|
 |
Terrorist violence has been one of
the major problems of recent times. This phenomenon came to
popular notice more so after the 9/11 attack on WTC, which was
followed by, apart from other things, popularization of the terms
‘Islamic Terror’, ‘Jehdi terror’. The popular perception
associating Terrorism with Islam and Muslims dominated the ‘social
common sense’ and acts of terror got associated with Islam and
Muslims. It is in this context that when two Bajrang dal workers
died while making bombs in Nanded, Maharashtra, the Maharashtra
ATS, did not pursue the investigation to its logical conclusion to
unravel the whole truth. It is in this light that when most of the
acts of terror took place around Parbhani, Jalna, Aurangabad,
Ajmer, Mecca Masjid, Malegaon, and Samjhauta Express blast, that
authorities rushed to investigate those acts on the lines that
‘all terrorists are Muslims’, many a innocent Muslim youth were
arrested and some of them released much later for the lack of
proper evidence, whatsoever, by which time the lives of most of
them were ruined.
It was Hemant Karkare, who meticulously investigated the Malegaon
blast and, much against the intimidation from the likes of
Narendra Modi and Bal Thackeray, put forward the truth of
involvement of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur,Swami Dayanand Pandey,
Lt Col Purohit and other groups associated with RSS ideology. With
further perusal of the issue gradually the role of Hindutva groups
Sanatan Sanstha, Abhinav Bharat and even some members of RSS
started coming to light, in cases of blasts which occurred in
front of mosques when congregation was just over, or in Samjhauta
express blast.
This is the backdrop in which one welcomes the meticulous and well
articulated contribution by Subhash Gatade. Gatade has been
consistently writing against the sectarian politics of Hindutva
forces-RSS combine. This book was contemplated in this context,
when the Hindutva elements were exploding bombs here and there and
the investigation authorities were looking the other way around.
The result was that the likes of sadhvi, swamis and their
associates, were merrily getting away without getting any
punishment. This comprehensive volume is very strong on
investigation of different episodes of act of terror, covering
most of the blasts done by Hindutva elements, the major being the
span of blasts from Nanded blasts 2006 to the confessions of Swami
Aseemanand. Each of these acts has been presented and the
immaculate evidence of the involvement of RSS affiliates and those
inspired by the RSS ideology of Hindu Nation is laid bare in an
incontestable way. After the reading of even the few chapters of
the book, one realizes how misplaced has been the investigation in
these cases, how distorted has been the social common sense of
people and the authorities in these matters.
To add to the strength of the book, we have an apt introduction by
Dr. Shamsul Islam, who himself is an authority on RSS. This is an
important part of the book and outlines the ideology of RSS, its
agenda of Hindu nation, its clever ways of instigating violence
and how its structure has been kept fluid enough to keep it
insulated from the impact of its members who indulge in violence.
The book demands in a forthright manner from RSS, the list of
members who were asked to leave or have left due to their
involvement in acts of terror. The RSS chief had stated that RSS
does not indulge in violence; and those of its members who were
indulging in it have already left or have been told to leave. One
knows that starting from Nathuram Godse to Swami Assemanand, were
the part of RSS as an organization and as vehicles of its agenda
and work. It came to be claimed that they have ‘left’ RSS. This is
a shrewd and clever arrangement and the book lays bare this
methodology of the RSS which controls innumerable organizations to
actualize its agenda. The confusion between the terms Hinduism and
Hindutva has been elaborated competently. Gatade does well to
discuss the definition of the complex term, ‘terrorism’ and also
incorporates the state terrorism in his exposition. The latter is
generally ignored in the discourse of terrorism as such.
What emerges from this book is that the saffron terror, Hindutva
terror, has twin foundations. One, it is a sort of response; a
revenge to many acts of terror by the groups identified as Muslim
groups, and two this terror trail has been brought up to pursue
the agenda of Hindu nation to target the Muslim minorities. These
acts, with their anti-Muslim focus are to achieve Hindu rashtra
according to their plan. The author brings to fore the influence
of RSS ideology in army, the role of Bhosla Military School,
virtually controlled by RSS, and the role of some army officers in
facilitating the acts of terror by these groups. Lt. Col Purohit,
the accused in Malegaon blast, who also supplied RDX from army
stores to the Hindutva terror groups, is one such officer, and he
may be tip of the iceberg. This has a very frightening prospect for
our democracy.
The book debunks the popular perceptions which links Islam and
Muslims to acts of terror and makes it clear that acts of terror
are politically motivated actions with different agendas. The
fascination of RSS with the fascist methods being pursued by
Israel and the role of Mossad in particular is the high point of
the book. Our investigation agencies need to take a cue from this
and put their investigations on more professional lines.
The book takes a broad overview of Hindutva politics also and the
role of media and the international connections of Hindutva
politics are also presented in detail. What is missing is a time
line of Hidnutva terror. Such a timeline would have made it easy
from the reader to see the whole picture in perspective. An
Introduction by the author, putting the book in proper context and
summarizing the main arguments of the book would have been a
valuable addition to this otherwise most timely and revealing
contribution from this journalist-activist.
This work is a serious attempt to piece together the statements of
the RSS functionaries and the news items in some of the
periodicals to come to the conclusions. It is a comprehensive
presentation, filling the gaps in popular knowledge about the real
causes of terror attacks in India. Pharos Media, the publishers
need to be complemented for publishing this second book on the
topic, the first one being “Who killed Karkare?” by S. M. Mushrif,
which again was an eye opener. Godse’s Children, an apt name for
the book, is a must for all those who seek truth in contemporary
times, particularly when truth is being suppressed deliberately in
pursuit of sectarian agendas. This compendium will go a long way
to shape the popular opinion in a correct direction.
|
Comments
|
Quick links