[Reader-list] Lalgarh does not exist

[Rakesh Iyer]

Dear Subhrodip

The biggest problem we fail to realize with organizations based on cadre and
ideology, be it SIMI, RSS, BJP, Maoists or any other organization is what
Anupam jee himself reminded me in a personal chat a couple of days back:
'They are based on discontent'. That is the crux of the problem.

A SIMI is based on the fact that Muslims are discriminated against, and
targetted during riots and investigations after terror attacks. A RSS is
based on the fact that Hindus are pariah in their 'own' country, and are
treated as second-class citizens, whereas Muslims and other minorities are
appeased and taken care of. A BJP is based on the discontentment that
Muslims and other minorities vote in large nos. to put Congress in power,
which does nothing on the development front. Maoism is based on the
discontentment of the tribals and the weaker sections of the society (weaker
economically, socially and politically), which see the state taking away
their resources from them without any due compensation and no development
measures for them being undertaken. Also, they may be suffering from social
and political violence against which they have no protection.

Therefore, banning such organizations is not going to be the solution. A
SIMI or a Bajrang Dal will simply change its name, and that's that. What
helps is political countering of such ideology. On that account, I agree
with Mr. Karat's observation that we need to politically counter such
institutions.

At another level too, banning is not considered right, which is at the level
of democratic opinion. Since democracy allows people to express their views,
it's believed that such organizations must be allowed to put their voice and
express their views as well.

My only contention is that all such organizations (not proven legally in
case of SIMI so I exclude it), have been found to indulge in violence. Also,
there is no foolproof way any citizen can state that they won't indulge in
any violence in future too. Therefore, even if banning can't be done, what
needs to be done is to keep such organizations under watch and certainly
take them to task if they indulge in violence.

Regarding SIMI, it's strange that the govt. (both the UPA and the NDA) have
not been able to prove the involvement of SIMI in any crime. I don't
understand why it has been banned then. I do agree that SIMI is a
fundamentalist organization going by it's views, but then so is the RSS.
Therefore, why should one be banned and not the other is only my contention.


Regards

Rakesh