By Asghar Ali Engineer

The terrorist attack in Malegaon on sacred day of Shab-e-Bara’t was as horrible as that on trains in Mumbai on 11th July. It is not important how many were killed in Mumbai train blasts and how many in Malegaon blasts, what is important is recklessness with which innocent citizens are targeted in such brutal attacks. In Mumbai those killed were returning from their day’s work and those killed in Malegaon had gathered for prayer on the sacred day of their religion. Some were there begging on the occasion.

As of now there is no clue as to who planted bombs on trains in Mumbai and on cycles near Bada Qabrastan and mosque in Malegaon. As for blasts in Mumbai is concerned the police is working on the theory that Lashkar-I-Taiyyiba aided and abetted by ISI of Pakistan was responsible and this assumptions seems justified though there are no solid proofs yet available.

However, as for Malegaon blasts are concerned police seems to be tight-lipped or indicating role of Pakistan-based terrorist organisation. But this does not seem to be justified. The only reason for this assumption is that probably RDX along with nitrite was used and the triggering device also seems to be similar to the one often used by Pakistan-based organisations.

Still laboratory reports have not been used and presence of RDX has not been confirmed. But even if use of RDX is confirmed it should not be assumed that it is Pakistan-based terrorist organisation, which is likely to be involved. Selection of the day of Shab-e- Bara’t and places like Qabrastan and Mosque on the day of Friday at 2 p.m. when people were coming out of the mosque after Friday prayer clearly indicated that no Muslim organisation could be involved.

As it would be unthinkable that Hindutva organisations were involved in the Mumbai train blasts, it would be equally unthinkable that some Muslim organisation was involved in the Malegaon blasts. Unfortunately the police is equivocating on this question and is still thinking on the lines that some Pakistan-based organisation is involved. In the case of Mumbai blasts it immediately came to conclusion that it is some Pakistan-based organisation, which is involved and began to detain or arrest various suspects.

The Police, however, is yet to start its investigation on the assumption that some Hindutva organisations are likely to be involved. It seems to be quite uncertain. It is wrong to assume that the only source of RDX is ISI of Pakistan. There are people in India who also can make this deadly explosive available and it is not difficult to get the know-how for making timer devices. It does not involve very sophisticated technology. Anyone can easily make it. The Maharashtra police have to take bold initiative in this matter without fear or favour.

The people of Malegaon, like the people of Mumbai need to be complimented for their patience in maintaining communal harmony after the blasts. As in Mumbai hundreds of Muslims rushed to help their Hindu sisters and brothers, in case of Malegaon the Hindus rushed to help their Muslim sisters and brothers. Unlike Mumbai, Malegaon is extremely sensitive town with 75 per cent Muslim population. Yet, Hindus and Muslims showed tremendous courage and patience in remaining calm and maintaining communal harmony.

Post-Gujarat, people of India have shown much more maturity than before and now having lost mass following communal and fundamentalist forces are terrorising people through bomb blasts which handful of people can manage to do. The modern devices are so deadly that a small group can manage to kill hundreds by planting these killer devices. Thus no act of violence on the part of one group will go unavenged on the part of another community.

Peace was never so urgent as today. Such killings to avenge killings by the other group will continue to take lives of thousands of innocent people. We must show wisdom to put an end to such senseless killings sooner than later. Series of measures are needed to bring an end to such dastardly killings. I would like to suggest following measures to achieve concrete results:

1) All political parties in India must resolve to put an end to communal violence. We saw that Mumbai riots in 1992-93 in post-Babri demolition ultimately resulted in Mumbai bomb blasts in March 1993 in which 270 innocent lives were lost. Post-Gujarat carnage series of attacks and bomb blasts took place culminating in bomb blasts on trains on 11th July in Mumbai. A force calling itself the Gujarat Revenge Force took responsibility for some of these blasts.

2) Our education system needs to be drastically overhauled. Education system unfortunately is still part of the problem than part of the solution. The way medieval history is taught generates hatred between Hindus and Muslims. Most of the teachers in schools are communally oriented. Also, there is no emphasis on values in our education system. It needs to be made value-oriented.

3) It is matter of great concern that our primary education does not emphasise importance of our secular democracy. Secular democracy is the sheet anchor of our polity and great emphasis should be laid on this.

4) Also, our country is multi-religious and multi-cultural and the values of multi-culturalism should be taught to students. Even in Europe, which was mono-religious until recently and is multi-cultural today emphasis is being laid on multi-culturalism in their education system. Pluralism and multi-culturalism should become part of our educational system.

5) Today people think religion is part of problem and religion is cause of division in the society. We should emphasise that religion is a rich resource for peace and not conflict. The commonality of values in all religious traditions should be emphasised.

6) This year we are celebrating hundred years of Gandhiji’s launching of Satyagraha in South Africa. Unfortunately Gandhi and Gandhian values hardly find mention in our education and political system. Gandhiji made a seminar contribution to political theory and practice by emphasising Satygraha and on-violence as the real essence of democracy. Many people, as a recent survey shows, do not even know the name of Gandhi, let alone his contribution to our freedom struggle.

Also, our democracy has become divisive rather than integrative. In order to target votes of this or that community and this or that caste, divisiveness in emphasised thus delivering a serious blow to our secularism and multi-culturalism. The British parliamentary system involving first past the poll system has become a great problem for us. We must adopt other forms like proportional representation or make it compulsory to obtain 51% votes to be declared elected.

Making 51% votes compulsory for getting elected will promote inclusiveness and not divisiveness as in the present system of first past the poll system. Communal polarisation has increased tremendously when casteist and communal forces targeted this or that caste and community for getting their candidates elected. This is very unfortunate. The British Parliamentary system was evolved for a mono-religious and mono-cultural society. India was always a pluralist country.

While we can justly be proud of our secular democracy, it has remained more formal than substantial and in a multi-religious society to make secular democracy more substantial all castes and communities (religious, cultural as well as lingual) should feel that justice is being done to them in share in power and economic development. It is sense of injustice that breeds violent attitudes towards those who are seen to be monopolising the fruits of power and economic development. Peace cannot be established through slogans but through justice.

We must get rid of caste and communal biases in our political as well as administrative system. Caste and communal biases ultimately result in violent outbursts of anger at one or the other time. Gandhiji emphasised Satyagraha as an integral part of non-violent struggle as truth and non-violence are integral to each other. But when we were fighting against British rulers, we had a sense of mission but today there is no such sense of mission any more and hence it is difficult to promote Satyagrah, a truth-based struggle for justice.

Until yesterday foreign rulers were exploiting us and today our own people are doing so and hence it is very difficult and challenging to launch such struggle or at least it will be difficult to involve all people into it as our own people are doing injustices and hence only victims of injustice can take part in Satyagraha. Our politics today is entirely power-oriented, neither value nor issue oriented.

For Satyagraha to be possible politics has to be value as well as issue-oriented as during the freedom struggle. Today our politics has nothing to do with values and issues and hence much greater challenge for promoting Gandhiji’s form of struggle. But let us realise non-violence, as a value in democracy is the only way out. Otherwise let us be ready for disasters like Mumbai riots and bomb blasts like Mumbai and Malegaon.