Violence is not my path: Maudany

By Shameer KS for TwoCircles.net,

Abdul Nasir Maudany is the chief of Kerala-based Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). After spending eight years in prison on charges of being involved in Coimbatore bombing, he was absolved of all charges and released by the courts. Now, once again he is on the verge of arrests for his alleged role in Bangalore bomb blast of 2008. He is accused number 31 in that case and Karnataka police is in Kerala to arrest him. Shameer KS sat down with Maudany to ask him about the case and his thoughts.

You see a conspiracy behind this move to arrest you for Bangalore bomb blast of 2008. But even those who don’t oppose you find it difficult to believe there is a conspiracy. Prakash Karat recently stated that while his party protests against the anti-minority politics of the BJP-led Karnataka Government, he does not believe the move against you is part of the government’s anti-minority stance. He said it is rather a criminal case. How strong is your argument about the conspiracy?

My statement regarding the conspiracy is based on my experience after the Coimbatore episode. After the Parliament election, if you need a more precise time, after the election, some workers in my party were asked to come to Eranakulam city police commissioner’s office. There the officer in charge threatened them: ‘Why are you working in this party? Can’t you join a party in which you have a future? Your leader has just come out of prison. He will go there again, this time with his wife.’

Abdunnasir Maudany [Photo by thehindu.com]

The provocation for this threat was my political stance. The case against Soofiya popped up some months after this threat. She was framed in the bus burning case by fabricating some statements against her and cooking up stories based on her phone calls. She got bail and the case is now being investigated by the National Investigative Agency. The truth will definitely triumph.

This is the example of how the bureaucracy is active in framing me.

The BJP Government in that state definitely has an advantage by framing me. They can establish me as a symbol of terrorism in Kerala. It’s by creating such a terror symbol that they generate fear psychosis in their electorate to gain political mileage. It’s just like creating the terror symbol of Pakistan in north India. Another advantage the Sangh Parivar aims to achieve by framing me in the case is to deflect the attention of people from the involvement of militant Hindu organizations in major blasts of this country to an imaginary terror figure like me. They know Tadiyantavide Naseer is not sufficient to do this job. They want a public figure with religious symbols.

To make people like Karat believe this, mere statement is not enough. I have evidences. I think it’s not the right time to disclose them.

Some weeks back, you had a sort of war of words with Union Home Minister of State Mullappally Ramachandran over the involvement of the IB in the conspiracy. You said some officers in the IB were part of the conspiracy, whereas he was giving a good certificate to IB. IB does not trap anyone without reason, he said.

I thought Mullappally was a different politician with sound judgment and deep political common sense. He disappointed me. Either he is so naive as to believe IB is straightforward, or he is covering up the intelligence bureau as every home minister does. What did IB do to Ifthikar Gilani? In a file the IB found out in the hard disk of his computer, it replaced the ‘Fact sheet on Indian forces in Indian-Held Kashmir’ with ‘Fact sheet on Indian forces in Jammu and Kashmir’ to make it seem that he possessed secret Indian documents. The file was a leaflet or something widely distributed in Pakistan. Pakistan uses Indian-held Kashmir in lieu of Jammu and Kashmir. This has been clearly written in Geelani’s ‘My Days in Prison’. And our minister says IB does not trap anyone without reason.

What is the conclusion in the recently brought out ‘Who Killed Karkare’? Those who have led IB and are leading it are communalists who trapped Karkare and killed him.

The book was written by SM Mushrif, a former policeman who voluntarily retired from the post of inspector general. He has unveiled in the book the history of IB as an organization infected with communalists.

Mullappally must read at least these two books.

As for you what is the Bangalore blast case, compared to the Coimbatore blast case? Is the charge more serious now?

My sufferings in both the cases are the same. We can’t measure them with spoon. However, there are differences. As far as the Coimbatore case was concerned, I was first arrested and evidences and statements were fabricated in order to involve me in the case. In the Bangalore case, statements and evidences have already been fabricated and the prosecution succeeded to convince the court that I should not be granted bail. And I am yet to be arrested. The concerted effort of my conspirators is more pronounced in the latter. So the Bangalore case is and will be more severe.

When I was arrested in 1997, I was as healthy as to undergo a long prison life. Now I am not. I am a victim to many severe diseases and I have to consume medicines which cost Rs 250 daily. I am not sure whether I can come back alive. But I am mentally as active, if more, as before.

During the Coimbatore phase, my father was behind me from the beginning to end. He knocked all doors, political, bureaucratic, cultural, religious etc for me to have justice. In prison, I was happy to know that he was writing memoranda, letters, leaflets and what not to see me come out innocent. It was that paternal care that consoled me during those testing times. Now, almost paralyzed, he is bed-ridden. He can’t move his legs and is undergoing physiotherapy. It’s one reason of my grief.

But I am overwhelmed by the love and support I get not from my party members alone, but from people from all walks of life. Almost all Muslim organizations, despite differences, are standing by me. People like Krishna Iyer have spoken for me. Human rights activists, journalists, academics and writers have brought out joint statements. Unlike previously, the media have given me mush space to speak out. I have gratitude to all of them. It strengthens me to remain bold. Bolder.

In the last Parliament election you gave support to the CPM to the extent of your sharing stage with CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, which is considered profane both by some Muslim politicians and by some communists. The CPM later regretted ‘the sharing stage’ policy. At this stage, when the CPM does not completely support you, do you regret that policy as well?

PDP supported the CPM based on some issues. First and foremost, it had a clear stand against the unilateral world order espoused by the US. When all governments at the Centre, whether it’s UPA and NDA, slide towards that world order, it was the CPM which dissented. Their withdrawal of support to the UPA after it signed 123 Agreement with the US was a bold step in that direction. Although NDA was also against the agreement, they did not voice their opposition seeing it as a threat to multilateralism. They were saying that the deal was against national interest. The attitude of the Left is clearer and bolder than parties, when it comes to dealing with Israel.

I have never asked the CPM to support me when we gave them conditional support. What I expect not only from the Left but also from all parties which believe in secular and democratic values that they should be alert on the moves of the police bureaucracy and the Sangh Parivar against me. They should not allow the foul play to go on as in Coimbatore episode. It’s unfortunate that some people are trying to settle political scores with me. But I don’t care much about them.

You said earlier that there would be no untoward incident in the aftermath of your arrest. You will obey the law, even if it takes a turn against you. But the agitation of your party seems to suggest the contrary. One of the slogans it chants says that they will never allow anyone to take hold of you. There were suicide attempts too. Is that not contradictory?

Slogans are the ways in which my workers air their emotions. To yield to the law-enforcing authority is a decision I have taken intelligently. There won’t be any emotional display in the aftermath of my arrest. My followers will stand by my decision. The protests are being held to tell the state that it can’t easily and without opposition act against a citizen. Suicide attempts are not authorized by party leaders. I advise my workers to follow the ways of Islam while protesting.

You said you have braced yourself for the arrest. How?

I said I have mentally prepared myself. Prison is where I will be all alone. I can think alone, pray alone, and read alone. It is where I can do all these things aloud as well. It’s where I can see people like me who are crushed by the wheel of injustice and oppression. It’s where I can empathize with many hapless victims of state terrorism.

It’s going to be a test of the Almighty Allah. He chose for that only those whom he loves most. I will endure this test with equanimity and courage. And, if I come back, I will come back humbled. My religion has taught me not to adopt violence to achieve aims. Terrorism or any form of violence for that matter is not my chosen path. (He is the follower of Egypt-based Dasooqi Sufi order)