GAN AND GRAVES

Joginder Singh, IPS (Retd.)
Former Director CBI

Since the year 2000, there have been 1120 deaths from the 69 Islamic Jihadi terrorist attacks in our country. In July 2008, 54 persons were killed in blasts on consecutive days in Bangalore and Ahmedabad. A day after the massive killings,  28 unexploded  bombs were defused in Surat .

In the last few years, there have been bomb attacks in Mumbai, Coimbatore , Srinagar , Ahmedabad, Delhi , Varanasi , Hyderabad ,  Bangalore and Jaipur. In some places, there were more than one repeated attacks. The United States ' National Institute of Counter Terrorism says that between January 2004 and March 2007, the death toll in India from all terrorist attacks was 3,674, second only to Iraq during the same period. In most of the major bomb blasts, the name of one organization, that is SIMI  has surfaced  with unmistaken and definite constancy.

Gujarat  police have claimed, that SIMI was responsible  for the  27 serial bombs which ripped through  Ahmedabad on July 28, 2008,  killing 56 people. It has also established the trail to SIMI with 23 unexploded bombs found in Surat , between July 26 and August 3, 2008. A number of SIMI activists and the suspected “mastermind” behind the blasts have been arrested.

SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India), a now banned organization, is a Muslim fundamentalist organization, which was founded in 1977. Its ostensible purpose was “to educate and enlighten Muslim youth in India ”. The SIMI, in its publications, lists as its objectives, the propagation of Islam and j ihad for the cause of Islam. SIMI activists believe in a pan-Islamic State, a Muslim ummah . They say, in their literature and objectives, that they want to convert India into an Islamic land.

A recent study by two scholars from Oxford University says that this is only a part of the larger international trend. They have found that over the years, those with engineering degrees are over-represented in Islamic terror organizations.  One of the ten suspects, arrested for his role in the Ahmedabad serial blasts, holds a diploma in Human Rights from the MS University in Vadodara. In the Jaipur blasts (May, 2008), a medical student was reportedly involved.  Bangalore blasts' (2005) mastermind was an engineer, according to the investigating agencies. Recently highly qualified persons have been arrested for terrorist activities. In Ahmedabad blasts (July 2008), the alleged mastermind is a teacher. Among the SIMI arrested men, Safdar Nagori is a mechanical engineer. Another person behind the ‘Indian Mujahideen' terror e-mail Abdul Subhan Qureshi alias Taufique is considered a computer whiz. Others, like Iqbal Shaikh holds an ITI diploma in electrical engineering while Gyasuddin Ansari has an ITI diploma in radio technology.   

SIMI reportedly gets extensive and significant funds from the Middle East . According to the police the SIMI has a core membership of at least 400 full-time cadres and 200,000 members.  The police also says that  the SIMI has links with Islamic terror groups based in Pakistan and in Bangladesh .

 Let there be no doubt in the Government's mind that Jihadi movement has been violent and coercive from the very start. Now Jihad is again being preached to re-conquer India through SIMI and other allied organizations. The emphasis in Islam, is on conversion. During my recent visit to the USA ,  my host, a Hindu, mentioned to me, that the young Muslims, who are the class fellows of his daughter studying in High School, were pressurising her to  convert to Islam. Conversion of the so called “ Non- Believers, that is Non-Muslims”, is an article of faith in Islam. It seems when many students choose engineering, medical, civil services as career, some prefer to pursue career in terrorism. Many of them belong to wealthy class and are well qualified. So the age-old concept or perception, that economic insufficiency and the too little education are the only causes of these people's involvement in terrorist activities does  not seem to be valid in all cases.

Jihadis are working under the illusion that they can cow down India , and make it another Pakistan . They are taking advantage of it being a secular country, where religion does not have any role. The Preamble to the Constitution is very clear about the rights of every Indian irrespective of his religion or his religious beliefs. It says:

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens: JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;

While every citizen has been guaranteed the above freedoms, they have to be consistent with the Unity and Integrity of  India .  The police is, naturally under a lot of pressure, not only to deal and arrest terrorists, but also to collect the evidence.  Terrorist organizations are closed organizations.  They function only on need-to-know basis. We have antique laws framed in 1863, when there was no problem of terrorism. Confession made to Police, under the law, is not admissible in the courts. The terrorists cannot be expected to admit their guilt and put a hangman's noose themselves.  With the heavy court pendency, cases take decades to come to a finality. There is no law against terrorism in the country, though this is the major problem faced by us.

Moreover, nobody wants to be involved with the police because of the harassment caused by being a court witness. The conditions of witnesses, in our country, are best illustrated by the following extract, from a letter written by a Sessions Judge to the National Police Commission:

“The biggest single hurdle which inhibits the citizen from coming forward to help the police is the deplorable conditions prevailing in the courts of law. The lot of witnesses appearing on behalf of the State against a criminal is certainly pitiable.”

The police face an uphill task in all such cases. In the absence of witnesses, the acquittals, not only in ordinary cases, but also in  terrorism cases are common and  not unusual. 99.9% Muslims in India are peace loving and have nothing to do with the terrorists and terrorism. But since everybody, irrespective of his community or religion, does not want to get involved with the law and terrorists, the terrorists manage to get away, either with the help of the local supporters and ISI sleeper cells or if caught, manage to get away because of  impossible standards of evidence required to prove any case.

It is essential to involve the Muslim community in the fight against terrorism, though Deoband seminary has issued a Fatwa against terrorism. Their presence should also be increased in the intelligence and security agencies, as it is they, who  can more  easily access the terrorists and their supporters because of religious affinity. The laws are framed in air by those who have nothing to do with the ground realities. Laws should be framed in consultation with the judicial and enforcement officers, rather than sitting in an air conditioned room, far from the ground situation.

The whole world has made tough laws against terrorism, when India does not have any law, whatsoever, on the subject. So the right signals, have not been sent to the anti-national elements. Whether we should have laws against terrorism, is unfortunately mired in politics and to be precise, on vote bank politics. Citizens should be sensitised, on the need of co-operating with the security agencies, as well as their help enlisted in being alert to suspicious strangers, in their areas, as well as the unattended objects and vehicles.

Moreover, Closed  Circuit Cameras, Sensors and other gadgetries including satellite photography and reconnaissance should be extensively employed, to tackle this terrible problem facing the country. More than anything else, the government and the opposition should speak with one voice, against terrorism, unlike now when some Ministers jumped the gun and welcomed the lifting of the ban on SIMI, which was stayed the next day by the Supreme Court.    However, the truth about the politicians has been stated by H.L. Mencken, who says; “The government consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me.  They have, taking one with another, no special talent for the business of government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office.”