MUSLIMS in India had for long been protesting against the use of the term Islamic terrorists. Now the term Hindu terrorists has been coined and used by a section of the media. It has provoked protest from the Sangh Parivar members. They say how can one use the term `Hindu terrorists? Mr Ram Madhav of RSS told The Asian Age “There is no such thing as Hindu terror at all. It is an orchestrated campaign to protect the real terrorists.” When asked about the Sadhvi Pragnya`s arrest, he immediately tried to distance RSS from her. The “involvement of individuals”, he said, “had nothing to do with any Hindu organisation.”

Similarly, Mr Advani, the opposition leader, also distanced BJP and RSS from the Sadhvi by saying he had no knowledge about Pragya. Advani told Times of India that it seemed obvious that she would have parted ways with the Parivar outfits because her thoughts and methods did not match with those of the organisations which she may have belonged to. “This was reason enough for her to move out of them.”

Mr Advani went on to cite the example of Nathu Ram Godse who killed Mahatma Gandhi on January 30, 1948. “Godse was associated with RSS earlier in his life but left the organisation way back in 1934 because he did not agree with its ways.” Mr Advani at least admitted that Nathu Ram Godse was associated with the RSS which was denied earlier.

Well it is Mr Advani`s view that RSS does not believe in violence. He himself has been in the RSS for long and who knows better than him that when it was launched its key objective was to train Hindus to fight Muslim bullies and all RSS branches gave training in wielding lathis. Then it set up other organisations to give training in arms. Even Durga Wahini gives training to its women members in using firearms.

Mr Advani also must know very well that RSS has great admiration for Hitler and even today in some BJP ruled states like Gujarat and Rajasthan Hitler and Nazism are admired and described as the only solution for the country. And Hitler was not all about peaceful means. To claim that Hindutva organisations do not believe in violence is to say that fire does not burn at all but heals.

Everyone knows what VHP and Bajrang Dal were up to in Gujarat and what kind of violence they indulged in during the 2002 carnage. It was the VHP cadre along with BJP leaders who killed or prompted others to kill 2,000 Muslims most brutally. Was that no violence? Or was it no belief in violence?

Mr Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the BJP vice-president, tried to argue after arrests of Sadhvi and her associates that “to protect real terrorists, the artificial terrorists are being shown,” meaning Sadhvi and her two associates are not real terrorists. Mr Naqvi thinks real terrorists could be only Muslims but then said “there can`t be either Muslim or Hindu terror.”

This is what all secularists and Muslims had maintained all along. Terrorists have no religion but the Sangh Parivar in particular and the media in general always uses the terms like Islamic terrorists or Muslim terrorists and the police, having arrested some Muslim boys without any proof, invariably described them as Muslim terrorists. And even if these boys are in any way involved in those horrific acts of terror it does not mean Islam teaches terrorism or Muslims in any way believe in killing innocent persons.

But the RSS continued to propagate what has now become a proverb - `All Muslims are not terrorists but all terrorists are Muslims.` Now that their own people have been found involved in Malegaon bomb blasts, Hindutva organisations are finding it hard to swallow the fact. Their leaders are apologetically claiming that Hindu culture does not believe in violence as if it is only Islam and Muslim culture which produces terrorists.

The hard fact is that neither Hinduism nor Islam nor any other religion preach terrorism. Some individuals or groups may use religion to justify their condemnable acts. Here, Hindutva leaders are tying to be clever in their arguments. Hinduism is a religion of peace and non-violence as Islam is also a religion of peace and non-violence.

The arrests of Sadhvi and her associates makes it clear what was all along known that some Hindutva organisations were making bombs and their role should be investigated in terrorist attacks in places like Malegaon (2006), Makkah Masjid blasts in Hyderabad, etc., but the police always turned a blind eye to this demand and arrested only Muslims indiscriminately.

Now after arrests of Pragnya and her associates many Muslims feel that the UPA government did so only on the eve of the election to soothe Muslim frayed nerves and that these arrests were made to satisfy them and after elections again the police would again start harassing Muslims.

Also, after the Malegaon blasts of September 29 it was almost impossible for police to arrest some Muslims as all former SIMI activists were in jail already and secondly if Muslims were arrested this time again, Muslims would have protested severely and the UPA government would have suffered another credibility blow on the eve of elections.

I had investigated Malegaon blasts of 2006 and found that all political leaders across party lines, common people and intellectuals were not convinced that those arrested after the blasts in 2006 in which more than 50 persons were killed could have been carried out by those arrested by the police. It was an important festival and the bombs went off just when the Friday prayers ended. No Muslim would go for exploding bombs at such a place on such an occasion.

Yet, the police was determined to blame it only on some ex-SIMI members. The 2006 blasts should be reinvestigated and I am sure something else would be revealed. I have seen the charge sheets filed by ATS in 2006 Malegaon blasts. It totally relies on confessions obtained in police custody and are bound to fail in any court of law. The real culprits would certainly escape.

The Nanded blasts in which two Bajrang Dal activists were killed had taken place just before Malegaon blasts of 2006 and there was every possibility of involvement of some of those persons in Malegaon blasts. Similarly the Makkah Masjid blasts of Hyderabad should also be thoroughly reinvestigated as it also took place on Friday just at the end of Friday prayers when thousands of Muslims were coming out of the Mosque.

The involvement of some army officers even of the rank of major should not be surprising as many RSS sympathisers are regularly employed and after retirement they become active in Hindutva organisations. The army usually claims to be quite secular, and probably it is, but it should be much more careful while recruiting soldiers and officers. Many people who come out of RSS controlled schools and colleges are recruited in the army.

It appears communal riots are fast being replaced by bomb blasts and some people suspect that it is a new strategy of the communal forces. As communal riots were a major danger in twentieth century, terrorist attacks are for 21st century. n

The writer is Chairman, Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai.

E-mail csss@mtnl.net.in