiming it was anti-minority and had not worked, is in a bind.
It does not want to be seen to be as "soft on terrorism", hence its growing demands for new anti-terrorism legislation, and claims that inaction will undermine the party's support among urban Indians. But then there is also the Muslim vote, which is important not only for the Congress but for some of its allies in the UPA.
Anxious to be seen to be tough in tacking terrorism, police and politicians have been providing detailed press conferences on blast investigations, interrogations of those in custody and encounters with "terrorists" - but intelligence officials complain this is undermining investigations.
As the government looks for new ways to appear tough on terror, it is rapidly alienating the Muslim community as its targets hundreds of Muslim youths who migrated to the cities for study and work. These youths are now said to be streaming back their villages angry and disillusioned, with only the IM set to gain.
A wave of bomb blasts in four Indian cities over the past few months has drawn attention to a new, shadowy terror outfit which calls itself the Indian Mujahideen (IM).
In less than a year of existence, the group has a high rate of terror strikes - 43 bomb blasts over a four-month period in four cities leaving over 140 dead. The frequency and potency of the attacks have left India significantly rattled.
But it is not just the IM's capacity for terror that is troubling India. Just as worrying is the fact that the IM is, as its name suggests, Indian. Unlike terror outfits the Lashkar-e-Toiba, the Jaish-e-Mohammed or the Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami (HUJI), which are based across the border in Pakistan or Bangladesh, the IM - like the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) - is a homegrown outfit.
Although some of its funding might come from abroad - on Sunday, a Saudi national was detained at Delhi airport on suspicion of funding the IM - its members are Indian Muslims.
The IM first surfaced in November last year, when it sent an e-mail to a television channel minutes before serial blasts rocked civil courts in Varanasi, Faisabad and Lucknow in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. In May this year, it sent another claiming responsibility for seven blasts which killed 63 people and injured over 200 in the tourist hub of Jaipur.
In July, the IM struck in quick succession in Bangalore and then Ahmedabad. Four minutes before 17 bombs ripped through Ahmedabad, an e-mail sent in the name of the IM warned India would soon, "feel the terror of death". And then on September 13, the IM struck in Delhi, with five bombs exploding in busy commercial areas killing 8 and injuring 130. Once again the group claimed responsibility via e-mail for the blasts, saying they were intended to "stop the heart of India from beating".
Indian intelligence sources say a pattern is emerging which exposes the IM's modus operandi.
The IM plants bombs, made of easily available substances like ammonium nitrate (fertilizer) and nails, in crowded places and triggers them with timers during peak times to cause the maximum casualties.
Above all, "Its attacks carry the group's macabre signature - real-time e-mails to media outlets claiming responsibility for the blasts," an official of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) told Asia Times Online, adding that the e-mails are being sent through unsecured Wi-Fi internet connections.
The IM has used e-mails not only to claim responsibility for blasts but also to lay out its manifesto. The e-mails reveal that while it is inspired by the rhetoric of pan-Islamic groups, its motives clearly stem from anger directed against the Indian state.
The group's outlook was most explicitly detailed in the e-mail that preceded the Ahmedabad blasts, which it said were revenge for the Gujarat riots of 2002 in which over 2,500 people, mainly Muslims, were killed. It also drew attention to alleged injustices suffered by the Muslim community at the hands of the state, the police, the courts and enquiry commissions.
This anger with the country's justice system was expressed in its first e-mail, when it justified the attacks in Uttar Pradesh as revenge for lawyers beating up and refusing to defend three "innocent group members" detained for allegedly plotting the abduction of Congress party member of parliament Rahul Gandhi.
In its e-mail preceding the Delhi blasts, the IM railed against the approach taken by the Indian police, the media and the judiciary to terrorism, claiming it is hypocritical. "Why is it that Sangh parivar [a family of Hindu right wing organizations] violence is never dealt with the same intensity as Islamic terror?" it asked.
"The word terrorism is never used when a story on Sangh violence is told, no matter how large-scale the violence is. The violence unleashed by the Sangh Parivar in Gujarat was defined only as expression of communalism and the same is case with what happens in Orissa at the moment."
While the IM surfaced less than a year ago, its members are hardly new to the terror game, say intelligence officials. "The IM is simply a front for the hard-line faction of SIMI. It is just old wine in a newly labeled bottle," the IB official said.
The IM has emerged from a rift in SIMI between hardliners, keen to wage war against the Indian state, and moderates. While its increasing radicalism can be traced back to the destruction of a 16th century mosque by Hindu extremists in the early 1990s, the IM faction emerged only in 2005. But since then its members have been trained in bomb-making and explosives techniques in various camps around the country.
According to the IB official, while IM's ties with SIMI "have been evident for a while - the close links were underscored further during interrogations of detained SIMI and IM members". The IM had demanded the release of SIMI activists held on terrorism charges in the e-mail preceding the Ahmedabad blasts.
The IM's masterminds include many SIMI hard-line stalwarts, like SIMI general secretary Safdar Nagori. Now in jail, Nagori is said to be "the architect of SIMI's transformation to IM, its shift to all-out terrorism and war against the Indian state".
Abdus Subhan Qureshi alias Tauqeer, an expert hacker, worked for a major software firm in Mumbai before he joined SIMI and jihad activity. He is now on the run, wanted for masterminding the Delhi blasts and his role in several other attacks over recent years. "IM's emerging leaders are all 'graduates' from its terror training camps," the IB official said.
Police claim to have arrested several IM "masterminds" in recent weeks, with two suspected IM terrorists gunned down in a firefight with police in Delhi, and police telling the media of, "major successes in busting IM's terror modules".
However, in private they are not so confident. A senior police official admitted to Asia Times Online that what investigating agencies know about the IM could well be just "the tip of the iceberg", meaning the battle against the IM has only just begun.
It is not the size of the IM or its possible number of supporters that makes the outfit difficult to tackle, but rather the flawed approach of police and investigating agencies, which is only fueling further anger among Muslims towards the Indian state.
Civil society activists have been drawing attention to the harassment and random arrests of Muslim youth following the Delhi blasts, and claim the police version of the encounter in Delhi where two IM "terrorists" were killed is "riddled with holes".
The competition among various police agencies to claim credit for arresting terrorists and masterminds is resulting in the targeting of innocent Muslim youth, said a recent report written by a fact-finding team of lawyers, academicians and civil rights campaigners.
"This must stop immediately. It appears that after making SIMI the scapegoat, the police has now shifted focus to Azamgarh [a town in Uttar Pradesh from where most of those arrested in connection with the Delhi blasts hail] which is being dubbed the nursery of terrorism."
This groups adds that targeting young Muslim boys from Azamgarh or those who may have been members of SIMI in the past has led to an enormous sense of insecurity, fear and resentment in the Muslim community.
Terrorism is bound to be an important issue in upcoming parliamentary and state assembly elections, and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is already criticizing the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) for being "soft on terrorism". Having to defend its rather shabby performance in preventing terrorist attacks in the country, the Congress party is attempting to adopt a tougher position.
The UPA, which scrapped the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) passed by the BJP-led NDA government in 2002 on the grounds that the anti-terrorism legislation claiming it was anti-minority and had not worked, is in a bind.
It does not want to be seen to be as "soft on terrorism", hence its growing demands for new anti-terrorism legislation, and claims that inaction will undermine the party's support among urban Indians. But then there is also the Muslim vote, which is important not only for the Congress but for some of its allies in the UPA.
Anxious to be seen to be tough in tacking terrorism, police and politicians have been providing detailed press conferences on blast investigations, interrogations of those in custody and encounters with "terrorists" - but intelligence officials complain this is undermining investigations.
As the government looks for new ways to appear tough on terror, it is rapidly alienating the Muslim community as its targets hundreds of Muslim youths who migrated to the cities for study and work. These youths are now said to be streaming back their villages angry and disillusioned, with only the IM set to gain.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Editorial: Terror Laws: Some Questions Remain
By M H Ahssan
The UPA government, which would like to appear to be on the ball in fighting terrorism after the Mumbai outrage, has introduced two bills in Parliament. One aims to establish a National Investigating Agency (NIA) to deal with terrorism and related offences, the other to tighten procedures to aid prosecution and trial by amending the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. In seeking to create the NIA, the government is in uncharted waters. News reports suggest that the NIA cannot begin investigating a case on its own. It appears that the first step is to be taken by the state government where a terrorist crime may have occurred. The state in question will have to ask the Centre for the NIA to be pressed into service. It is far from clear if states will approach the Centre for the NIA’s help in the first place. State governments are known to guard their turf jealously.
Since law and order is a state subject, they have thwarted efforts in the past, irrespective of their political colour, to create an all-India agency to deal with terrorism. The federalism argument is used to stymie moves in this direction. The Left parties reiterated this view in Parliament on Monday when the bill was introduced. The BJP supported the bill since it has long been asking for so-called "tough laws" against terrorism, but we can only know later if its chief ministers will ask for the Centre’s help in investigating terrorist crimes, especially if the BJP is not running the Union government. In bringing an amendment to the UAPA — in order to tighten procedures to deal with terrorist cases in court and to facilitate investigation — the government has done well to allow for the admission of communications intercepts as evidence.
This is a much-needed reform, although there is a downside to it, theoretically speaking. It has also shown wisdom in not throwing the onus of proving innocence on the accused, for that amounts to an inversion of civilised jurisprudence. It is also good that confession before the police will not count as evidence, as was the case with Pota and Tada, which were widely misused and could not help the police in getting convictions from the courts in more than five per cent of cases. These were, in retrospect, over-hyped laws of little utility. Effective and tighter laws are needed to fight the menace of terrorism, but laws are not everything. A lot depends on the state of repair of the intelligence services and the investigating machinery.
Remember, the Mumbai carnage could take place although Maharashtra has the MCOCA, which is a replica of Pota. So it is not laws alone which deter terrorism. Part of the trouble in India is that even existing laws have not been put to effective use on account of a creaking administrative machinery. Introducing the two bills in Parliament, the home minister said these laws were being proposed because the country was a victim of terrorism sponsored from across the border. Does this mean a state government will ask for use of the NIA only if it determines that a given terrorism incident is inspired from outside the country? We shall know better with time.
The UPA government, which would like to appear to be on the ball in fighting terrorism after the Mumbai outrage, has introduced two bills in Parliament. One aims to establish a National Investigating Agency (NIA) to deal with terrorism and related offences, the other to tighten procedures to aid prosecution and trial by amending the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. In seeking to create the NIA, the government is in uncharted waters. News reports suggest that the NIA cannot begin investigating a case on its own. It appears that the first step is to be taken by the state government where a terrorist crime may have occurred. The state in question will have to ask the Centre for the NIA to be pressed into service. It is far from clear if states will approach the Centre for the NIA’s help in the first place. State governments are known to guard their turf jealously.
Since law and order is a state subject, they have thwarted efforts in the past, irrespective of their political colour, to create an all-India agency to deal with terrorism. The federalism argument is used to stymie moves in this direction. The Left parties reiterated this view in Parliament on Monday when the bill was introduced. The BJP supported the bill since it has long been asking for so-called "tough laws" against terrorism, but we can only know later if its chief ministers will ask for the Centre’s help in investigating terrorist crimes, especially if the BJP is not running the Union government. In bringing an amendment to the UAPA — in order to tighten procedures to deal with terrorist cases in court and to facilitate investigation — the government has done well to allow for the admission of communications intercepts as evidence.
This is a much-needed reform, although there is a downside to it, theoretically speaking. It has also shown wisdom in not throwing the onus of proving innocence on the accused, for that amounts to an inversion of civilised jurisprudence. It is also good that confession before the police will not count as evidence, as was the case with Pota and Tada, which were widely misused and could not help the police in getting convictions from the courts in more than five per cent of cases. These were, in retrospect, over-hyped laws of little utility. Effective and tighter laws are needed to fight the menace of terrorism, but laws are not everything. A lot depends on the state of repair of the intelligence services and the investigating machinery.
Remember, the Mumbai carnage could take place although Maharashtra has the MCOCA, which is a replica of Pota. So it is not laws alone which deter terrorism. Part of the trouble in India is that even existing laws have not been put to effective use on account of a creaking administrative machinery. Introducing the two bills in Parliament, the home minister said these laws were being proposed because the country was a victim of terrorism sponsored from across the border. Does this mean a state government will ask for use of the NIA only if it determines that a given terrorism incident is inspired from outside the country? We shall know better with time.
Monday, February 16, 2009
War on terror needs a paradigm shift
By Javid Hassan
The ongoing National Campaign for Combating Terrorism (NCCT), which got under way in New Delhi on Feb. 3, will culminate in a seminar, ‘Aashirwad-the journey begins’, on March 6. The event has been marked by speeches, human chain, cultural programmes and calls to draw inspiration from the heroes of Indian history.
A dispassionate analysis of all the rhetorics and theatricals thrown into the anti-terrorism campaign makes it clear that those spearheading the campaign have missed what should have been the main point of the debate on the root cause of terrorism. Before we delve deeper into those aspects, it would be instructive to recap what has been said or done so far in order to realize the need for a paradigm shift.
The campaign got under way on February 3 in New Delhi with a `peace and harmony run'. More than 4,000 students from 78 colleges in Delhi and elsewhere have already registered for the run, which was flagged off by Vice Chancellor Deepak Pental of Delhi University. He observed that under the banner of NCCT, Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) will mobilize the youth by holding a series of functions during the month-long campaign.
Besides the peace run, DUSU has lined up various other events as part of the campaign against terrorism: a two-day bilingual theatre festival held on February 9; debating competition scheduled in Delhi on February 19; `Udgosh - Spice of India', a music festival on February 27 and `Aashirwad - the journey begins', a seminar on March 6 at the New Conference Hall.
The next phase of NCCT would involve Loyola College, Chennai, where similar competitions will be held to identify budding talents, who would then be grouped into an NGO dedicated to helping the victims of terror.
The organizers of the anti-terrorism campaign have exhorted the members of NCCT to imbibe human values that underpin responsible citizens. And the only way forward, we are told, is to educate ourselves about our country and its cultural roots underlying the greatness of the Indian nation.
In Karnataka, over 15,000 students from colleges in Dharwad constituted a human chain as part of the campaign against terrorism on Feb.3. The initiative for this came from the department of higher education in Bangalore for launching a State-wide drive aimed at mobilising the youth in the fight against terrorism. The campaign, according to government officials, is deemed necessary in view of the surge in terrorist activities involving students and youths in India in general and Karnataka in particular.
Leaving aside these platitudes, it is instructive to examine the root cause of terrorism on the basis of realities on the ground. In the case of the Nanded bomb blast, for example, the motive, according to accused, Bhanurao Vithalrao Choudhary, was to target a mosque in Aurangabad. He also identified Himanshu who told them they needed to fight Muslim terror by carrying out terror strikes in the country. However, the plan could not materialize, as the bomb that exploded by accident in Nanded was actually meant to destroy the Aurangabad mosque.
Choudhary pointed out that Himanshu was in a revengeful mood due to the fact that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who was responsible for the Gateway of India blast in 2003 which killed many, went away scot-free despite the massacre that he was involved in. Thus, Himanshu believed, it was necessary to target the Muslim population in the country to safeguard the interests of the Hindutva.
Elaborating on the theme, Aleem Faizee, social activist working for the Malegaon blast victims, observed during investigations that the police found a map with details of the Aurangabad mosque. They also came across fake beards and Muslim outfits as part of the grand design to plant bombs and shift the blame on Muslims.
Muslim extremists, too, have been crazed by the same spirit of revenge. This became clear during the statements made by some of the accused arrested in connection with the recent Delhi blasts. The gang leader, Riyaz Bhatkal, said during interrogation that the blasts were meant to avenge the Mecca Masjid blasts which, he believed, involved some Hindu outfits to pin the blame on Muslims.
Here it would not be out of place to cite the example of Andaman Islands, which has a mix of Hindus, Muslims and Christians. Yet, it has never experienced communal violence. The reason is that there are no political parties to fan the flames of ethnic, cultural or religious divide. This proves convincingly that political parties have their own agenda in creating by communal or religious tension by exploiting the youth or some unemployed people.
Other factors responsible for the wave of terrorist attacks in the country stem from the use of high technology, to which techno-savvy youth have access. For instance, US Internet search company Google Inc released recently a software programme that allows users of mobile phones and other wireless devices to automatically share their whereabouts with family and friends. Users in 27 countries can broadcast their location to others constantly, using Google Latitude. The controls also enable users to decide who receives the information or to go offline at any time.
In a blog announcing the launch of the new service, Google believes that with this new technology, it is not only possible to control exactly who gets to see your location, but also decide the location that they see. What is more, friends' whereabouts can be tracked on a Google map, either from a handset or from a personal computer.
However, Google has rendered this state-of-the-art technology inaccessible to terrorists through built-in checks and controls. On the other hand, there is mounting evidence that high-tech terrorists are relying increasingly on SIM cards to cover up their tracks during mobile calls from various destinations.
In one bizarre case involving an airport employee, the police discovered that he had procured 10 SIM cards by placing orders on his company’s letterhead and forging signatures of its executives. The other application of science and technology put the spotlight on Abdul Sattar, a technician who had earlier worked in Saudi Arabia as an air-conditioning timer expert. He used his expertise to set off blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad in July last year
These bomb blasts involving both Hindus and Muslims underline a common message. When people lack a focus in life, are not aware of the do’s and don’ts of successful living, have a weak moral foundation, lack the spirit of research and enquiry in the pursuit of their goal as a student, do not know how to overcome the challenges of life, they dissipate their energy in a wild goose chase. They behave like a stray bullet killing innocent people, destroying houses, causing avoidable damage, and playing havoc with society like a loose cannon.
The youth cannot be insulated from terrorism by issuing high-decibel calls in the name of patriotism or cultural heritage. Illustrious personalities, however great they might be, do not change the mindset of a people anywhere in the field unless the desire for change lingers within oneself. And the only way to bring about that change is to impress on a person the importance of taking care of the present.
This is the message that Socrates delivers to Dan Millman, the university student and gymnast, in the 2006 American movie, “Peaceful Warrior.” Dan, who dreams of becoming a national champion, is diverted from his main goal by his sexual exploits. Socrates, with whom Dan has a chance encounter, advises the latter to concentrate on his goal to the exclusion of other diversions. He also teaches him to focus on his journey in order to reach his destination. These valuable lesson change the course of his life leading him eventually to win the coveted championship award.
Media education can play that role in transforming students from non-entities into entities with a mission to succeed in their goal. Once they have a mission statement in life, they will not have time for eve-teasing or other non-academic pursuits like sending pink chaddies to Ram Sena leader Pramod Mutalik on Valentine Day as they did on Feb.14.
Nor will they fall into the hands of terrorists or indulge in violence, political or criminal activities due to their heightened awareness of crime and punishment. I was absolutely shocked to learn, in a letter to the editor, that some of our youths take the politicians to be their role models! What else can we expect from such a generation other than terrorism, hooliganism, ragging, assaults on teachers, cheating in exams, etc.
To sum up, the only way to wean the Indian youths away from the scourge of terrorism is to inspire them with a mission in life as student. Through media awareness programmes, they can be made to realize that they have no future unless they have a goal and become a shining star to win the attention of those who matter. Once their goal is defined, they will not fall by the wayside and become an unexploded landmine taking innocent lives.
The ongoing National Campaign for Combating Terrorism (NCCT), which got under way in New Delhi on Feb. 3, will culminate in a seminar, ‘Aashirwad-the journey begins’, on March 6. The event has been marked by speeches, human chain, cultural programmes and calls to draw inspiration from the heroes of Indian history.
A dispassionate analysis of all the rhetorics and theatricals thrown into the anti-terrorism campaign makes it clear that those spearheading the campaign have missed what should have been the main point of the debate on the root cause of terrorism. Before we delve deeper into those aspects, it would be instructive to recap what has been said or done so far in order to realize the need for a paradigm shift.
The campaign got under way on February 3 in New Delhi with a `peace and harmony run'. More than 4,000 students from 78 colleges in Delhi and elsewhere have already registered for the run, which was flagged off by Vice Chancellor Deepak Pental of Delhi University. He observed that under the banner of NCCT, Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) will mobilize the youth by holding a series of functions during the month-long campaign.
Besides the peace run, DUSU has lined up various other events as part of the campaign against terrorism: a two-day bilingual theatre festival held on February 9; debating competition scheduled in Delhi on February 19; `Udgosh - Spice of India', a music festival on February 27 and `Aashirwad - the journey begins', a seminar on March 6 at the New Conference Hall.
The next phase of NCCT would involve Loyola College, Chennai, where similar competitions will be held to identify budding talents, who would then be grouped into an NGO dedicated to helping the victims of terror.
The organizers of the anti-terrorism campaign have exhorted the members of NCCT to imbibe human values that underpin responsible citizens. And the only way forward, we are told, is to educate ourselves about our country and its cultural roots underlying the greatness of the Indian nation.
In Karnataka, over 15,000 students from colleges in Dharwad constituted a human chain as part of the campaign against terrorism on Feb.3. The initiative for this came from the department of higher education in Bangalore for launching a State-wide drive aimed at mobilising the youth in the fight against terrorism. The campaign, according to government officials, is deemed necessary in view of the surge in terrorist activities involving students and youths in India in general and Karnataka in particular.
Leaving aside these platitudes, it is instructive to examine the root cause of terrorism on the basis of realities on the ground. In the case of the Nanded bomb blast, for example, the motive, according to accused, Bhanurao Vithalrao Choudhary, was to target a mosque in Aurangabad. He also identified Himanshu who told them they needed to fight Muslim terror by carrying out terror strikes in the country. However, the plan could not materialize, as the bomb that exploded by accident in Nanded was actually meant to destroy the Aurangabad mosque.
Choudhary pointed out that Himanshu was in a revengeful mood due to the fact that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who was responsible for the Gateway of India blast in 2003 which killed many, went away scot-free despite the massacre that he was involved in. Thus, Himanshu believed, it was necessary to target the Muslim population in the country to safeguard the interests of the Hindutva.
Elaborating on the theme, Aleem Faizee, social activist working for the Malegaon blast victims, observed during investigations that the police found a map with details of the Aurangabad mosque. They also came across fake beards and Muslim outfits as part of the grand design to plant bombs and shift the blame on Muslims.
Muslim extremists, too, have been crazed by the same spirit of revenge. This became clear during the statements made by some of the accused arrested in connection with the recent Delhi blasts. The gang leader, Riyaz Bhatkal, said during interrogation that the blasts were meant to avenge the Mecca Masjid blasts which, he believed, involved some Hindu outfits to pin the blame on Muslims.
Here it would not be out of place to cite the example of Andaman Islands, which has a mix of Hindus, Muslims and Christians. Yet, it has never experienced communal violence. The reason is that there are no political parties to fan the flames of ethnic, cultural or religious divide. This proves convincingly that political parties have their own agenda in creating by communal or religious tension by exploiting the youth or some unemployed people.
Other factors responsible for the wave of terrorist attacks in the country stem from the use of high technology, to which techno-savvy youth have access. For instance, US Internet search company Google Inc released recently a software programme that allows users of mobile phones and other wireless devices to automatically share their whereabouts with family and friends. Users in 27 countries can broadcast their location to others constantly, using Google Latitude. The controls also enable users to decide who receives the information or to go offline at any time.
In a blog announcing the launch of the new service, Google believes that with this new technology, it is not only possible to control exactly who gets to see your location, but also decide the location that they see. What is more, friends' whereabouts can be tracked on a Google map, either from a handset or from a personal computer.
However, Google has rendered this state-of-the-art technology inaccessible to terrorists through built-in checks and controls. On the other hand, there is mounting evidence that high-tech terrorists are relying increasingly on SIM cards to cover up their tracks during mobile calls from various destinations.
In one bizarre case involving an airport employee, the police discovered that he had procured 10 SIM cards by placing orders on his company’s letterhead and forging signatures of its executives. The other application of science and technology put the spotlight on Abdul Sattar, a technician who had earlier worked in Saudi Arabia as an air-conditioning timer expert. He used his expertise to set off blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad in July last year
These bomb blasts involving both Hindus and Muslims underline a common message. When people lack a focus in life, are not aware of the do’s and don’ts of successful living, have a weak moral foundation, lack the spirit of research and enquiry in the pursuit of their goal as a student, do not know how to overcome the challenges of life, they dissipate their energy in a wild goose chase. They behave like a stray bullet killing innocent people, destroying houses, causing avoidable damage, and playing havoc with society like a loose cannon.
The youth cannot be insulated from terrorism by issuing high-decibel calls in the name of patriotism or cultural heritage. Illustrious personalities, however great they might be, do not change the mindset of a people anywhere in the field unless the desire for change lingers within oneself. And the only way to bring about that change is to impress on a person the importance of taking care of the present.
This is the message that Socrates delivers to Dan Millman, the university student and gymnast, in the 2006 American movie, “Peaceful Warrior.” Dan, who dreams of becoming a national champion, is diverted from his main goal by his sexual exploits. Socrates, with whom Dan has a chance encounter, advises the latter to concentrate on his goal to the exclusion of other diversions. He also teaches him to focus on his journey in order to reach his destination. These valuable lesson change the course of his life leading him eventually to win the coveted championship award.
Media education can play that role in transforming students from non-entities into entities with a mission to succeed in their goal. Once they have a mission statement in life, they will not have time for eve-teasing or other non-academic pursuits like sending pink chaddies to Ram Sena leader Pramod Mutalik on Valentine Day as they did on Feb.14.
Nor will they fall into the hands of terrorists or indulge in violence, political or criminal activities due to their heightened awareness of crime and punishment. I was absolutely shocked to learn, in a letter to the editor, that some of our youths take the politicians to be their role models! What else can we expect from such a generation other than terrorism, hooliganism, ragging, assaults on teachers, cheating in exams, etc.
To sum up, the only way to wean the Indian youths away from the scourge of terrorism is to inspire them with a mission in life as student. Through media awareness programmes, they can be made to realize that they have no future unless they have a goal and become a shining star to win the attention of those who matter. Once their goal is defined, they will not fall by the wayside and become an unexploded landmine taking innocent lives.
War on terror needs a paradigm shift
By Javid Hassan
The ongoing National Campaign for Combating Terrorism (NCCT), which got under way in New Delhi on Feb. 3, will culminate in a seminar, ‘Aashirwad-the journey begins’, on March 6. The event has been marked by speeches, human chain, cultural programmes and calls to draw inspiration from the heroes of Indian history.
A dispassionate analysis of all the rhetorics and theatricals thrown into the anti-terrorism campaign makes it clear that those spearheading the campaign have missed what should have been the main point of the debate on the root cause of terrorism. Before we delve deeper into those aspects, it would be instructive to recap what has been said or done so far in order to realize the need for a paradigm shift.
The campaign got under way on February 3 in New Delhi with a `peace and harmony run'. More than 4,000 students from 78 colleges in Delhi and elsewhere have already registered for the run, which was flagged off by Vice Chancellor Deepak Pental of Delhi University. He observed that under the banner of NCCT, Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) will mobilize the youth by holding a series of functions during the month-long campaign.
Besides the peace run, DUSU has lined up various other events as part of the campaign against terrorism: a two-day bilingual theatre festival held on February 9; debating competition scheduled in Delhi on February 19; `Udgosh - Spice of India', a music festival on February 27 and `Aashirwad - the journey begins', a seminar on March 6 at the New Conference Hall.
The next phase of NCCT would involve Loyola College, Chennai, where similar competitions will be held to identify budding talents, who would then be grouped into an NGO dedicated to helping the victims of terror.
The organizers of the anti-terrorism campaign have exhorted the members of NCCT to imbibe human values that underpin responsible citizens. And the only way forward, we are told, is to educate ourselves about our country and its cultural roots underlying the greatness of the Indian nation.
In Karnataka, over 15,000 students from colleges in Dharwad constituted a human chain as part of the campaign against terrorism on Feb.3. The initiative for this came from the department of higher education in Bangalore for launching a State-wide drive aimed at mobilising the youth in the fight against terrorism. The campaign, according to government officials, is deemed necessary in view of the surge in terrorist activities involving students and youths in India in general and Karnataka in particular.
Leaving aside these platitudes, it is instructive to examine the root cause of terrorism on the basis of realities on the ground. In the case of the Nanded bomb blast, for example, the motive, according to accused, Bhanurao Vithalrao Choudhary, was to target a mosque in Aurangabad. He also identified Himanshu who told them they needed to fight Muslim terror by carrying out terror strikes in the country. However, the plan could not materialize, as the bomb that exploded by accident in Nanded was actually meant to destroy the Aurangabad mosque.
Choudhary pointed out that Himanshu was in a revengeful mood due to the fact that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who was responsible for the Gateway of India blast in 2003 which killed many, went away scot-free despite the massacre that he was involved in. Thus, Himanshu believed, it was necessary to target the Muslim population in the country to safeguard the interests of the Hindutva.
Elaborating on the theme, Aleem Faizee, social activist working for the Malegaon blast victims, observed during investigations that the police found a map with details of the Aurangabad mosque. They also came across fake beards and Muslim outfits as part of the grand design to plant bombs and shift the blame on Muslims.
Muslim extremists, too, have been crazed by the same spirit of revenge. This became clear during the statements made by some of the accused arrested in connection with the recent Delhi blasts. The gang leader, Riyaz Bhatkal, said during interrogation that the blasts were meant to avenge the Mecca Masjid blasts which, he believed, involved some Hindu outfits to pin the blame on Muslims.
Here it would not be out of place to cite the example of Andaman Islands, which has a mix of Hindus, Muslims and Christians. Yet, it has never experienced communal violence. The reason is that there are no political parties to fan the flames of ethnic, cultural or religious divide. This proves convincingly that political parties have their own agenda in creating by communal or religious tension by exploiting the youth or some unemployed people.
Other factors responsible for the wave of terrorist attacks in the country stem from the use of high technology, to which techno-savvy youth have access. For instance, US Internet search company Google Inc released recently a software programme that allows users of mobile phones and other wireless devices to automatically share their whereabouts with family and friends. Users in 27 countries can broadcast their location to others constantly, using Google Latitude. The controls also enable users to decide who receives the information or to go offline at any time.
In a blog announcing the launch of the new service, Google believes that with this new technology, it is not only possible to control exactly who gets to see your location, but also decide the location that they see. What is more, friends' whereabouts can be tracked on a Google map, either from a handset or from a personal computer.
However, Google has rendered this state-of-the-art technology inaccessible to terrorists through built-in checks and controls. On the other hand, there is mounting evidence that high-tech terrorists are relying increasingly on SIM cards to cover up their tracks during mobile calls from various destinations.
In one bizarre case involving an airport employee, the police discovered that he had procured 10 SIM cards by placing orders on his company’s letterhead and forging signatures of its executives. The other application of science and technology put the spotlight on Abdul Sattar, a technician who had earlier worked in Saudi Arabia as an air-conditioning timer expert. He used his expertise to set off blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad in July last year
These bomb blasts involving both Hindus and Muslims underline a common message. When people lack a focus in life, are not aware of the do’s and don’ts of successful living, have a weak moral foundation, lack the spirit of research and enquiry in the pursuit of their goal as a student, do not know how to overcome the challenges of life, they dissipate their energy in a wild goose chase. They behave like a stray bullet killing innocent people, destroying houses, causing avoidable damage, and playing havoc with society like a loose cannon.
The youth cannot be insulated from terrorism by issuing high-decibel calls in the name of patriotism or cultural heritage. Illustrious personalities, however great they might be, do not change the mindset of a people anywhere in the field unless the desire for change lingers within oneself. And the only way to bring about that change is to impress on a person the importance of taking care of the present.
This is the message that Socrates delivers to Dan Millman, the university student and gymnast, in the 2006 American movie, “Peaceful Warrior.” Dan, who dreams of becoming a national champion, is diverted from his main goal by his sexual exploits. Socrates, with whom Dan has a chance encounter, advises the latter to concentrate on his goal to the exclusion of other diversions. He also teaches him to focus on his journey in order to reach his destination. These valuable lesson change the course of his life leading him eventually to win the coveted championship award.
Media education can play that role in transforming students from non-entities into entities with a mission to succeed in their goal. Once they have a mission statement in life, they will not have time for eve-teasing or other non-academic pursuits like sending pink chaddies to Ram Sena leader Pramod Mutalik on Valentine Day as they did on Feb.14.
Nor will they fall into the hands of terrorists or indulge in violence, political or criminal activities due to their heightened awareness of crime and punishment. I was absolutely shocked to learn, in a letter to the editor, that some of our youths take the politicians to be their role models! What else can we expect from such a generation other than terrorism, hooliganism, ragging, assaults on teachers, cheating in exams, etc.
To sum up, the only way to wean the Indian youths away from the scourge of terrorism is to inspire them with a mission in life as student. Through media awareness programmes, they can be made to realize that they have no future unless they have a goal and become a shining star to win the attention of those who matter. Once their goal is defined, they will not fall by the wayside and become an unexploded landmine taking innocent lives.
The ongoing National Campaign for Combating Terrorism (NCCT), which got under way in New Delhi on Feb. 3, will culminate in a seminar, ‘Aashirwad-the journey begins’, on March 6. The event has been marked by speeches, human chain, cultural programmes and calls to draw inspiration from the heroes of Indian history.
A dispassionate analysis of all the rhetorics and theatricals thrown into the anti-terrorism campaign makes it clear that those spearheading the campaign have missed what should have been the main point of the debate on the root cause of terrorism. Before we delve deeper into those aspects, it would be instructive to recap what has been said or done so far in order to realize the need for a paradigm shift.
The campaign got under way on February 3 in New Delhi with a `peace and harmony run'. More than 4,000 students from 78 colleges in Delhi and elsewhere have already registered for the run, which was flagged off by Vice Chancellor Deepak Pental of Delhi University. He observed that under the banner of NCCT, Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) will mobilize the youth by holding a series of functions during the month-long campaign.
Besides the peace run, DUSU has lined up various other events as part of the campaign against terrorism: a two-day bilingual theatre festival held on February 9; debating competition scheduled in Delhi on February 19; `Udgosh - Spice of India', a music festival on February 27 and `Aashirwad - the journey begins', a seminar on March 6 at the New Conference Hall.
The next phase of NCCT would involve Loyola College, Chennai, where similar competitions will be held to identify budding talents, who would then be grouped into an NGO dedicated to helping the victims of terror.
The organizers of the anti-terrorism campaign have exhorted the members of NCCT to imbibe human values that underpin responsible citizens. And the only way forward, we are told, is to educate ourselves about our country and its cultural roots underlying the greatness of the Indian nation.
In Karnataka, over 15,000 students from colleges in Dharwad constituted a human chain as part of the campaign against terrorism on Feb.3. The initiative for this came from the department of higher education in Bangalore for launching a State-wide drive aimed at mobilising the youth in the fight against terrorism. The campaign, according to government officials, is deemed necessary in view of the surge in terrorist activities involving students and youths in India in general and Karnataka in particular.
Leaving aside these platitudes, it is instructive to examine the root cause of terrorism on the basis of realities on the ground. In the case of the Nanded bomb blast, for example, the motive, according to accused, Bhanurao Vithalrao Choudhary, was to target a mosque in Aurangabad. He also identified Himanshu who told them they needed to fight Muslim terror by carrying out terror strikes in the country. However, the plan could not materialize, as the bomb that exploded by accident in Nanded was actually meant to destroy the Aurangabad mosque.
Choudhary pointed out that Himanshu was in a revengeful mood due to the fact that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who was responsible for the Gateway of India blast in 2003 which killed many, went away scot-free despite the massacre that he was involved in. Thus, Himanshu believed, it was necessary to target the Muslim population in the country to safeguard the interests of the Hindutva.
Elaborating on the theme, Aleem Faizee, social activist working for the Malegaon blast victims, observed during investigations that the police found a map with details of the Aurangabad mosque. They also came across fake beards and Muslim outfits as part of the grand design to plant bombs and shift the blame on Muslims.
Muslim extremists, too, have been crazed by the same spirit of revenge. This became clear during the statements made by some of the accused arrested in connection with the recent Delhi blasts. The gang leader, Riyaz Bhatkal, said during interrogation that the blasts were meant to avenge the Mecca Masjid blasts which, he believed, involved some Hindu outfits to pin the blame on Muslims.
Here it would not be out of place to cite the example of Andaman Islands, which has a mix of Hindus, Muslims and Christians. Yet, it has never experienced communal violence. The reason is that there are no political parties to fan the flames of ethnic, cultural or religious divide. This proves convincingly that political parties have their own agenda in creating by communal or religious tension by exploiting the youth or some unemployed people.
Other factors responsible for the wave of terrorist attacks in the country stem from the use of high technology, to which techno-savvy youth have access. For instance, US Internet search company Google Inc released recently a software programme that allows users of mobile phones and other wireless devices to automatically share their whereabouts with family and friends. Users in 27 countries can broadcast their location to others constantly, using Google Latitude. The controls also enable users to decide who receives the information or to go offline at any time.
In a blog announcing the launch of the new service, Google believes that with this new technology, it is not only possible to control exactly who gets to see your location, but also decide the location that they see. What is more, friends' whereabouts can be tracked on a Google map, either from a handset or from a personal computer.
However, Google has rendered this state-of-the-art technology inaccessible to terrorists through built-in checks and controls. On the other hand, there is mounting evidence that high-tech terrorists are relying increasingly on SIM cards to cover up their tracks during mobile calls from various destinations.
In one bizarre case involving an airport employee, the police discovered that he had procured 10 SIM cards by placing orders on his company’s letterhead and forging signatures of its executives. The other application of science and technology put the spotlight on Abdul Sattar, a technician who had earlier worked in Saudi Arabia as an air-conditioning timer expert. He used his expertise to set off blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad in July last year
These bomb blasts involving both Hindus and Muslims underline a common message. When people lack a focus in life, are not aware of the do’s and don’ts of successful living, have a weak moral foundation, lack the spirit of research and enquiry in the pursuit of their goal as a student, do not know how to overcome the challenges of life, they dissipate their energy in a wild goose chase. They behave like a stray bullet killing innocent people, destroying houses, causing avoidable damage, and playing havoc with society like a loose cannon.
The youth cannot be insulated from terrorism by issuing high-decibel calls in the name of patriotism or cultural heritage. Illustrious personalities, however great they might be, do not change the mindset of a people anywhere in the field unless the desire for change lingers within oneself. And the only way to bring about that change is to impress on a person the importance of taking care of the present.
This is the message that Socrates delivers to Dan Millman, the university student and gymnast, in the 2006 American movie, “Peaceful Warrior.” Dan, who dreams of becoming a national champion, is diverted from his main goal by his sexual exploits. Socrates, with whom Dan has a chance encounter, advises the latter to concentrate on his goal to the exclusion of other diversions. He also teaches him to focus on his journey in order to reach his destination. These valuable lesson change the course of his life leading him eventually to win the coveted championship award.
Media education can play that role in transforming students from non-entities into entities with a mission to succeed in their goal. Once they have a mission statement in life, they will not have time for eve-teasing or other non-academic pursuits like sending pink chaddies to Ram Sena leader Pramod Mutalik on Valentine Day as they did on Feb.14.
Nor will they fall into the hands of terrorists or indulge in violence, political or criminal activities due to their heightened awareness of crime and punishment. I was absolutely shocked to learn, in a letter to the editor, that some of our youths take the politicians to be their role models! What else can we expect from such a generation other than terrorism, hooliganism, ragging, assaults on teachers, cheating in exams, etc.
To sum up, the only way to wean the Indian youths away from the scourge of terrorism is to inspire them with a mission in life as student. Through media awareness programmes, they can be made to realize that they have no future unless they have a goal and become a shining star to win the attention of those who matter. Once their goal is defined, they will not fall by the wayside and become an unexploded landmine taking innocent lives.
War on terror needs a paradigm shift
By Javid Hassan
The ongoing National Campaign for Combating Terrorism (NCCT), which got under way in New Delhi on Feb. 3, will culminate in a seminar, ‘Aashirwad-the journey begins’, on March 6. The event has been marked by speeches, human chain, cultural programmes and calls to draw inspiration from the heroes of Indian history.
A dispassionate analysis of all the rhetorics and theatricals thrown into the anti-terrorism campaign makes it clear that those spearheading the campaign have missed what should have been the main point of the debate on the root cause of terrorism. Before we delve deeper into those aspects, it would be instructive to recap what has been said or done so far in order to realize the need for a paradigm shift.
The campaign got under way on February 3 in New Delhi with a `peace and harmony run'. More than 4,000 students from 78 colleges in Delhi and elsewhere have already registered for the run, which was flagged off by Vice Chancellor Deepak Pental of Delhi University. He observed that under the banner of NCCT, Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) will mobilize the youth by holding a series of functions during the month-long campaign.
Besides the peace run, DUSU has lined up various other events as part of the campaign against terrorism: a two-day bilingual theatre festival held on February 9; debating competition scheduled in Delhi on February 19; `Udgosh - Spice of India', a music festival on February 27 and `Aashirwad - the journey begins', a seminar on March 6 at the New Conference Hall.
The next phase of NCCT would involve Loyola College, Chennai, where similar competitions will be held to identify budding talents, who would then be grouped into an NGO dedicated to helping the victims of terror.
The organizers of the anti-terrorism campaign have exhorted the members of NCCT to imbibe human values that underpin responsible citizens. And the only way forward, we are told, is to educate ourselves about our country and its cultural roots underlying the greatness of the Indian nation.
In Karnataka, over 15,000 students from colleges in Dharwad constituted a human chain as part of the campaign against terrorism on Feb.3. The initiative for this came from the department of higher education in Bangalore for launching a State-wide drive aimed at mobilising the youth in the fight against terrorism. The campaign, according to government officials, is deemed necessary in view of the surge in terrorist activities involving students and youths in India in general and Karnataka in particular.
Leaving aside these platitudes, it is instructive to examine the root cause of terrorism on the basis of realities on the ground. In the case of the Nanded bomb blast, for example, the motive, according to accused, Bhanurao Vithalrao Choudhary, was to target a mosque in Aurangabad. He also identified Himanshu who told them they needed to fight Muslim terror by carrying out terror strikes in the country. However, the plan could not materialize, as the bomb that exploded by accident in Nanded was actually meant to destroy the Aurangabad mosque.
Choudhary pointed out that Himanshu was in a revengeful mood due to the fact that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who was responsible for the Gateway of India blast in 2003 which killed many, went away scot-free despite the massacre that he was involved in. Thus, Himanshu believed, it was necessary to target the Muslim population in the country to safeguard the interests of the Hindutva.
Elaborating on the theme, Aleem Faizee, social activist working for the Malegaon blast victims, observed during investigations that the police found a map with details of the Aurangabad mosque. They also came across fake beards and Muslim outfits as part of the grand design to plant bombs and shift the blame on Muslims.
Muslim extremists, too, have been crazed by the same spirit of revenge. This became clear during the statements made by some of the accused arrested in connection with the recent Delhi blasts. The gang leader, Riyaz Bhatkal, said during interrogation that the blasts were meant to avenge the Mecca Masjid blasts which, he believed, involved some Hindu outfits to pin the blame on Muslims.
Here it would not be out of place to cite the example of Andaman Islands, which has a mix of Hindus, Muslims and Christians. Yet, it has never experienced communal violence. The reason is that there are no political parties to fan the flames of ethnic, cultural or religious divide. This proves convincingly that political parties have their own agenda in creating by communal or religious tension by exploiting the youth or some unemployed people.
Other factors responsible for the wave of terrorist attacks in the country stem from the use of high technology, to which techno-savvy youth have access. For instance, US Internet search company Google Inc released recently a software programme that allows users of mobile phones and other wireless devices to automatically share their whereabouts with family and friends. Users in 27 countries can broadcast their location to others constantly, using Google Latitude. The controls also enable users to decide who receives the information or to go offline at any time.
In a blog announcing the launch of the new service, Google believes that with this new technology, it is not only possible to control exactly who gets to see your location, but also decide the location that they see. What is more, friends' whereabouts can be tracked on a Google map, either from a handset or from a personal computer.
However, Google has rendered this state-of-the-art technology inaccessible to terrorists through built-in checks and controls. On the other hand, there is mounting evidence that high-tech terrorists are relying increasingly on SIM cards to cover up their tracks during mobile calls from various destinations.
In one bizarre case involving an airport employee, the police discovered that he had procured 10 SIM cards by placing orders on his company’s letterhead and forging signatures of its executives. The other application of science and technology put the spotlight on Abdul Sattar, a technician who had earlier worked in Saudi Arabia as an air-conditioning timer expert. He used his expertise to set off blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad in July last year
These bomb blasts involving both Hindus and Muslims underline a common message. When people lack a focus in life, are not aware of the do’s and don’ts of successful living, have a weak moral foundation, lack the spirit of research and enquiry in the pursuit of their goal as a student, do not know how to overcome the challenges of life, they dissipate their energy in a wild goose chase. They behave like a stray bullet killing innocent people, destroying houses, causing avoidable damage, and playing havoc with society like a loose cannon.
The youth cannot be insulated from terrorism by issuing high-decibel calls in the name of patriotism or cultural heritage. Illustrious personalities, however great they might be, do not change the mindset of a people anywhere in the field unless the desire for change lingers within oneself. And the only way to bring about that change is to impress on a person the importance of taking care of the present.
This is the message that Socrates delivers to Dan Millman, the university student and gymnast, in the 2006 American movie, “Peaceful Warrior.” Dan, who dreams of becoming a national champion, is diverted from his main goal by his sexual exploits. Socrates, with whom Dan has a chance encounter, advises the latter to concentrate on his goal to the exclusion of other diversions. He also teaches him to focus on his journey in order to reach his destination. These valuable lesson change the course of his life leading him eventually to win the coveted championship award.
Media education can play that role in transforming students from non-entities into entities with a mission to succeed in their goal. Once they have a mission statement in life, they will not have time for eve-teasing or other non-academic pursuits like sending pink chaddies to Ram Sena leader Pramod Mutalik on Valentine Day as they did on Feb.14.
Nor will they fall into the hands of terrorists or indulge in violence, political or criminal activities due to their heightened awareness of crime and punishment. I was absolutely shocked to learn, in a letter to the editor, that some of our youths take the politicians to be their role models! What else can we expect from such a generation other than terrorism, hooliganism, ragging, assaults on teachers, cheating in exams, etc.
To sum up, the only way to wean the Indian youths away from the scourge of terrorism is to inspire them with a mission in life as student. Through media awareness programmes, they can be made to realize that they have no future unless they have a goal and become a shining star to win the attention of those who matter. Once their goal is defined, they will not fall by the wayside and become an unexploded landmine taking innocent lives.
The ongoing National Campaign for Combating Terrorism (NCCT), which got under way in New Delhi on Feb. 3, will culminate in a seminar, ‘Aashirwad-the journey begins’, on March 6. The event has been marked by speeches, human chain, cultural programmes and calls to draw inspiration from the heroes of Indian history.
A dispassionate analysis of all the rhetorics and theatricals thrown into the anti-terrorism campaign makes it clear that those spearheading the campaign have missed what should have been the main point of the debate on the root cause of terrorism. Before we delve deeper into those aspects, it would be instructive to recap what has been said or done so far in order to realize the need for a paradigm shift.
The campaign got under way on February 3 in New Delhi with a `peace and harmony run'. More than 4,000 students from 78 colleges in Delhi and elsewhere have already registered for the run, which was flagged off by Vice Chancellor Deepak Pental of Delhi University. He observed that under the banner of NCCT, Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) will mobilize the youth by holding a series of functions during the month-long campaign.
Besides the peace run, DUSU has lined up various other events as part of the campaign against terrorism: a two-day bilingual theatre festival held on February 9; debating competition scheduled in Delhi on February 19; `Udgosh - Spice of India', a music festival on February 27 and `Aashirwad - the journey begins', a seminar on March 6 at the New Conference Hall.
The next phase of NCCT would involve Loyola College, Chennai, where similar competitions will be held to identify budding talents, who would then be grouped into an NGO dedicated to helping the victims of terror.
The organizers of the anti-terrorism campaign have exhorted the members of NCCT to imbibe human values that underpin responsible citizens. And the only way forward, we are told, is to educate ourselves about our country and its cultural roots underlying the greatness of the Indian nation.
In Karnataka, over 15,000 students from colleges in Dharwad constituted a human chain as part of the campaign against terrorism on Feb.3. The initiative for this came from the department of higher education in Bangalore for launching a State-wide drive aimed at mobilising the youth in the fight against terrorism. The campaign, according to government officials, is deemed necessary in view of the surge in terrorist activities involving students and youths in India in general and Karnataka in particular.
Leaving aside these platitudes, it is instructive to examine the root cause of terrorism on the basis of realities on the ground. In the case of the Nanded bomb blast, for example, the motive, according to accused, Bhanurao Vithalrao Choudhary, was to target a mosque in Aurangabad. He also identified Himanshu who told them they needed to fight Muslim terror by carrying out terror strikes in the country. However, the plan could not materialize, as the bomb that exploded by accident in Nanded was actually meant to destroy the Aurangabad mosque.
Choudhary pointed out that Himanshu was in a revengeful mood due to the fact that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who was responsible for the Gateway of India blast in 2003 which killed many, went away scot-free despite the massacre that he was involved in. Thus, Himanshu believed, it was necessary to target the Muslim population in the country to safeguard the interests of the Hindutva.
Elaborating on the theme, Aleem Faizee, social activist working for the Malegaon blast victims, observed during investigations that the police found a map with details of the Aurangabad mosque. They also came across fake beards and Muslim outfits as part of the grand design to plant bombs and shift the blame on Muslims.
Muslim extremists, too, have been crazed by the same spirit of revenge. This became clear during the statements made by some of the accused arrested in connection with the recent Delhi blasts. The gang leader, Riyaz Bhatkal, said during interrogation that the blasts were meant to avenge the Mecca Masjid blasts which, he believed, involved some Hindu outfits to pin the blame on Muslims.
Here it would not be out of place to cite the example of Andaman Islands, which has a mix of Hindus, Muslims and Christians. Yet, it has never experienced communal violence. The reason is that there are no political parties to fan the flames of ethnic, cultural or religious divide. This proves convincingly that political parties have their own agenda in creating by communal or religious tension by exploiting the youth or some unemployed people.
Other factors responsible for the wave of terrorist attacks in the country stem from the use of high technology, to which techno-savvy youth have access. For instance, US Internet search company Google Inc released recently a software programme that allows users of mobile phones and other wireless devices to automatically share their whereabouts with family and friends. Users in 27 countries can broadcast their location to others constantly, using Google Latitude. The controls also enable users to decide who receives the information or to go offline at any time.
In a blog announcing the launch of the new service, Google believes that with this new technology, it is not only possible to control exactly who gets to see your location, but also decide the location that they see. What is more, friends' whereabouts can be tracked on a Google map, either from a handset or from a personal computer.
However, Google has rendered this state-of-the-art technology inaccessible to terrorists through built-in checks and controls. On the other hand, there is mounting evidence that high-tech terrorists are relying increasingly on SIM cards to cover up their tracks during mobile calls from various destinations.
In one bizarre case involving an airport employee, the police discovered that he had procured 10 SIM cards by placing orders on his company’s letterhead and forging signatures of its executives. The other application of science and technology put the spotlight on Abdul Sattar, a technician who had earlier worked in Saudi Arabia as an air-conditioning timer expert. He used his expertise to set off blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad in July last year
These bomb blasts involving both Hindus and Muslims underline a common message. When people lack a focus in life, are not aware of the do’s and don’ts of successful living, have a weak moral foundation, lack the spirit of research and enquiry in the pursuit of their goal as a student, do not know how to overcome the challenges of life, they dissipate their energy in a wild goose chase. They behave like a stray bullet killing innocent people, destroying houses, causing avoidable damage, and playing havoc with society like a loose cannon.
The youth cannot be insulated from terrorism by issuing high-decibel calls in the name of patriotism or cultural heritage. Illustrious personalities, however great they might be, do not change the mindset of a people anywhere in the field unless the desire for change lingers within oneself. And the only way to bring about that change is to impress on a person the importance of taking care of the present.
This is the message that Socrates delivers to Dan Millman, the university student and gymnast, in the 2006 American movie, “Peaceful Warrior.” Dan, who dreams of becoming a national champion, is diverted from his main goal by his sexual exploits. Socrates, with whom Dan has a chance encounter, advises the latter to concentrate on his goal to the exclusion of other diversions. He also teaches him to focus on his journey in order to reach his destination. These valuable lesson change the course of his life leading him eventually to win the coveted championship award.
Media education can play that role in transforming students from non-entities into entities with a mission to succeed in their goal. Once they have a mission statement in life, they will not have time for eve-teasing or other non-academic pursuits like sending pink chaddies to Ram Sena leader Pramod Mutalik on Valentine Day as they did on Feb.14.
Nor will they fall into the hands of terrorists or indulge in violence, political or criminal activities due to their heightened awareness of crime and punishment. I was absolutely shocked to learn, in a letter to the editor, that some of our youths take the politicians to be their role models! What else can we expect from such a generation other than terrorism, hooliganism, ragging, assaults on teachers, cheating in exams, etc.
To sum up, the only way to wean the Indian youths away from the scourge of terrorism is to inspire them with a mission in life as student. Through media awareness programmes, they can be made to realize that they have no future unless they have a goal and become a shining star to win the attention of those who matter. Once their goal is defined, they will not fall by the wayside and become an unexploded landmine taking innocent lives.
War on terror needs a paradigm shift
By Javid Hassan
The ongoing National Campaign for Combating Terrorism (NCCT), which got under way in New Delhi on Feb. 3, will culminate in a seminar, ‘Aashirwad-the journey begins’, on March 6. The event has been marked by speeches, human chain, cultural programmes and calls to draw inspiration from the heroes of Indian history.
A dispassionate analysis of all the rhetorics and theatricals thrown into the anti-terrorism campaign makes it clear that those spearheading the campaign have missed what should have been the main point of the debate on the root cause of terrorism. Before we delve deeper into those aspects, it would be instructive to recap what has been said or done so far in order to realize the need for a paradigm shift.
The campaign got under way on February 3 in New Delhi with a `peace and harmony run'. More than 4,000 students from 78 colleges in Delhi and elsewhere have already registered for the run, which was flagged off by Vice Chancellor Deepak Pental of Delhi University. He observed that under the banner of NCCT, Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) will mobilize the youth by holding a series of functions during the month-long campaign.
Besides the peace run, DUSU has lined up various other events as part of the campaign against terrorism: a two-day bilingual theatre festival held on February 9; debating competition scheduled in Delhi on February 19; `Udgosh - Spice of India', a music festival on February 27 and `Aashirwad - the journey begins', a seminar on March 6 at the New Conference Hall.
The next phase of NCCT would involve Loyola College, Chennai, where similar competitions will be held to identify budding talents, who would then be grouped into an NGO dedicated to helping the victims of terror.
The organizers of the anti-terrorism campaign have exhorted the members of NCCT to imbibe human values that underpin responsible citizens. And the only way forward, we are told, is to educate ourselves about our country and its cultural roots underlying the greatness of the Indian nation.
In Karnataka, over 15,000 students from colleges in Dharwad constituted a human chain as part of the campaign against terrorism on Feb.3. The initiative for this came from the department of higher education in Bangalore for launching a State-wide drive aimed at mobilising the youth in the fight against terrorism. The campaign, according to government officials, is deemed necessary in view of the surge in terrorist activities involving students and youths in India in general and Karnataka in particular.
Leaving aside these platitudes, it is instructive to examine the root cause of terrorism on the basis of realities on the ground. In the case of the Nanded bomb blast, for example, the motive, according to accused, Bhanurao Vithalrao Choudhary, was to target a mosque in Aurangabad. He also identified Himanshu who told them they needed to fight Muslim terror by carrying out terror strikes in the country. However, the plan could not materialize, as the bomb that exploded by accident in Nanded was actually meant to destroy the Aurangabad mosque.
Choudhary pointed out that Himanshu was in a revengeful mood due to the fact that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who was responsible for the Gateway of India blast in 2003 which killed many, went away scot-free despite the massacre that he was involved in. Thus, Himanshu believed, it was necessary to target the Muslim population in the country to safeguard the interests of the Hindutva.
Elaborating on the theme, Aleem Faizee, social activist working for the Malegaon blast victims, observed during investigations that the police found a map with details of the Aurangabad mosque. They also came across fake beards and Muslim outfits as part of the grand design to plant bombs and shift the blame on Muslims.
Muslim extremists, too, have been crazed by the same spirit of revenge. This became clear during the statements made by some of the accused arrested in connection with the recent Delhi blasts. The gang leader, Riyaz Bhatkal, said during interrogation that the blasts were meant to avenge the Mecca Masjid blasts which, he believed, involved some Hindu outfits to pin the blame on Muslims.
Here it would not be out of place to cite the example of Andaman Islands, which has a mix of Hindus, Muslims and Christians. Yet, it has never experienced communal violence. The reason is that there are no political parties to fan the flames of ethnic, cultural or religious divide. This proves convincingly that political parties have their own agenda in creating by communal or religious tension by exploiting the youth or some unemployed people.
Other factors responsible for the wave of terrorist attacks in the country stem from the use of high technology, to which techno-savvy youth have access. For instance, US Internet search company Google Inc released recently a software programme that allows users of mobile phones and other wireless devices to automatically share their whereabouts with family and friends. Users in 27 countries can broadcast their location to others constantly, using Google Latitude. The controls also enable users to decide who receives the information or to go offline at any time.
In a blog announcing the launch of the new service, Google believes that with this new technology, it is not only possible to control exactly who gets to see your location, but also decide the location that they see. What is more, friends' whereabouts can be tracked on a Google map, either from a handset or from a personal computer.
However, Google has rendered this state-of-the-art technology inaccessible to terrorists through built-in checks and controls. On the other hand, there is mounting evidence that high-tech terrorists are relying increasingly on SIM cards to cover up their tracks during mobile calls from various destinations.
In one bizarre case involving an airport employee, the police discovered that he had procured 10 SIM cards by placing orders on his company’s letterhead and forging signatures of its executives. The other application of science and technology put the spotlight on Abdul Sattar, a technician who had earlier worked in Saudi Arabia as an air-conditioning timer expert. He used his expertise to set off blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad in July last year
These bomb blasts involving both Hindus and Muslims underline a common message. When people lack a focus in life, are not aware of the do’s and don’ts of successful living, have a weak moral foundation, lack the spirit of research and enquiry in the pursuit of their goal as a student, do not know how to overcome the challenges of life, they dissipate their energy in a wild goose chase. They behave like a stray bullet killing innocent people, destroying houses, causing avoidable damage, and playing havoc with society like a loose cannon.
The youth cannot be insulated from terrorism by issuing high-decibel calls in the name of patriotism or cultural heritage. Illustrious personalities, however great they might be, do not change the mindset of a people anywhere in the field unless the desire for change lingers within oneself. And the only way to bring about that change is to impress on a person the importance of taking care of the present.
This is the message that Socrates delivers to Dan Millman, the university student and gymnast, in the 2006 American movie, “Peaceful Warrior.” Dan, who dreams of becoming a national champion, is diverted from his main goal by his sexual exploits. Socrates, with whom Dan has a chance encounter, advises the latter to concentrate on his goal to the exclusion of other diversions. He also teaches him to focus on his journey in order to reach his destination. These valuable lesson change the course of his life leading him eventually to win the coveted championship award.
Media education can play that role in transforming students from non-entities into entities with a mission to succeed in their goal. Once they have a mission statement in life, they will not have time for eve-teasing or other non-academic pursuits like sending pink chaddies to Ram Sena leader Pramod Mutalik on Valentine Day as they did on Feb.14.
Nor will they fall into the hands of terrorists or indulge in violence, political or criminal activities due to their heightened awareness of crime and punishment. I was absolutely shocked to learn, in a letter to the editor, that some of our youths take the politicians to be their role models! What else can we expect from such a generation other than terrorism, hooliganism, ragging, assaults on teachers, cheating in exams, etc.
To sum up, the only way to wean the Indian youths away from the scourge of terrorism is to inspire them with a mission in life as student. Through media awareness programmes, they can be made to realize that they have no future unless they have a goal and become a shining star to win the attention of those who matter. Once their goal is defined, they will not fall by the wayside and become an unexploded landmine taking innocent lives.
The ongoing National Campaign for Combating Terrorism (NCCT), which got under way in New Delhi on Feb. 3, will culminate in a seminar, ‘Aashirwad-the journey begins’, on March 6. The event has been marked by speeches, human chain, cultural programmes and calls to draw inspiration from the heroes of Indian history.
A dispassionate analysis of all the rhetorics and theatricals thrown into the anti-terrorism campaign makes it clear that those spearheading the campaign have missed what should have been the main point of the debate on the root cause of terrorism. Before we delve deeper into those aspects, it would be instructive to recap what has been said or done so far in order to realize the need for a paradigm shift.
The campaign got under way on February 3 in New Delhi with a `peace and harmony run'. More than 4,000 students from 78 colleges in Delhi and elsewhere have already registered for the run, which was flagged off by Vice Chancellor Deepak Pental of Delhi University. He observed that under the banner of NCCT, Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) will mobilize the youth by holding a series of functions during the month-long campaign.
Besides the peace run, DUSU has lined up various other events as part of the campaign against terrorism: a two-day bilingual theatre festival held on February 9; debating competition scheduled in Delhi on February 19; `Udgosh - Spice of India', a music festival on February 27 and `Aashirwad - the journey begins', a seminar on March 6 at the New Conference Hall.
The next phase of NCCT would involve Loyola College, Chennai, where similar competitions will be held to identify budding talents, who would then be grouped into an NGO dedicated to helping the victims of terror.
The organizers of the anti-terrorism campaign have exhorted the members of NCCT to imbibe human values that underpin responsible citizens. And the only way forward, we are told, is to educate ourselves about our country and its cultural roots underlying the greatness of the Indian nation.
In Karnataka, over 15,000 students from colleges in Dharwad constituted a human chain as part of the campaign against terrorism on Feb.3. The initiative for this came from the department of higher education in Bangalore for launching a State-wide drive aimed at mobilising the youth in the fight against terrorism. The campaign, according to government officials, is deemed necessary in view of the surge in terrorist activities involving students and youths in India in general and Karnataka in particular.
Leaving aside these platitudes, it is instructive to examine the root cause of terrorism on the basis of realities on the ground. In the case of the Nanded bomb blast, for example, the motive, according to accused, Bhanurao Vithalrao Choudhary, was to target a mosque in Aurangabad. He also identified Himanshu who told them they needed to fight Muslim terror by carrying out terror strikes in the country. However, the plan could not materialize, as the bomb that exploded by accident in Nanded was actually meant to destroy the Aurangabad mosque.
Choudhary pointed out that Himanshu was in a revengeful mood due to the fact that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who was responsible for the Gateway of India blast in 2003 which killed many, went away scot-free despite the massacre that he was involved in. Thus, Himanshu believed, it was necessary to target the Muslim population in the country to safeguard the interests of the Hindutva.
Elaborating on the theme, Aleem Faizee, social activist working for the Malegaon blast victims, observed during investigations that the police found a map with details of the Aurangabad mosque. They also came across fake beards and Muslim outfits as part of the grand design to plant bombs and shift the blame on Muslims.
Muslim extremists, too, have been crazed by the same spirit of revenge. This became clear during the statements made by some of the accused arrested in connection with the recent Delhi blasts. The gang leader, Riyaz Bhatkal, said during interrogation that the blasts were meant to avenge the Mecca Masjid blasts which, he believed, involved some Hindu outfits to pin the blame on Muslims.
Here it would not be out of place to cite the example of Andaman Islands, which has a mix of Hindus, Muslims and Christians. Yet, it has never experienced communal violence. The reason is that there are no political parties to fan the flames of ethnic, cultural or religious divide. This proves convincingly that political parties have their own agenda in creating by communal or religious tension by exploiting the youth or some unemployed people.
Other factors responsible for the wave of terrorist attacks in the country stem from the use of high technology, to which techno-savvy youth have access. For instance, US Internet search company Google Inc released recently a software programme that allows users of mobile phones and other wireless devices to automatically share their whereabouts with family and friends. Users in 27 countries can broadcast their location to others constantly, using Google Latitude. The controls also enable users to decide who receives the information or to go offline at any time.
In a blog announcing the launch of the new service, Google believes that with this new technology, it is not only possible to control exactly who gets to see your location, but also decide the location that they see. What is more, friends' whereabouts can be tracked on a Google map, either from a handset or from a personal computer.
However, Google has rendered this state-of-the-art technology inaccessible to terrorists through built-in checks and controls. On the other hand, there is mounting evidence that high-tech terrorists are relying increasingly on SIM cards to cover up their tracks during mobile calls from various destinations.
In one bizarre case involving an airport employee, the police discovered that he had procured 10 SIM cards by placing orders on his company’s letterhead and forging signatures of its executives. The other application of science and technology put the spotlight on Abdul Sattar, a technician who had earlier worked in Saudi Arabia as an air-conditioning timer expert. He used his expertise to set off blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad in July last year
These bomb blasts involving both Hindus and Muslims underline a common message. When people lack a focus in life, are not aware of the do’s and don’ts of successful living, have a weak moral foundation, lack the spirit of research and enquiry in the pursuit of their goal as a student, do not know how to overcome the challenges of life, they dissipate their energy in a wild goose chase. They behave like a stray bullet killing innocent people, destroying houses, causing avoidable damage, and playing havoc with society like a loose cannon.
The youth cannot be insulated from terrorism by issuing high-decibel calls in the name of patriotism or cultural heritage. Illustrious personalities, however great they might be, do not change the mindset of a people anywhere in the field unless the desire for change lingers within oneself. And the only way to bring about that change is to impress on a person the importance of taking care of the present.
This is the message that Socrates delivers to Dan Millman, the university student and gymnast, in the 2006 American movie, “Peaceful Warrior.” Dan, who dreams of becoming a national champion, is diverted from his main goal by his sexual exploits. Socrates, with whom Dan has a chance encounter, advises the latter to concentrate on his goal to the exclusion of other diversions. He also teaches him to focus on his journey in order to reach his destination. These valuable lesson change the course of his life leading him eventually to win the coveted championship award.
Media education can play that role in transforming students from non-entities into entities with a mission to succeed in their goal. Once they have a mission statement in life, they will not have time for eve-teasing or other non-academic pursuits like sending pink chaddies to Ram Sena leader Pramod Mutalik on Valentine Day as they did on Feb.14.
Nor will they fall into the hands of terrorists or indulge in violence, political or criminal activities due to their heightened awareness of crime and punishment. I was absolutely shocked to learn, in a letter to the editor, that some of our youths take the politicians to be their role models! What else can we expect from such a generation other than terrorism, hooliganism, ragging, assaults on teachers, cheating in exams, etc.
To sum up, the only way to wean the Indian youths away from the scourge of terrorism is to inspire them with a mission in life as student. Through media awareness programmes, they can be made to realize that they have no future unless they have a goal and become a shining star to win the attention of those who matter. Once their goal is defined, they will not fall by the wayside and become an unexploded landmine taking innocent lives.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Holy Garb: Profane Agenda
By M H Ahssan
What do spiritual leaders talk when they meet? One thought it may be the matters pertaining to the ‘other world’ that is the focus of their attention, away from the profane World, which is the matter of concern for ordinary people. One thought they may be deliberating on the issues of moral values of the religion. But it seems that is not the case. Recently when many of them met in Mumbai they showed that the saffron garb is the mere exterior, this color of renunciation and piety, is no representative of their political core. On the top of that they use saffron color to hide their sectarian ideas and narrow politics in the name of religion. The only difference in their case being that their politics is couched in the language of religion. That their ideas are full ‘Hate’ for others, unlike the values Hinduism which teaches us Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam (whole World is my family). This got revealed once more.
Recently many a chiefs of Akharas and other assorted Saints came together at the First Conference of Dharma Raksha Manch (29th Jan 2009) in Mumbai. They were brought together by Vishwa Hindu Parishad, apparently for the agenda was Combating terrorism. They called for dropping the word secular from Indian constitution and replacing it with word religious. They Ram Temple, Malegaon blasts, terrorism, and amongst other things and demanded that they need Manu’s parliament and not Christ’s. They drew attention to terrorism breeding in Madrassa, and hit out at media for using the term Hindu terrorism. Finally Beginning Mid Feb. (2009) they plan to take out series of yatras (religious marches) covering large parts of the country, with the call for ending Jihad.
Who are these assorted Holy seers, coming together on the call of Vishwa Hindu Parishad? VHP itself is the creation of RSS in the mid sixties. Initiative was taken by RSS chief and his close lieutenant to get different established mutt’s to form VHP. It primarily became a religious wing of RSS, involving the Hindu achrayas etc, and attracted especially traders, affluent processionals and those who did not want to openly associate with RSS, as at that time RSS stood fully discredited in people’s eyes due to its association with Nathuram Godse, who killed Mahatma Gandhi.
VHP got involved in the identity issues strengthening the conservative politics and Ram temple became its central rallying point. Along with this it called for Dharma Sansad (religious parliament) where they stated that in the matters religious, in this case Ram Temple, the decision of saints is above the judgement of the courts. Place of Lord’s birth became a matter not of History but of faith, and who else can decide these issues than these custodians of faith.
This congregation of holy seers has taken place long after their earlier meetings around Ram Temple issue. It seems it is their next innings where the focus is also on terrorism apart from its earlier concerns. At the same time they are reiterating that Indian Constitution is not welcome; let’s go back to Manu Smriti. In a way there is nothing new in this. The RSS politics has always been against the Indian Constitution, against the values of secularism, democracy as these stand by Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Right from the time Constituent Assembly was formed, RSS opposed the same, saying that ‘we’ already have the best of Constitutions in the form of Manu Smirit so why a new Constitution. It was backed by eulogies for Lord Manu by the RSS ideologue M.S. Golwalkar, who also at the same time has heaped immense praise on the methods of Hitler. Later K.Surshan also openly called for scrapping of Indian constitution and bringing Manu Smriti instead.
While the saints are overtly for the subjugation of Muslims and Christians, at the same time their agenda is to push back the concept of equality for dalit, Adivasis and women. Interestingly RSS came up as a reaction to social changes of caste and gender during the freedom movement. Our national movement stood not only for freedom but also for the transformation of caste and gender towards equality. Barring some exceptions the concept of democracy and secularism go hand in hand. Freedom movement was the epitome of these political and social processes, leading to the emergence of secular India. Today RSS has many mouths to speak and many fora to articulate its agenda. VHP is the crude version of expressing its agenda while BJP, due to electoral compulsions, puts the same agenda in more subtle ways.
The VHP agenda is quite striking in combing the Holy language with profane goals. It will totally ignore the problems of ‘this World’; the problems related to survival and Human rights and will harp on identity issues. This brings in a politics which targets the ‘external enemies’, Muslims; Christians, and intimidates internal sectors, dalits; Adivasis and women, of society. Its call for doing away with the word secular is nothing new in that sense. Its demand to do away with secular word and secular ethos shows that their Holiness is restricted to the appearance, while they want to maintain their social hegemony through political means. Secularism is not against religion. The best of religious people like Maulana Abul Kalam and Mahatma Gandhi had been secular to the core. They knew the boundary line very well. Also they used the moral values of religion to create bonds of fraternity (community) amongst the people of different religions. There were others who created Hate against the other community, and that too in the name of religion. One can cite the parallel and opposite roles of Muslim League on one side and Hindu Mahasabha-RSS on the other.
The seers, respected because of their Holy garb are misusing their appearance at the service of sectarian politics, they are playing the role of handmaidens of the divisive politics. Secularism precisely means that secular, this-worldly, issues should be the base of politics. So the genuine religious person like Gandhi could distinguish between the moral values of religion which should be adopted in life while shunning the identity related issues from political life, “In India, for whose fashioning I have worked all my life, every man enjoys equality of status, whatever his religion is. The state is bound to be wholly secular.” It is a matter of shame and disgust the identity of a religion is being used to pursue the political goals of an organization, supplementing the goals a communal political party by appealing in the name of religion.
At the same time to further demonize the Muslims it is taking up the issue of terrorism in lop sided manner. The slogan end of Jihad is a way to hide the anti Muslim agenda. There is an attempt to put the blame on Islam and Muslims for terrorism, which is totally false. A political phenomenon is being presented as the one related to religion. So Islamic terrorism word is acceptable to them! All terrorist are Muslims formulation is acceptable to them. But how dare you use the word Hindu terrorism if Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Swami Dayanand Pande and their ilk is involved in acts of terror? In this meet, overseen by RSS representatives, lot of anger was expressed for the Maharashtra ATS for starting investigations against Sadhvi and Company.
The timing of the meet and the planned Yatras is more then striking. As we await elections, the VHP is trying to revive Ram Temple as an issue and will also be talking of terrorism; about Afzal Guru and will be reprimanding the state for ‘torturing’ Pragya Thakur. As a matter of fact VHP and this motley crowd of saints is an adjunct to the electoral goals of BJP. It articulates emotive things which BJP will not be able to do because of election commission and the media watch.
Of all the techniques evolved by RSS, the use of these Holy men for political goals may be the worst insult of the Hindu religion. While these Holy seers infinite in number, many of them have succeeded in building up their own five star Empires, there are others who are sitting on the top of already established mutts. What unites them through VHP is the politics of status quo, the opposition to democracy. We had saints, who talked against caste system and social evils. We had Kabir, Chokha Mela, Tukaram and the lot who stood for the problems of the poor, and now we have a breed, whose agenda is to undermine the prevalent social evils of dowry, female infanticide, bride burning, atrocities on dalits and Adivasis. Their goal is to keep talking about the spirituality and religiosity which is so different from the concerns taken up by the likes of Gandhi and the whole the genre of Saints of Bhakti tradition in India. One hope the people of India can see this clever game of communal politics and differentiate the grain from the chaff.
What do spiritual leaders talk when they meet? One thought it may be the matters pertaining to the ‘other world’ that is the focus of their attention, away from the profane World, which is the matter of concern for ordinary people. One thought they may be deliberating on the issues of moral values of the religion. But it seems that is not the case. Recently when many of them met in Mumbai they showed that the saffron garb is the mere exterior, this color of renunciation and piety, is no representative of their political core. On the top of that they use saffron color to hide their sectarian ideas and narrow politics in the name of religion. The only difference in their case being that their politics is couched in the language of religion. That their ideas are full ‘Hate’ for others, unlike the values Hinduism which teaches us Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam (whole World is my family). This got revealed once more.
Recently many a chiefs of Akharas and other assorted Saints came together at the First Conference of Dharma Raksha Manch (29th Jan 2009) in Mumbai. They were brought together by Vishwa Hindu Parishad, apparently for the agenda was Combating terrorism. They called for dropping the word secular from Indian constitution and replacing it with word religious. They Ram Temple, Malegaon blasts, terrorism, and amongst other things and demanded that they need Manu’s parliament and not Christ’s. They drew attention to terrorism breeding in Madrassa, and hit out at media for using the term Hindu terrorism. Finally Beginning Mid Feb. (2009) they plan to take out series of yatras (religious marches) covering large parts of the country, with the call for ending Jihad.
Who are these assorted Holy seers, coming together on the call of Vishwa Hindu Parishad? VHP itself is the creation of RSS in the mid sixties. Initiative was taken by RSS chief and his close lieutenant to get different established mutt’s to form VHP. It primarily became a religious wing of RSS, involving the Hindu achrayas etc, and attracted especially traders, affluent processionals and those who did not want to openly associate with RSS, as at that time RSS stood fully discredited in people’s eyes due to its association with Nathuram Godse, who killed Mahatma Gandhi.
VHP got involved in the identity issues strengthening the conservative politics and Ram temple became its central rallying point. Along with this it called for Dharma Sansad (religious parliament) where they stated that in the matters religious, in this case Ram Temple, the decision of saints is above the judgement of the courts. Place of Lord’s birth became a matter not of History but of faith, and who else can decide these issues than these custodians of faith.
This congregation of holy seers has taken place long after their earlier meetings around Ram Temple issue. It seems it is their next innings where the focus is also on terrorism apart from its earlier concerns. At the same time they are reiterating that Indian Constitution is not welcome; let’s go back to Manu Smriti. In a way there is nothing new in this. The RSS politics has always been against the Indian Constitution, against the values of secularism, democracy as these stand by Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Right from the time Constituent Assembly was formed, RSS opposed the same, saying that ‘we’ already have the best of Constitutions in the form of Manu Smirit so why a new Constitution. It was backed by eulogies for Lord Manu by the RSS ideologue M.S. Golwalkar, who also at the same time has heaped immense praise on the methods of Hitler. Later K.Surshan also openly called for scrapping of Indian constitution and bringing Manu Smriti instead.
While the saints are overtly for the subjugation of Muslims and Christians, at the same time their agenda is to push back the concept of equality for dalit, Adivasis and women. Interestingly RSS came up as a reaction to social changes of caste and gender during the freedom movement. Our national movement stood not only for freedom but also for the transformation of caste and gender towards equality. Barring some exceptions the concept of democracy and secularism go hand in hand. Freedom movement was the epitome of these political and social processes, leading to the emergence of secular India. Today RSS has many mouths to speak and many fora to articulate its agenda. VHP is the crude version of expressing its agenda while BJP, due to electoral compulsions, puts the same agenda in more subtle ways.
The VHP agenda is quite striking in combing the Holy language with profane goals. It will totally ignore the problems of ‘this World’; the problems related to survival and Human rights and will harp on identity issues. This brings in a politics which targets the ‘external enemies’, Muslims; Christians, and intimidates internal sectors, dalits; Adivasis and women, of society. Its call for doing away with the word secular is nothing new in that sense. Its demand to do away with secular word and secular ethos shows that their Holiness is restricted to the appearance, while they want to maintain their social hegemony through political means. Secularism is not against religion. The best of religious people like Maulana Abul Kalam and Mahatma Gandhi had been secular to the core. They knew the boundary line very well. Also they used the moral values of religion to create bonds of fraternity (community) amongst the people of different religions. There were others who created Hate against the other community, and that too in the name of religion. One can cite the parallel and opposite roles of Muslim League on one side and Hindu Mahasabha-RSS on the other.
The seers, respected because of their Holy garb are misusing their appearance at the service of sectarian politics, they are playing the role of handmaidens of the divisive politics. Secularism precisely means that secular, this-worldly, issues should be the base of politics. So the genuine religious person like Gandhi could distinguish between the moral values of religion which should be adopted in life while shunning the identity related issues from political life, “In India, for whose fashioning I have worked all my life, every man enjoys equality of status, whatever his religion is. The state is bound to be wholly secular.” It is a matter of shame and disgust the identity of a religion is being used to pursue the political goals of an organization, supplementing the goals a communal political party by appealing in the name of religion.
At the same time to further demonize the Muslims it is taking up the issue of terrorism in lop sided manner. The slogan end of Jihad is a way to hide the anti Muslim agenda. There is an attempt to put the blame on Islam and Muslims for terrorism, which is totally false. A political phenomenon is being presented as the one related to religion. So Islamic terrorism word is acceptable to them! All terrorist are Muslims formulation is acceptable to them. But how dare you use the word Hindu terrorism if Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Swami Dayanand Pande and their ilk is involved in acts of terror? In this meet, overseen by RSS representatives, lot of anger was expressed for the Maharashtra ATS for starting investigations against Sadhvi and Company.
The timing of the meet and the planned Yatras is more then striking. As we await elections, the VHP is trying to revive Ram Temple as an issue and will also be talking of terrorism; about Afzal Guru and will be reprimanding the state for ‘torturing’ Pragya Thakur. As a matter of fact VHP and this motley crowd of saints is an adjunct to the electoral goals of BJP. It articulates emotive things which BJP will not be able to do because of election commission and the media watch.
Of all the techniques evolved by RSS, the use of these Holy men for political goals may be the worst insult of the Hindu religion. While these Holy seers infinite in number, many of them have succeeded in building up their own five star Empires, there are others who are sitting on the top of already established mutts. What unites them through VHP is the politics of status quo, the opposition to democracy. We had saints, who talked against caste system and social evils. We had Kabir, Chokha Mela, Tukaram and the lot who stood for the problems of the poor, and now we have a breed, whose agenda is to undermine the prevalent social evils of dowry, female infanticide, bride burning, atrocities on dalits and Adivasis. Their goal is to keep talking about the spirituality and religiosity which is so different from the concerns taken up by the likes of Gandhi and the whole the genre of Saints of Bhakti tradition in India. One hope the people of India can see this clever game of communal politics and differentiate the grain from the chaff.
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