Are we really containing TERRORISM

ASSOCIATION OF INDIAN MINORITIES
WEST BENGAL OFFICE: 55 PILKHANA 1ST LANE HOWRAH-711101 INDIA
PH: O33-2665 7797 FAX: 033-2665 3396

Are we really containing TERRORISM

However disgusted I may feel about the state of affairs in Jammu and
Kashmir and the resultant blood-shed through acts of extremism and
violence there and in mainland India through groups like HUJI, JAISH,
Lashkar-e-Taiba and now IM, SIMI etc I am always inclined to re-read a
very pertinent letter written by Jawaharlal Nehru to Mr. B C Roy the
then Chief Minister of West Bengal dated June 29, 1953 where he spoke of
the injurious results of majority communalism in Kashmir. He wrote "As
you know, the people in the valley are over 90% Muslim. The reaction of
the Jammu Praja Parishad movement on them has been very great. They have
become frightened of the communal elements in Jammu and in India and
their previous wish to be attached to India has weakened." He felt that
'in the ultimate analysis€ ¦’¥..we gain Kashmir if we gain the goodwill
of the people there€ ¦’¥’¥.' To this one may add that before we try to
gain the goodwill of the people in Kashmir we must gain the goodwill of
the minorities in India (who constitute a majority in Kashmir). But can
we gain the goodwill of the people in Kashmir when we see people
supported by Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti in Jammu organizing violent
protests, damaging air-conditioned railway coaches and blocking road and
rail traffic for more than three weeks and moving with impunity without
fear of the security agencies on the one hand and more than twenty
deaths during two days of protests in Kashmir on the other.

It is high time for the policy makers in the country to realize that
blatant and un-restricted use of crude force by any administration to
quell community-specific dissent cannot help curb extremism in India as
it does not instill confidence in the minds of people belonging to the
concerned community. By using excessive force we actually fall in the
hands of people who want us to fail in solving the problem of terrorism.

The people who advocate the use of American module in dealing with
terrorism in India are not foolish enough to not understand that the
ground realities in America and India are very different. There the
threat perception is relatively much less from native Americans than
from people belonging to the region outside USA - where US government
acted ruthlessly and therefore earned the wrath of the people. Any
sensible person will agree that the anti-American feeling in the
middle-east emanates from a perception that the American administration
is not only supportive of undemocratic monarchical regimes because of
its oil interests but also appears to be draining the economic resources
of the region to the detriment of the people. It is also rightly accused
of turning a blind eye to the aspirations of the people in a
non-inclusive political and public system in the middle-east under
totalitarian regimes.

The cost of defending the Saudi king is costing the Americans dearly and
they would do good to bring in democracy in Saudi Arabia and adjoining
region and involve the people in the political and public lives there.
In one of my meetings at the Institute of Peace in Washington DC my
views were able to draw some appreciation. Understandably most of the
extremists/terroris ts who are supposedly involved in the 9/11 incident
come from Saudi Arabia. Bin Laden is also a Saudi national.

In India the problem of terrorism and extremism is more of a regional
nature and emanates from socio-economic and political disparities and a
feeling of institutionalized discrimination and neglect of certain
communities mainly minorities-religiou s, ethnic and linguistic alike.
Needless to mention that extremism had mostly been reported from amongst
the Muslim religious minorities in India. Initially during the partition
era it was because of the wisdom of our national leaders who somehow
could not read logic behind the wishes of the rulers of Hyderabad and
Junagarh but were eager to respect the wishes of Raja Hari Singh the
then ruler of Kashmir. Few more historic errors- plebiscite,
announcement on All India Radio, under-taking in the UNO, arrest and
detention of Late Sheikh Abdullah- and we got terrorism in Kashmir as a
gift. In fact our political leadership has been with-holding vital
information or selectively releasing them to the citizens in the name of
national interest. To top it all the Indian Government as a welfare
state has failed to prevent a feeling of institutionalized
discrimination amongst Muslims.

A survey of 33,000 nationally representative rural sample, conducted by
National Council of Applied Economic Research in 1994 provides data on
house hold income and a range of human development parameters which can
be cross-classified according to selected population groups. These data
show a very high incidence of poverty among the Muslims compared with
the all India average.

The percentage of population below the poverty line is 43% for Muslims
followed by 50% for SCs. Compare this with 39% for the whole population
(32% for the Hindus excluding SCs and STs). Percentage of Kutcha houses
is very high 65.9% among Muslims close to 66.6% for the SCs. The
national average figure in this case is 55.4%. Disabilities among Muslim
children between the age 0-12 years is higher than the national average.
Percentage of severely malnourished children in the age group of 5-12
years is the highest 33.5% followed by 30.2% for STs 28.7% for Hindus
and 29.0% of all population i.e the national average. The Sachar
Committee Report has become an electoral agenda.

And if this was not enough the feeling that Muslims have been facing
innumerable communal violence since independence wherein the
perpetuators have always gone scot-free generates negative feelings and
frustration in the minds of the Muslim community at large. Thousands of
victims of Gujarat carnage await justice and the accused Chief Minister
Narendra Modi who was rightly called Nero by one of the Judges of the
Supreme Court is still in office.

The communal elements on the other hand are crying hoarse about Muslim
appeasement. Thanks to the first past the post electoral system adopted
by us we do not find it necessary to implement the law in a
non-discriminative manner.

In the absence of any awareness and education of the people of India
about the actual state of affairs we have unfortunately created an
intolerant segment amongst the majority community who are brain washed
and made to believe that there is something inherently wrong with the
psyche of the Muslim community. Let all those people who think so
understand that no civic society will reconcile with the idea of the
government of India adopting double standards. Agreeing to and actually
holding unconditional talks with Mr. Muiva, the self exiled extremist
leader of Nagaland who believes and stands for the independence of
Nagaland from India at his destination of choice in Japan/Paris and
Singapore on the one hand and a rigid stand taken by it in Kashmir on
the other is untenable. Can anyone explain why the accused of killing
thousands of innocent men women and children during the Gujarat Carnage
are at large and still moving with impunity. Why SIMI as an extremist
organization is banned and an equally if not more extremist and
notorious Bajrang Dal is enjoying the hospitality of different
governments both at the centre and the states even after their proven
acts of violence against Christians in Orissa and in Karnataka. No
wonder that we have started hearing of armed retaliations from the
Christian communities from Orissa as well.

We all must put our heads together to put things in the proper
perspective and rethink our faulty majoritarian approach to extremism
and terrorism. Jawaharlal Nehru in his Note on Minority published in
Young India in 1930 had rightly observed that 'there could be no stable
equilibrium in any country without fair treatment of Minorities.' We
have to address the socio-economic, political and legal grievances of
the concerned aggrieved communities and make them understand that an eye
for an eye and a tooth for a tooth will make us all blind and toothless.

Md Habibur Rehman
(Chairman)
Association of Indian Minorities
Dated : 20.9.2008

Email:- reads@rediffmail. com
habyeeb@yahoo. co.in