Home

Archives

AHRC Site

CAN WE FIGHT TERRORISM?

Asghar Ali Engineer Centre for Study of Society and Secularism
E-mail: csss@vsnl.com

The terrorist attacks on Akshardham in Gandhinagar, Gujarat in which more than 40 innocent lives were flushed out need to be strongly condemned and can in no case be condoned whatever the provocation. However, this condemnation, howsoever strong, remains on moral plane. But, on political plane all this is considered passe. Today there is complete polarisation between what is moral and what is political.
Our morality even today does not admit of violence whereas our politics is based on admissibility of violence, even seeks legitimacy through it specially the parties like the BJP and Shiv Sena. Any party which claims to represent any one community, is found to be violent and would hardly shy away from it. The BJP, the so- called party with a difference, is responsible for several communal riots, throughout the decade of eighties resulting in loss of thousands of innocent lives.
Today very few parties or politicians are genuinely concerned with the welfare of the people and their problems. They are more concerned with strategies of winning elections, whatever the cost to human lives, or to the country. No wonder than that we have not been able to solve any serious problem like poverty, illiteracy, lack of drinking water etc. in last more than fifty years.


We should always remember that terror is never borne in vacuum or given birth by religion, it is always a product of certain situation. There would have been no such terror attack if there had been no anti-Muslim carnage in Gujarat directly encouraged by the Narendra Modi Government.

A temple is a sacred place of worship and its innate sacredness is respected by millions of people but politicians exploit such sacred places for their politics of hatred and sectarianism to make political gains and political games.

Minorities are feeling quite insecure and in Gujrat carnage more than 500 mosques and dargahs were razed to the ground besides 1000 human lives. The fanatics among the Muslims and jihadis are bound to loose their cool and attack some or the other sacred place of Hindu worship.
Such attacks are of course against the teachings of Islam. Allah will reward those who suppress their anger (kazim al-ghayz) and though permits qisas (retaliation) but does not encourage it and recommends pardon (?I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">afw) and compassion (rahm). And it does not allow attack on any religious place. It is obligatory on Muslims to protect all places of worship (Qur’an 22:40)
But these qualities are certainly not found among all Muslims and anger and retaliation is found more gratifying than higher moral behaviour. Is therefore, for the government of the country not to create such conditions as to promote anger and retaliation. Even otherwise it is the bounden duty of any civilised government to provide full security of life and property to all citizens, which also happen to be their fundamental rights. According to Mahatma Gandhi the quality of governance can be judged only from the fact that minorities are safe and secure or not.

Secularism and secular values are most essential part of Indian polity and unity of the people of India. Anyone playing games with it cannot ensure its unity and security and BJP does play games with it.