By TwoCircles.net news
When the blame of terrorism was put on Muslim youths, the community as a whole condemned terrorist acts. Centres of religious learning such as the Darul Uloom Deoband issued fatwas against terrorism. But what happened when the blame was put on some Hindutva persons? The RSS attacked the office of a news channel which broadcast news of Hindutva terror. The BJP had earlier itself spoken against ‘accusing saints and religious leaders’ of terror charges when the first hints were brought out by late Hemant Karkare. And now, the Sangh Parivar is all up against the term ‘Saffron terror’ used by the Home Minister.
Playing with fire
Terrorism is not and should not be associated with any community. But this fact came to the minds of the Hindutva groups only when their associates were accused. Before that, they liberally used the term ‘Islamic terrorism’ to relate to the various bomb blast and attempted blast cases across the country in which Muslim youths were accused. When certain members of the Hindu community were seen to have involvement in terror acts, the media used the term ‘Hindutva’ which rightly pointed towards a specific ideology thus relieving the community of the blame. But even that term received vehement opposition. Then the Home Minister P Chidambaram used the term ‘saffron terror’ which has now led to the disruption of even the Parliament.
Muslims of the country have been fighting hard to take the blame of terror off its shoulders. They organized rallies and campaigns against terrorism. Religious scholars and centres of religious learning issued fatwas against terrorism. There were local efforts too, like the one in Naya Nagar, a suburb of Mumbai. The local Muslims of Naya Nagar formed a committee under the leadership of their MLC to report any suspicious activities going on around them to the authorities concerned. The committee works in cooperation with the masjids in the area. The place attained notoriety after the Mumbai train blasts as some of the accused were said to have lived there.
Such initiatives as the one in Naya Nagar are coming from the Muslim community even as several terror accused were known to have been framed in the cases, when several accused were acquitted by courts for want of evidence after languishing years in jail. Still, they did so, so as to ward off any tinge of terror if at all in the community. That was the response from the Muslim community. But what is happening now when terror accusations are being showered on Hindutva outfits and its men?
The first Hindutva terrorist that the public came to know about was a young woman in saffron – Sadhvi Pragya Singh. Then the names of Colonel Purohit and others came out. The arrest of these anti-nationals infuriated the BJP and RSS which publicly came forward against the ‘torture of religious leaders and pious saints’. BJP leader LK Advani even took up the case with the PM. They openly condemned the terror charges and supported the Sadhvi and team. Meanwhile, the investigating agencies in the country carried out a serious probe into several of the bomb blasts and came up with the shocking revelation that many cases in which Muslim youths were accused were actually carried out by the Hindutva groups. When the Headlines Today channel broadcast news that disclosed the terrorist face of the RSS, the RSS goons attacked the channel’s office in the national capital.
And now, the very term ‘saffron terror’ has led to severe criticism by the BJP and company which is going as far as to disrupt the Parliament on the matter. One may notice that the opposition is not against the existence of terrorism, but against the use of the term. The statement of the Home Minister has come when the investigating agencies have found proof for the involvement of the Hindutva groups in several bomb blasts that rocked the country which were earlier added to the list of Islamic terrorism. The vehement opposition by the Sangh Parivar at this juncture shows clearly exposes their agenda which is not so hidden anymore.