[Reader-list] Is Antulay really pro-Pakistan?
Shuddhabrata Sengupta
shuddha at sarai.net
Sat Dec 20 15:47:16 IST 2008
Dear Kshmendra, Dear Fatima,
I think one has to be very careful under the present circumstances.
It is too easy to read motives into acts and statements and the
shadows and echoes of acts and statements. Perhaps we can also give
not just others, but also ourselves, the benefit of the doubt, from
time to time.
There is nothing wrong with scepticism, in my opinion, as long as we
do not harden our suspicions into counter-certainties. There is
nothing wrong with affirming an opinion, as long as it does not
prevent the airing of a sceptical opinion.
It seems reasonable at this time for me to think that in this
instance, Hemant Karkare died because a certain group of terrorists,
who in all likelihood happened to have come from Pakistan, who did
not know his identity or the significance of the investigation he was
dealing with, opened fire on the police vehicle in which he happened
to be travelling. It was obviously a police vehicle, the assailants
knew that the people inside were likely to be policemen, so they
opened fire. This is perfectly understandable.in terms of motivation,
and we do not necessarily need to read 'deeper' meaning into this
fact. Prima Facie, this seems to be the case.
I am reasonably certain that in opening fire, they (the assailants)
were unaware of the fact that they had dealt a severely undermined
the chances of a serious investigation into the relationships between
Hindutva and terrorism. Objectively, this proves again that seemingly
antagonistic extremists are often each other's best allies, if not by
design, then even by accident. This is my opinion, based on what I
have read, seen and heard so far. All those familiar with my reading
of much that gets reported with regard to terrorism will recognise
that this is one of the rare instances, where I am willing to accept
that the 'official' version may in fact have a greater degree of
fidelity to the circumstances of that evening. This does not mean
that I have a 'pro-India' position on the death of Hemant Karkare. In
fact I do not think that there can be a 'pro' or 'anti' India
position in the matter of a criminal investigation. I am relying more
on the merit of the argument than on the identity of those making the
argument.
However, if there is a better explaination for what happened on the
26th of November to Hemant Karkare and his colleagues, which is more
consistent with the ground realities of the locations where the
killings took place then I will not hesitate to replace my current
understanding of the events with one that fits better. This does not
mean that I will then have embraced an 'anti-India' or 'anti-
National' position on that matter either. I repeat, I do not think
that there can be a 'pro' or 'anti' India/National position in the
matter of a criminal investigation. There can be a 'pro' or 'anti'
the truth position. I do not think that that 'India' (or 'Pakistan',
or any other nation, for that matter) and the 'truth' are the same
thing.
Let us also be clear about the fact that there were serious threats
made to his life and safety by people who did not come from Pakistan,
people who did have a great deal to lose, given the directions in
which the investigations that he had undertaken was heading. Karkare
was attacked by many amongst those who are hailing him as a martyr
today. Had Hemant Karkare survived November 26, his life would still
have been in danger, and there is every reason to believe that the
danger to his life would have originated in those who stand to suffer
from the exposure of the linkage between Hindutva, 'rogue' elements
within the state security and military apparatus, the criminal
underworld and terrorism.
I believe that one should remain open to hearing and attempting to
understand all kinds of attempts at explaining and narrating the
truth, regardless of how convenient or inconvenient they are to our
political convictions, or to our settled ways of looking at things.
I enclose below a text that I read on countercurrent that I have
found interesting to think about. I do not necessarily agree with
everything it says and cites, nor do I disagree with a lot of what it
points to, but I think it is an important, compelling and detailed
contribution to the debate about what exactly happened to Hemant
Karkare and his colleagues on November 26, 2008. I think the
questions that this text asks need to be answered, and taken on board
seriously, (they have to be refuted with seriousness) if justice is
to be done.
best,
Shuddha
-----------------
The Mumbai Terror Attacks: Need For A Thorough Investigation
By R.H.
http://www.countercurrents.org/rh081208.htm
08 December, 2008
In all the confusion and horror generated by the Bombay attacks, the
circumstances surrounding the death of Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS)
chief Hemant Karkare and two of his colleagues, encounter specialist
Vijay Salaskar and Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte
deserve greater attention. The operations involved well-organised
attacks on high-profile sites in Colaba - the Taj, Oberoi and Trident
Hotels and Nariman House - and a parallel set of operations targeting
Victoria Terminus station, Cama Hospital and the Metro cinema, near
the police headquarters where Karkare worked. The latter is an area
where foreigners are much less likely to be found.
Why is a Proper Investigation Crucial?
Prior to his death, Hemant Karkare was unearthing a terror network
unlike any that has been seen thus far. The investigation started by
tracing the motorcycle used to plant bombs in Malegaon in September
2008 to a Hindu Sadhvi, Pragyasingh Thakur. In a cellphone
conversation between Thakur and Ramji, the man who planted the bombs,
she asked why more people had not been killed. For the first time,
the Indian state was conducting a thorough professional probe into a
terror network involving Hindu extremist organisations, this one with
huge ramifications, some leading into military and bomb-making
training camps and politicised elements in the army, others into
organisations and political leaders affiliated to the BJP. One of the
most potentially explosive discoveries was that a serving army
officer, Lt.Col. Srikant Purohit, had procured 60 kg of RDX from
government supplies for use in the terrorist attack on the Samjhauta
Express (the India-Pakistan 'Understanding' train) in February 2007,
in which 68 people were killed, the majority of them Pakistanis.
Initially, militants of Lashkar-e-Taiba and other Islamist terror
groups had been accused of carrying out the attack, but no evidence
against them had been found.
The investigation generated enormous hostility, with allegations
(refuted by medical examinations) that the suspects had been tortured
and that Karkare was being used as a political tool, and demands that
the ATS team should be changed. Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra
Modi, and BJP Prime Ministerial candidate, L.K.Advani accused him of
being a 'desh drohi' or traitor, a charge that in India carries a
death penalty, and the Shiv Sena offered legal aid to those accused
of the terrorist attack, complaining that 'The government does not
save Hindus from terrorists, and if Hindus defend themselves, they
are maligned'. In an interview shortly before he died, Karkare
admitted he was hurt by the campaign against him. On November 26,
just before the terrorist attack, the police in Pune received a call
from an anonymous caller saying in Marathi that Karkare would be
killed in a bomb blast within two or three days.
Just as attitudes to Karkare in society at large were polarised, with
some admiring him as a hero - one Maulana went so far as to call him
a 'massiha (messiah) of Muslims', an amazing tribute from a Muslim to
a Hindu - while others hated him as a traitor worthy of death,
attitudes within the police force too were polarised. For example,
dismissed encounter specialist Sachin Vaze (who with three colleagues
was charged with murder, criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence
and concealment of the dead body in the case of Khwaja Yunus shortly
before the terrorist attack) was a member of the Shiv Sena who was
actively engaged in the campaign against Karkare and in support of
the Malegaon blast accused. Vaze and several other encounter
specialists who had been dismissed for corruption, extortion and
links with the underworld also had a grudge against Salaskar, whom
they suspected of informing on them.
Hard Evidence or Pulp Fiction?
Given this background, and reports that are riddled with
inconsistencies, it is not surprising that many residents of Bombay
are asking questions about the exact circumstances of the death of
Hemant Karkare and his colleagues. The earliest reports, presumably
relayed from the police via the media, said that Karkare had been
killed at the Taj, and Salaskar and Kamte at Metro. If this was not
true, why were we told this? And why was the story later changed? Was
it because it conflicted with eye-witness accounts? In the early
hours of the 27th, under the heading 'ATS Chief Hemant Karkare
Killed: His Last Pics', IBNlive showed footage first of Karkare
putting on a helmet and bullet-proof vest, then cut to a shootout at
Metro, where an unconscious man who looks like Karkare and wearing
the same light blue shirt and dark trousers (but without any blood on
his shirt or the terrible wounds we saw on his face at his funeral)
is being pulled into a car by two youths in saffron shirts. The
commentary says that Karkare 'could well have fallen prey to just
indiscriminate, random firing by the cops', and also reports that
there were two vehicles, a Toyota Qualis and Honda City, from which
the occupants were firing indiscriminately.
Later we were given two accounts of the killings where the venue is
shifted to a deserted lane without cameras or eye-witnesses. The
first account is by the lone terrorist captured alive, claiming to be
A.A.Kasab from Faridkot in Pakistan and a member of the terrorist
group Lashkar-e-Taiba. According to him, just two gunmen, he and
Ismail (also from Pakistan), first attacked VT station, where they
sprayed bullets indiscriminately. (Around 58 people were killed
there, over one-third of them Muslims, and many more might have been
killed if the announcer, Mr Zende, had not risked his life to direct
passengers to safety.) They then went to Cama, a government hospital
for women and children used mainly by the poor. Initially, according
to the police, Kasab claimed he and Ismail had killed Karkare,
Salaskar and Kamte. Later, in his confession, he claimed that while
coming out of the hospital, he and Ismail saw a police vehicle
passing and hid behind a bush; then another vehicle passed them and
stopped some distance away. A police officer got out and started
firing at them, hitting Kasab on the hand so that he dropped his
AK47, but Ismail opened fire on the officers in the car until they
stopped firing. There were three bodies in the vehicle, which Ismail
removed, and then drove off in it with Kasab.
The other account is by police constable Arun Jadhav. According to
him, Karkare, Salaskar, Kamte, a driver and four police constables
including himself were driving down the alley from VT to the back
entrance of Cama (barely a ten-minute drive) in their Toyota Qualis
to check on injured police officer Sadanand Date when two gunmen
emerged from behind trees by the left side of the road and sprayed
the vehicle with bullets, killing all its passengers except Jadhav.
They then dragged out the three officers, hijacked the vehicle, drove
to Metro junction and then Mantralaya in South Bombay, abandoned it
when a tyre burst, and grabbed another car. According to police
accounts, they then drove to Girgaum, where Kasab was injured and
arrested and his companion killed.
These accounts raise more questions than they answer. Kasab claimed
that a band of ten terrorists landed and split up into twos, going to
various destinations, he and his companion going to VT. He said they
wanted to blow up the Taj, as in the attack on the Marriott in
Islamabad; yet we are told that only 8kg of RDX were found at the
Taj, and even that was not used; contrast this with 600kg of RDX and
TNT used to blow up the Marriott: could they really have expected to
blow up the Taj? How did the invaders from the sea get one bomb to go
off in Dockyard Road and another in Vile Parle, 25 kilometres away?
He said that the terrorists planned to use their hostages as a means
of escape, yet there was no attempt at any such negotiations; at
other times, he also said they had been instructed to fight to the
death. He says he is a labourer from Faridkot near Multan and only
studied up to Class IV, but it is reported that he speaks fluent
English. Several people have pointed out that the pictures of him in
VT show him wearing a saffron wrist-band, a Hindu custom, and police
later revealed that he could not recite a single verse from the
Koran, which any child growing up in a Muslim family would have been
able to do. Indeed, a thoughtful article on the soc.culture.jewish
group argued that none of the terrorists were Muslims, given their
appearance and behaviour (especially their reported consumption of
alcohol and drugs), pointing out that they did not need to disguise
themselves, since Muslims who look like Muslims are plentiful in
Bombay, and would not attract undue attention.
During his interrogation, Kasab said that he and eight of the
operatives had done a reconnaissance trip to Bombay a few months
back, pretending to be students and renting a room at Colaba market,
which is close to Nariman House. It is extremely hard for Pakistani
nationals to get Indian visas, and they are kept under close
surveillance by the police; it is also most unlikely that the Indian
immigration authorities would be fooled by forged passports of
another country. In that case, the Indian immigration authorities
would have visa applications of nine of the terrorists including
Kasab, and could match the photographs in them to those of the
terrorists: has this been done? Later, Kasab changed his mind and
said that the team who carried out reconnaisance was different from
the team who had carried out the attacks.
The events in VT and Cama and the back lane also put a question mark
over his story. According to witnesses, two gunmen started firing at
the mainline terminus in VT at 21:55 on Wednesday night, but at
precisely the same time, according to CCTV footage, two gunmen began
an assault on the suburban terminus. If the first account is true,
there were four gunmen at the station: where did the other two come
from, and where did they go? We are shown video footage, claiming to
be CCTV but without the timeline of normal CCTV footage, of Kasab and
Ismail wandering around the parking lot near the mainline terminus.
This surely cannot be before the shootout, since the station is
completely deserted; and after the shootout, Kasab and Ismail are
supposed to have escaped via the footbridge from Platform 1 of the
suburban station on the other side of VT: this, again, suggests there
were four gunmen. Even if Kasab and Ismail had been shown photographs
of Karkare, Salaskar and Kamte before they embarked on their trip,
how could they possibly have identified the police officers in a dark
alley in the dead of night according to Kasab's first story?
According to later his confession, a police officer got out of the
vehicle and started firing first, injuring him; how, then, did Ismail
manage to kill the rest by himself?
Witnesses in Cama hospital say the terrorists spoke fluent Marathi,
and this report has been confirmed. The gunmen killed two guards in
uniform, spared a third, who was in civilian dress and begged for his
life saying he was the husband of a patient, demanded water from an
employee in the staff quarters and then killed him. They then appear
to have made a beeline for the 6th floor (which was empty) and the
terrace, taking with them the liftman, Tikhe. 15-30 minutes later,
six to eight policemen arrived, and another employee took them up to
the 6th floor. The policemen threw a piece of steel up to the
terrace, whereupon Tikhe came running down and told them there were
two terrorists on the terrace. A fierce gun-battle ensued for 30 to
45 minutes, in which ACP Sadanand Date was injured. Panic-stricken
patients and staff in the maternity ward on the 5th floor barricaded
the door; nurses instructed the women to breast-feed their babies to
keep them quiet, and one woman, who was in the middle of labour, was
told to hold back the birth; but they were not invaded. Eventually
the gunmen appear to have escaped, it is not clear how. If they were
Kasab and Ismail, then these two must have been fluent Marathi
speakers. And why would they have taken up positions on the terrace?
Was it because they would have a direct view of the lane in which
Karkare, Salaskar and Kamte were later supposedly killed?
The other account is equally dubious. In his first account, Jadhav
said Karkare was in the second row of the Qualis, while in the second
he was supposed to be in the front row with Kamte. In the second
account, Salaskar was initially sitting behind the driver, but then
asked the driver to slow down and got behind the wheel himself: is it
plausible that an experienced encounter specialist would deliberately
make himself into a sitting duck like this when they were in hot
pursuit of terrorists? In the first account they were supposed to be
going to check up on their injured colleague Sadanand Date, but in
the second were supposed to be looking for a red car in which they
had been told the gunmen were traveling. If the report about the red
car was a decoy to lure them into an ambush, it is important to know
who told them that the terrorists were in a red car. If the gunmen
were firing from the left side, as Jadhav claimed, how was Karkare
hit three times in the chest while Jadhav himself got two bullets in
his right arm? In fact, the only vegetation in that part of the lane
is on the right side and has wire netting around it; it would be
necessary to climb over the netting to hide behind it, and climb over
again to come out: impossible under the circumstances. Witnesses say
only two bodies were found at the spot next morning: what happened to
the third officer? Who were the three constables killed?
How did two terrorists manage to kill six police personnel, including
Karkare and Kamte who he said were armed with AK47s and Salaskar, an
encounter specialist, when one terrorist was later captured and the
other killed by policemen armed only with two rifles and lathis?
Assistant Police Inspector Ombale was killed in that encounter, but
his colleagues survived.
There was also an intriguing report in DNA on 28 November saying that
Anand Raorane, a resident of a building opposite Nariman House, heard
sounds of celebration from the terrorists there when the news of
Karkare getting killed was flashed on TV: isn't that strange? The
same report quoted a resident of Nariman House and a local shopkeeper
who said that the terrorists had purchased large quantities of food
and liquor before the attack, suggesting that more than two of them
were planning to occupy the place for a long time. Another DNA
report, on 2 December, said that sub-inspector Durgude, who had been
posted in front of St Xavier's College, between Cama Hospital and the
exit point of the back lane onto Mahapalika Road, saw two young men
whom he took to be students and called out to warn them that there
was firing at Cama. When they ignored him, he approached them, upon
which one of them turned an AK47 on him and killed him. If Kasab and
Ismail were there, who was firing inside Cama? Eye-witnesses in St
Xavier's saw a man shot and lying on the pavement in front of the
college around 12.30 a.m., while about three gunmen stood over him:
who was that? Various reports said that two to eight terrorists were
captured alive. Now there is only one in police custody: what
happened to the other(s)?
A careful scrutiny of all the reports available so far suggests, to
this writer anyway, that the killing of Karkare and his colleagues
was a premeditated act, executed by a group that had stationed gunmen
at various points along the general route between VT and the Metro
cinema with a view to maximising their chances of a successful
murderous assault.
The Objective: Shutting Down Terrorist Networks
These are just a few of the numerous questions being asked by
vigilant Bombayites who find themselves thoroughly dissatisfied with
the information that has been doled out. These are citizens who
understand the importance of identifying terrorist networks and
shutting them down, but doubt that this will be done by the
authorities. Why are they so cynical about the possibility of a
genuine professional investigation? The answer is that we have too
much bitter experience of investigations in which innocent people
(usually Muslim youth) are rounded up, tortured and even killed,
while the real culprits are allowed to go free. Karkare broke with
this dismal record, but now he is dead. When a person who has been
vilified, slandered and threatened with death is killed in suspicious
circumstances, it is imperative that a proper investigation should be
carried out soon, before too much evidence can be manufactured and/or
destroyed. If Kasab aka Iman disappears or is assassinated like Lee
Harvey Oswald, or is executed, that would be further evidence of a
conspiracy.
The government and people of Pakistan have as much interest as the
government and people of India in eliminating the terror networks
that have killed President Asif Ali Zardari's wife Benazir Bhutto and
thousands of others in both Pakistan and India. The terrorists, on
the other hand, be they Islamist or Hindutva, have a common interest
in destroying secularism, democracy and peace within and between the
two countries. That is their precise agenda. Pakistani politicians
have offered a joint investigation into the terrorist attacks, a far
more sensible suggestion than the belligerent statements by some
Indians accusing Pakistan of harbouring terrorists who are killing
Indians. It should be obvious that a military conflict between India
and Pakistan would be disastrous for both countries economically,
while a nuclear war, which might ensue if extremist forces captured
power in both countries, would have unthinkable consequences. If the
Indo-Pakistan peace process is halted, as L.K.Advani advocates, the
terrorists would have won.
Indeed, without a joint investigation, the terrorist networks behind
this outrage can never be uncovered: how else could the names and
addresses in Pakistan revealed by Kasab be followed up to the
satisfaction of all parties? A team of Pakistani investigators should
be invited to come to Bombay and interview Kasab. If he is indeed a
Lashkar-e-Taiba militant, he will be able to provide invaluable
information, and a team of investigators from India should be invited
to Pakistan to pursue the investigation there. If, as some reports
have indicated, he is not what he claims to be, that too would become
clear. The Indian government owes it to the memory of Karkare,
Salaskar and Kamte, who died fighting terrorism of all hues, to
establish exactly where, when and how they were killed, identify
their killers, and make sure that their work is continued. They also
owe it to us, the public, who are the prime targets of all terrorist
attacks, to carry out a credible investigation which identifies and
puts behind bars all the mass murderers involved in this and other
attacks.
The Spirit of Bombay Survives
Despite all the hype, this was not the worst terrorist attack in
Bombay; that title goes to the reign of terror which started it all,
the anti-Muslim pogrom following the demolition of the Babri masjid
in December 1992, in which over 900 people were killed. After each
attack, the residents of Bombay have worked hard to restore the
inclusiveness and warmth which characterises their city, and this was
no exception. On 10 December, exactly two weeks after the attack
began, women's groups perambulated the whole of VT station with a
single slogan: jang nahin, aman chahiye (no to war, we want peace). A
few people contradicted them, but the majority accepted or even asked
for leaflets. On 12 December, over 60,000 people from all walks of
life formed a human chain throughout the length and breadth of
Bombay, proclaiming unity and peace in opposition to terrorism, war,
communalism and violence. In a TV interview, a group of very
articulate schoolgirls, carrying placards with slogans like 'Love
Conquers All,' expressed their determination to stay united and
unafraid in the face of all efforts to divide the people of India.
The spirit of Bombay lives on, thanks to these people.
R.H. is a writer, researcher and social activist based in Bombay
On 20-Dec-08, at 2:20 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote:
> Dear Fatima
>
> Two days back I criticised Pawan for what I thought was an
> intemperate comment directed at you over your
> "Kasab...Nepal....India" posting.
>
> Today I see your intentions as suspect. Earlier you forswore that
> you do not want to promote any 'conspiracy theory'. Today you have
> done exactly the opposite.
>
> On what basis do you say that "...majority of Muslims in India have
> this doubt any way" (about Karkare's death). Are you the voice of
> the Muslims of India? Do you have any means of evidencing your claim?
>
> Antulay was an idiot to make his comment publicly in the given
> atmosphere post Mumbai Terror Attacks.
>
> Already Antulay's comment is being extensively quoted by
> Pakistanis. Antulay (by his indiscrete questioning) became a proxy
> voice for those Pakistanis who continue to be in denial about the
> Pakistani connection to the Mumbai Terror Attacks and became the
> proxy voice for those Pakistanis who want to divert the attention
> away from the Pakistani connection to the Mumbai Terror Attacks.
>
> Antulay placed himself in the "proxy voice for Pakistan" position
> unwittingly. You are doing it deliberately.
>
> Antulay is a Minister in the Govt. of India. He is a Congress
> partyman. He could always have discussed the "suspicions about
> Karkare's death" internally withing the Party / Government. Both
> would have been more than keen to enquire into or exploit that
> suspicion at the appropiate time since it would mean discrediting /
> attacking the Hindutvavaadis.
>
> You seem to be intent on making this a Muslim versus Non-Muslim
> divide. That makes your motives Anti-India.
>
> You asked why Non-Muslims in India and on this List are not asking
> the same questions as Antulay. Consider this, that they alongwith
> Muslims might not be as foolish as Antulay or as you and might
> think that thia is not the point of time when such questions should
> be asked on the basis of some vague 'conspiracy theory'.
>
> Incidentally, I myself had written this (copied to you):
>
> """""" The Hindutvavaadis had been with frequency and great
> vehemence ascribing motives to and attacking Hemant Karkare's
> investigations into the involvement of "Hindu Terrorists" in the
> Malegaon Blasts. It is only natural that Karkare's killing (with a
> bullet-proof vest donned) should not only raise a few eybrows but
> bring into the arena questions about whether he was eliminated by
> "Hindu Terrorists". Such suspicions might be far-fetched, might be
> without duly investigating the facts of 'how and where' he died but
> such suspicions are not illogical. """"
>
> Even if you read it, you seem to have been keener to make that
> dramatic statement about Non-muslims in India and on this List.
>
> I repeat that you seem to be intent on making this a Muslim versus
> Non-Muslim divide. That makes your motives Anti-India.
>
> Kshmendra
>
>
> --- On Sat, 12/20/08, Fatima फ़ातिमा
> <fatimaschool45 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> From: Fatima फ़ातिमा <fatimaschool45 at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Reader-list] Is Antulay really pro-Pakistan?
> To: "Reader-list" <reader-list at sarai.net>
> Date: Saturday, December 20, 2008, 12:40 PM
>
> Dear friends
> I have no sympathy for politicians usually, but this case has made me
> think a lot. I am amazed that Antulay is being hounded by all
> including the Congress for expressing a doubt. The truth is that a
> majority of Muslims in India have this doubt any way - but that does
> not prove that they supporting Pakistani viewpoint. Why is everything
> to be seen as anti-India and pro-Pakistan terms? I am really wondering
> if there is no non-Muslim in this country who is ready to ask the same
> question which Antulay asked? Not even on this list?
>
> Please see this interesting view from another "supporter of Pakistan"
>
>
> From: "zohra javed" <zohra83 at rediffmail.com>
> To: zohra83 at rediffmail.com
>
> A.R.Antulay's remark about a thorough probe into the causes of ATS
> Chief Hemant Karkare's martyrdom have drawn a lot of flak
> from the most expected quarters. It should have been surprising though
> for anyone to oppose a proper investigation specially
> into the deaths of Mr.Karkare and the other two officers who were
> killed along with him. Mr.Antulay has raised a valid point
> and instead of bashing him down and asking for explainations on the
> issue from the PM everyone must support Antulay on this
> point. Narender Modi offered a crore of rupees to Mrs.Karkare, but his
> party is opposing someone who wants a thorough probe
> into the tragic and untimely death of Mr.Karkare...what kind of
> sympathy is this? In all probablity Mrs.Karkare would much
> appreciate if the killers of her late husband are brought to justice
> rather than accepting a political charity.
> Asking for new laws is fine. But as Advani has admitted in the
> Parliament that there is no law that has not been misused, I
> wonder why the existing laws are not implemented in letter and spirit
> to begin with. It is very important to understand that
> laws are for the smooth running of a system and for the protection of
> the weak. They are neither prestige issues nor a matter
> to make election issues out of them or score political and social
> points. Indeed that political party is best which can
> implement laws and ensure a rule of law without any bias or double
> standards.
> The common people have time and again proved their innocence and
> smugness by allowing the politicians to confuse them. Every
> time some pertinent questions are raised a smoke-screen comes up
> beyond which the path becomes blurred. What is more ironical
> is that anyone daring to venture beyond is bogged down as being either
> foolish or a traitor.
> Einstein said, "the important thing is not to stop questioning".
> Indeed it is by raising questions and finding their true
> answers that one can reach a satisfactory conclusion. But most of the
> time people are not encouraged to raise their doubts.
>
> And if some stray questioning voices become loud they are branded as
> anti-national.
> Fighting terror is a serious matter. Every angle must be probed.
> Nothing must be left to chance. But even after so many
> blasts in various Indian cities and now the carnage in Mumbai our
> investigating agencies, media and the political parties do
> not seem to have woken up to the real danger. There are too many
> loopholes and loose ends in the theories that are being put
> forward. What is wrong in probing the Israeli angle a bit more
> thoroughly? Or ponder a little more over the fact that there
> was a person called Ken Heywood, whose name had come up in connection
> with some blasts in the past. However, not only was he
> allowed to travel at will, he almost instantly got a "clean chit".
>
> If we are genuinely concerned about our nation's security and
> integrity, we have to rise above bias. And it will be the
> common man who has to do this because it is the common man who suffers
> in these tragedies that reap rich harvest of votes for
> one coalition or the other, but nothing changes on the ground for the
> common man. It is not just a matter of what Antulay
> said. He is a seasoned politician and a die-hard Nehru-Gandhi
> loyalist. In such a scenario I don't understand how he could
> even utter a word of embarassment for his bosses. Hence his remarks
> cannot be only his own nor can he be speaking for his
> community.
>
> The point is who benefits from all of these activities. Are we
> supposed to believe that the so called religious leaders
> rolling in luxuries, blessing politicians before and after elections,
> are really true to their religion? Can there at all be
> any love of God behind brutal killings of the innocent? And why on
> earth do these so called religious leaders not take on the
> "non-believers" themselves? The nationality or the religion of a
> person involved in terrorist activities has ceased to be a
> pointer as to the cause. It will indeed be worthwhile to take every
> detail into account before coming to conclusions as we
> must all remember that only those who fear the outcome would oppose an
> unbiased probe into the "business of terror".
>
> Zohra Javed
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Shuddhabrata Sengupta
The Sarai Programme at CSDS
Raqs Media Collective
shuddha at sarai.net
www.sarai.net
www.raqsmediacollective.net
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