Shinde on Hindutva Terror: Terminological Confusions

Protests are being organized and
threats to stall the proceedings of next Lok Sabha session are being dished out
to oppose the Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde’s statement about the Hindu
terrorism, its links with BJP and RSS. (23 Jan 2013). There are two major
components of this statement. One is the use of the prefix Hindu for terrorism,
and two about RSS-BJP links with terror training camps. What Shinde called
Hindu terrorism has also been called Saffron terrorism or Hindutva terrorism.
This prefix is to point out to acts of terror indulged in by the likes of
Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Swami Aseemanand, Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit,
Kalsangara, Sunil Joshi and many like them who were either actively associated
with the deology of Hindutva, or even were organizationally associated with
RSS. Others were at that time or previously linked with some progeny of RSS
like ABVP, Bajrang Dal etc. Many of them were part of organizations like
Sanatan Sanstha, Abhinav Bhararat, who again aim at the goal of Hindu Nation or
are ideologically inspired by the agenda of RSS.

Sushilkumar Shinde

The home minister’s remarks are based on investigations done Anti Terror Squads
of different states and by National Investigation Agency. Earlier the
announcement was made by the former Union home minister P. Chidambaram, in July
2010, to Parliament that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will probe the
terrorist attacks on the Samjhauta Express and examine the conspiracy behind
the attack, including the links of the accused in terrorist attacks at Malegaon
(September 8, 2006), Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad (May 18, 2007) and at the Ajmer
dargah (October 11, 2007). He had used the word Saffron terror.

Various such acts of terror in which these people have been involved have been
coming to light from last ten years or so. In 2003, in Parbani, Jalna and
Jalgaon districts of Maharashtra; in 2005, in
Mau district of Uttar Pradesh; in 2006, in Nanded; in January 2008, at the RSS
office in Tenkasi, Tirunelveli; in August 2008, in Kanpur etc. Few of the
details of some of these acts are very revealing.

The common pattern of these acts of terror has been twofold. One, that in few
of such cases the activists related to Bajrang Dal or fellow travelers were
killed while making the bombs. Second these acts of terror were targeted to
kill the Muslims, so these acts were organized at times when the Muslims
congregations take place, at the time of namaz or festivals like Shab-e-Barat in
Malegaon, or in
Ajmer Sharif where they come in large numbers or Samjhauta express where the
major number of travellers is Muslims.

While in the initial phase police authorities working under the prejudice that
‘all terrorists are Muslims’ misdirected their probe, the probe came on the
proper track after the Malegaon blasts when the motor cycle of Sadhvi Pragya
Singh Thakur, the former activist of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad, a wing
of RSS, came under the scanner and her links with many of those who have been
named above and are currently in jail, came to the surface. These facts came to
light due to the initiative and immaculate investigation done by the then chief
of Maharashtra ATS, Hemant Karkare. Karkare pursued the investigation
professionally putting together the threads due to which today most of them are
in jails. While pursuing these investigations Karkare came under immense
pressure from the politicians belonging to BJP and its close cousin, Shiv Sena.
During this time Narendra Modi said that Hemant Karkare is an anti National,
(*Deshdrohi*) and Bal Thackeray in his Saamana wrote that’ we spit on the face
of Karkare.’ Later Karkare got killed in the Mumbai terror attack of 26/11,
2006.

The people involved in some way were associated to the affiliates of RSS or RSS
itself. Mr. Singh, Home secretary has given some of the names from RSS stable
who have been allegedly involved in acts of terror.

This is in addition to Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Swami Dayanand Pandey, Lt
Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit, Retd Major Upadhyay, who have been close to
them.

While some beans were spilled by many of these accused the whole picture was
pieced together by Swami Aseemanand, when he decided to confess in front of the
magistrate. In his confession Swami gave the details of the whole set up raised
under his coordination and involving many RSS workers and their associates. The
major reason for this whole planning as per him was to counter the Islamic
terrorism as witnessed in Sankat Mochan templeetc. and second goal of theirs’
was to pave the path of Hindu nation.

The later investigation of ATS and now NIA has unearthed the linkages due to
which these activists are cooling their heels in jails. Meanwhile in the wake
of most of these terror blasts many a Muslim youth were arrested, some of whom
were later released for the lack of any credible evidence. So this whole series
of terrorists are Hindus. Does this then justify to label this type of terrorism
as Hindu terrorism? By no means! Shinde is wrong to label this terrorism as
Hindu terrorism.

Is the term ‘saffron terrorism’ correct? No way. This term was used by many including
the then Home minister P. Chidambaram in the wake of the investigations done by
Hemant Karkar in the case of Malegaon blasts. While one does not approve the
term Hindu terrorism or saffron terrorism at all, one will like to see the
background in which this term came to be used.

The RSS routinely adopts resolutions seeking to “curb Islamic terrorism with an
iron hand”. The term Islamic terrorism was first coined by American media in
the light of 9/11 act of terror. This was the first major attempt to label an
act of terror with religion. This became the most popular word and all and
sundry resorted to this word time and over again. This was a deliberate
mischief by US to target the Muslims and thereby get legitimacy to launch
attacks in the West Asia to control over the
oil resources. In India
also large section of media picked it up. RSS and its progeny in particular
highlighted the religious nature of this terrorism, and the word Jehadi
terrorism was the common one to be used. In a way associating terrorism with
religion became a dominant norm and it became part ofpopular perception.

In this backdrop when the acts of
terror done by many Hindus came to light, it somehow came to be labelled with
prefix Hindu or Saffron. Term Islamic terrorism and Jehadi terrorism is as much
wrong as the term Hindu or saffron terror. The right word for first one may be
Al Qaeda type of terrorism and for the second, Hindutva terrorism. Here again
using Hindutva terrorism is fraught with some misunderstanding. As such
Hindutva is a politics aiming at creation of a Hindu nation but due to its
containing the word Hindu in it, it is also taken to be a religion in popular understanding.
So the dilemma for Shinde! How to label this group of terror deeds? Probably
one will like to make it clear that it is Hindutva terrorism, it has nothing to
do with Hindu religion and the difference between the terms Hindu (a religion)
and Hindutva (a politics) needs to be made clear in popular parlance.

So it’s hypocritical to make the intense noise while the word Hindu-saffron terrorism
is used. Same set of people are using the word Islamic terrorism, Jehadi
terrorism and propagating that all terrorists are Muslims. One has to know that
the phenomenon of terror has been promoted in the Madrassas specially set up by
America in Pakistan to indoctrinate
the Muslim youth and bring up Al Qaeda type formations. So why demonize Islam,
Muslims and use the term Jehadi terrorism? Both such abuses of religion run parallel
to each other.

What about the statement that training camps run by RSS and BJP? In all fairness
one conceded that the training camps run by RSS have gone to give the training
in rifles but the training centres of bomb making and use are not directly
conducted by RSS-BJP. Surely these activities are done by those associated with
RSS-BJP. One can’t take lightly the picture making rounds on social media,
which shows Rajnath Singh and Shivrajsingh Chowhan with Sadhvi Pragya Thakur.
One also can’t dismiss the fact that Lal Krishna Advani and Sushma Swaraj had
gone to see the prime minister to plead the case of Pragya Singh Thakur in
particular. One cant ignore that those running these training camps had or were
associated with RSS in some way, actively at that time or in the past.

So all this protests and threats
of BJP, threats to disrupt the session of Parliament are their usual political
tactics and do not have any meaning, as their indirect or direct association
with the terrorists is so much obvious. What Shinde is stating is factual but
terminology is confused, and that’s not due to his own fault. We as a society
have not been able to come to coin correct terminologies for different acts of
terror anyway, so why get away with using the word Jehadi terrorism and haul
Mr. Shinde to the coals for such a use of the term.?