Hindu Intellectuals Talk on Terrorism

R K Dwivedi, a Reader in Delhi University, rejects allegations that only Muslims are involved in every blast and terrorist attack in the country.
"As far as the recent blasts or the terror attack on the Parliament are concerned, tell me, has there been any impartial enquiry," Dwivedi asks and himself answers in negative.
"Then how can one say that a particular community is involved when none of them have been proved guilty in a court of law except in certain cases on the basis of confessions in the police custody?" he questions adding that it very difficult for us to believe police claims.
Bangalore-based Journalist Shiva Sunder demands thorough probe of all blasts in the country and terrorist attacks starting from the attack on the Parliament.
"All the blasts and attacks right from the attack on the Indian Parliament need to be thoroughly investigated. What is very problematic is that there hasn't been any judicial enquiry into these blasts, nor has there been any conviction in these cases" Sunder says.
He demands that the Judiciary and Executive should expose the real culprits behind these blasts through impartial investigation but doubts whether the government will ever conduct such enquiries.
Principal of a college in Patna (who wanted to remain anonymous, given his position) says: "As far as the investigation of the recent blasts is concerned what is happening is that the suspicion is being given the status of evidence both by the investigative agencies and the media." Instead of hard evidence and proofs cases are built on mere suspicion which is more a prejudice and is the result of demonization of a particular community, he says.

Terrorism
Dwivedi is critical of all kinds of terrorism either by religious fanatics or others. He says what Hindutva extremists are doing is a clear case of terrorism and blames them and the media for helping Muslim extremists in legitimizing their share of acts of terror in the name of Islam.
"Whose terrorism are we talking about? One by the Hindutva goons who don't have anything to do with the Sanatana Dharma that Hinduism is? By RSS, Shiv Sena and their affiliates like VHP and Bajrang Dal who have terrorized all the minorities across the country in the name of Hinduism which ironically is tolerant to the differences and allows diversity of viewpoints?" he asks.
"Or the terrorism by a few people who try to gain legitimacy in the name of Islam as M. J. Akbar talks about in his article "Fasadi, not Jihadi". And the irony is that it is not the Indian Muslims but the media and the Hindu right wing which provide them legitimacy and recognition by terming it as "Islamic Terrorism," he argued.
"Terrorism takes birth from injustice and socio-economic oppression to the point when you don't leave any peaceful means of expressing for any group or individual to express their views, he says.
"But by saying this I am not at all implying that Muslim community is behind these blasts. My precise point is that why there are two rules of law, one for the minority and another for the majority," he points out.
On the purpose of Hindutva terrorism, he said: "They have their own political interests which they achieve by terrorizing and causing killings of innocent and marginalized minorities as they did in Indore this May or as they have been doing in Karnataka and Orissa for two months. "
Bangalore-based journalist Shiv Sunar says terrorism is a media generated political term which doesn't have a generic meaning.
"If it means to terrorise then various Hindutva organizations should also be termed as terrorist organizations, " he says.

"But the point is that it has been put to its selective use only to demonise a particular community. There is a politics in its selective use which is guided by Hindutva interests in the national context," he argues.
The Patna principal sees deprivation and oppression at the root of terrorism.
"Terrorism breeds when an individual or a group is driven to the point of death and desperation, when s/he is denied their constitutional rights and when one wants to hit back against the socio-economic and sectarian oppression of any group or community by some people. This oppression can be from the majority community, the state or from others," he says.

Faltering judicial system

"Justice delivery percentage in the 1993 Bombay bomb blasts is more than 95% but it is just 2% when it comes to the 1992-93 Bombay riots," says Delhi University Reader Dwivedi.
"Why is it that more than 90% culprits have been punished in the Godhra train carnage but when it comes to the subsequent Gujarat pogrom in which the whole state was complicit, it is not punishment that the state government talks about but the guilty Police officers have been promoted? And the justice delivery system is as low as below 5%," argues Dwivedi.
He also blasted Nanavati Commission report as there was reportedly corruption involved in the process.
Sunder wonders "why Afzal Guru was ordered to be "hanged" by the Supreme Court even when there was not a proper trial. And this judgment was given in "order to satisfy the collective conscience of the society..."
"Are we living in the period of mob justice where it is not the principles of Truth and Justice which rule the judicial system but the collective conscience of society?" he asks.

Political use of terrorism

Dwivedi says: "I don't see any benefit that the Muslim community will reap out of it (serial bombings) but the political parties who want to create panic and thereby want to polarize the votes of the communities across the nation to reap the electoral gains." One has to see this in the backdrop of the coming General Election and Assembly elections in many states.

To support his argument he quotes Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen and says when an incident happens don't see who has done that but see who will be benefited by that episode and then you will get a clue to the people who may be behind that incident.
Dwivedi says: "I don't see any positive sign and the future is going to be of those political Right wing forces who want to rule the country by destroying the communal harmony which is civilization heritage of the Modern India."
A poster at Mohammad Ali, Mumbai
The Patna principal says: "The political leadership uses the idea of terrorism to panic people across the country and then to make them vote for it out of desperation and sense of insecurity. And the Right wing uses terrorism to demonize a particular community and polarize the communities across the nation for its electoral benefits."

Media getting biased

The principal of a college in Patna comes down heavily on the media.
"In the whole affairs the role of media, particularly the electronic media is very destructive. Instead of questioning the version of police it presents them as the gospel truth demonizing the people who have been arrested without substantial proofs."
He sees Australian media's role as model in the case of Indian doctor Md. Haneef who was accused in Glasgow bombing case.
"It was the Australian media which, instead of accepting the version of the prejudiced Australian police as the Indian media does, investigated the case and exposed the loopholes in the case. And then the entire case collapsed.
He says: "The Indian media has a lot to learn from the Australian media on how to approach the sensitive cases of terrorism. In India Tehelka magazine is doing a great job which again is an exception and holds out many lessons to the media fraternity."
Delhi University Reader Dwivedi says Muslims initially were not forthcoming in condemning terrorism but even when the entire community and its leaders have come to street to condemn terrorism, the media still gives an impression that the whole community supports terrorism and is behind the blasts.

Sundar says the role of media in combating terrorism is important but the way it is portraying the issue is not correct. The electronic media does its own trial before any judicial trial can take place.

Terrorism: Islamic or un-Islamic?

Ram Puniyani

In current times the popular perceptions in the major parts of the World including India, Islam and Muslims have become synonymous with terrorism. There is an act of blast, and the finger of suspicion points to some descript or non-descript Muslim named group. Many of these groups are so 'helpful' to the investigating authorities that they leave their dairies, and identification mark for making the investigation for police an easy job. Accordingly the job of investigating authorities now is cool, as they know that it does not matter who has done it, so far as they can nab some youth with Muslim identity, half of whom under the torture anyway will feel that it is better to 'accept' the crime not done rather than to suffer the third-forth degree torture and unspeakable acts done under the cover of dealing with terrorists.

The matters have gone to the extent that even if Bajrang Dal (RSS affiliate) workers die while making bomb( Nanded 2006) or one of them says that that they had planned to blast the mosques, the link need not be pursued in that direction. To beat it all the forces in Khaki or greens can go to the extent of faking the recovery of RDX before the meeting of none other than Sonia Gandhi, canceling her meeting without any real threat (Bhaderwah, Kashmir 25th Feb 2008) and get away with it. Even the 'sincere' social workers/thinkers have come to believe that there is some thing in Islam which promotes violence.

Many a scholars of Islam and social scientists have produced remarkable literature explaining the nature of Islam, showing the difference between religion as moral values, religion as an institution, religion as part culture, and abuse of religious identity for political goals by social layers or global super powers today. But of course these remain in the world of academia and libraries where not many people read them; some review of these books is carried out in an odd journal here and there, while the popular perceptions against Islam and Muslims are deepening by the day.

This propaganda abuses the religious identity at one level hides the political goals of social layers and the World super power at another level. The global media of all types is dominated by this perception. The worst victims of this are Muslims all over. At one level it has intimidated them and fear psychology has gripped a large section of society. They are profiled at places and Muslim identity is pasted on their forehead. One friend of mine, a thorough atheist, progressive, realized that she is a Muslim only when her son a lovely bright creative teen was questioned at random in the context of terrorist act, by the police just because his name happened to be a Muslim.

Another writer researcher of repute 'realized' that he is a Muslim when while driving he was stopped by a cop and after seeing his name in the driving license, passed abusive remarks. Another senior journalist, who happened to be a Muslim, realized the same when caught for breaking the speed limit on the highway, was stopped by the traffic police, who on seeing his license remarked that he surely must be carrying a bomb, and that's the reason for his driving at high speed.

As such, the worst victims of the current perception and acts of terrorism are Muslims themselves. Due to this demonization the progressive trends in the community at large are on the back foot and hold of conservatism is on the rise. At times groups of Muslims also staged protests against acts of terror, but that also has not been cutting much ice as far as popular perceptions go. What can be done to fight this image of Muslims which has come into being due to various circumstances? There is also a criticism against Muslims as a whole that they are not doing much to counter this image.

It is in this backdrop that the fatwa issued after the Anti terrorism conference held at Darul Uloom comes forth as a serious effort to present the correct picture of Islam as religion and Muslims as people. Recently (Feb 25, 2006) this seminary organized a meeting of over 4000 delegates from madrassas and representatives of Islamic schools like Nadwatul Ulema and Sufi orders like Chistis of Ajmer Sharif and senior scholars of the seminary itself. After debating the issue of terrorism, actions of jihadi groups and role of such violence in teachings of Islam the conference issued this statement. This in way is a response to the way the activities of groups like Jiash, HUJI, SIMI, the fall outs of Taliban, Al Qaeda etc. are being linked to teachings in Madrassas and to Islam itself. The overall consensus was that terrorism is un-Islamic and that mischief rioting and murder are sins as per this religion. They did point out the role of US-Zionism in projecting this nexus of Islam-Madassas and terrorism while appealing to them to desist from falling to the temptation of associating with groups indulging in acts of terror in the name of Islam.

One recalls that Islam was linked to terrorism when US wanted to fight its battle with Russia by putting the gun on the shoulders of Muslims in the name of Islam. It promoted the madrassas in Pakistan, Lal Masjid being one of them where the distorted version of Islam was used for indoctrinating Muslim youth to lure them to join the war against Russian armies occupying Afghanistan. In these madrassas communists were dubbed as kafirs, killing kafirs equivalent to jihad and that was projected as a sacrifice in the path of Allah.

The very word Islamic terrorism is a creation of US media, faithfully followed by media all over the world. And taking cue from that the communal forces have been regularly shouting that Madrassas are the breeding ground of terrorism. Despite many a useful studies on Madrassas this picture is deepened while undertaking the social auditing of Madrassas to dispel these notions should be an easy enough job for people.

The use of violence has been done in the history by people of all religions. Islam does talk of taking recourse to violence as the last resort to protect oneself against the aggressor. It also ordains that killing of even a single innocent person tantamount to killing the whole humanity. Islam the religion of Peace is projected as the religion which preaches violence, is the biggest 'success' of US propaganda machinery in the direction of manufacturing consent for its imperialist goals.

It is in this direction that US ideologue Prof Samuel Huntington talked of Clash of Civilizations. As per him, and as per the unsaid US policy doctrine, the advanced western civilization, to which US belongs, is facing the threat from backward Islamic civilization. This bogus thesis has been well answered by the UN committee which went and examined the Alliance of civilizations. This UN report, which went unnoticed by the 'mainstream' attention points out that civilizations have been cooperating and allying with each other and that's how global civilizations have been evolving and getting enriched from each other. Same phenomenon can be seen from two opposite angels, clash or alliance!

This opinion of this Conference is very significant and crucial. It not only has hit the nail on the head by pointing out that terrorism is due to political forces, that theologically and morally Islam does not permit terrorism and that those dejected Muslims facing grave injustices in the hands of system which regards Islam and Muslims as synonyms, should not get tempted to associate with the terror outfits operating in the name of Islam. One has to complement this valuable initiative of this seminary and hope that society will register this message seriously, and look beyond this projections to understand the real cause of terrorism, which lies in the social, economic and political injustices.

Then they came for Christians

Ram Puniyani

Orissa is witnessing unprecedented violence against the tiny Christian minority. On August 23, 2008, Swami Laxmananand along with his four followers was killed, probably by a group of Maoists. Immediately, anti-Christian violence began on big scale. The way it began it seemed as if preparations for it were well afoot. It was systematic and widespread. It sounded as if preparation was already there, just the pretext was being waited for. So far many innocent Christians have been killed, wounded and rendered homeless apart from many Churches having been torched. The RSS combine, VHP-Adivasi Kalyan Ashram-Bajarang Dal, allege that Swami was killed by Christians, or there is collusion between Maoists and Christians. It is unlikely that there is any such alliance between the two. Any way, what is important is that the crime of murder of Swami must be properly investigated and guilty must be punished as per the law of the land.

Just to recall anti Christian tirade was also launched in December 2007, around Christmas time. That time also the pretext was that Christians have beaten up Swami and so this 'revenge'. For RSS combine launching such bouts of violence by now is becoming a child's play. Search for a pretext, launch your well oiled machinery for the communal agenda, communalize the society along religious lines and strengthen your political base seems to be its trajectory. The similar phenomenon was observed in Gujarat, after the burning of Sabarmati coach S 6 at Godhra. Modi announced that it has been done by local Muslims. There was no need to wait for the proper investigation, no need to follow the norm of railway board that every such event must be investigated, and tirade was launched with full vigor, and split in the society along religious lines was brought in ensuring BJP coming back to power. This victory of BJP was despite the decline of popularity of BJP. Anti incumbency was nullified and Modi returned to power to further his agenda. Power of polarizing the society by communal violence was at display at its worst.


This, by now is the standard technique, spread canards, myths, biases against minorities, look for pretext and go for the kill under the tolerating eyes of communalized state apparatus. If BJP is in power or is an ally in the seat of power, the job is easier. Anti Christian violence went on higher gear in the same year in which BJP came to power in the Center in 1996. The pretext was that Christian missionaries are converting the gullible Adivasis by force, fraud and allurement. This incitement was skillfully utilized by Adivasis Kalyan Ashram, VHP and Bajrang dal, and the violence started going up in intensity over the years. The most ghastly of this was seen in the burning alive of Pastor Graham Stains along with his two innocent sons, aged 11 and 7 years. This was immediately followed by the murder of Fr. Arul Das. Also Sheikh Rahman was killed on the charges of trading in cows for slaughter. Anti Christian atmosphere was built up and as this was more in the remote places where Adivasis do not have easy access to law, police etc, anyway there efficacy in helping minorities from the onslaught of RSS combine is also doubtful by now, the process has been going on and on. The violence kept on simmering and kept taking intense forms around the Christmas times. In a way a new Christmas ritual of burning churches and beating up Christians around Christmas time became a sort of annual event. It is immaterial that the number of Christians is miniscule in Indian society, it is immaterial that Christian missionaries are working in India from first century A.D. itself, it is immaterial that the despite the allegations from RSS combine, the population of Christians as per the census figures has been declining constantly. In the face of these facts the argument proffered was that since the converts to Christianity don't want to loose their privileges that don't declare their true religion and are crypto Christians. The simple point is that Adivasis, where the missionary work is maximum, don't loose such privileges after conversion. Gobbles must be turning in his grave with his followers surpassing him many times over!


In it not a mere coincidence that maximum violence in Adivasi areas has been seen in the poorest regions. Dangs in Gujarat is the poorest district of Gujarat, and Orissa is amongst the poorest states of the country. The main reason for violence against Christians is to ensure that the welfare, educational services offered by them do not reach the Adivasis and that they remain poor and illiterate, that the status quo in these areas prevails so that the democratic space for these wretched of the society is blocked by the religiosity cultivated through Swamis. We saw two processes of co-option and one political process of intimidation in these regions. Through Swamis, Laxmananad (Orissa), Assemanand (Dangs) and followers of Asaram bapu in Jhabua area, they did the cooption work, Gharvapasi, conversion in to Hinduism. Through mega processes like Shabri Kumbh in Dangs, Hindu Sangams in other Adivasi areas, an intimidating atmosphere has been created to draw them to RSS fold. The other process is the political one. This is the building up of mechanism where by Dara Singh's, and his clones are ready waiting for pretexts to pounce upon the social fabric of unity. The violence is made to look as spontaneous and is a part of a process of revenge. It is neither, it is well planned un-folding of RSS agenda. Even Wadhva Commission, pointed out that there was no conversion activity by Pastor Stains. The civic rights groups have pointed out that the violence has political foundations and has nothing to do with religion or conversion. A Peoples tribunal headed by retired Justice Usha also warned about the preparedness of the communal organizations for violence,
The case of Orissa was specifically investigated by India Peoples Tribunal, led by Justice K.K.Usha (retired) of Kerala High court in 2006 (Communalism in Orissa). This tribunal forewarns about the shape of things to come. " The tribunal assessed the spread of communal organizations in Orissa, which has been accompanied by a series of small and large events and some riots…such violations are utilized to generate the threat and reality of greater violence, and build an infrastructure of fear and intimidation. " It further notes that minorities are being grossly ill treated; there is gross inaction of the state Govt to take action. Outlining the mechanism of the communalization, it points out, "The report also describes in considerable detail how the cadre of majoritarian communal organizations is indoctrinated in hatred and violence against other communities it holds to be inherently inferior. If such communalization is undertaken in Orissa, it is indicative of the future of the nation… the signs are truly ominous for India's democratic future." (p 70)

In all the Adivasis areas, a dangerous situation, and occasionally an apparent calm prevail. While swami Laxmananand' s killers deserve the punishment, Swami's followers are spreading hate in these areas and vitiating the atmosphere. One can also see the communalization of state apparatus and BJP protecting its marauding mobs either by pulling the strings from the seats of power or by spreading the canards against the weaker sections of society. Interestingly as pointed out above, the December 2007 violence was launched on the pretext that Christians have beaten up the Swami! We do need to look back and check the activities of those spreading hate in the name of religion. While the Christian sects are dime a dozen, all are not in the business of proselytization. Few of them must be indulging in wrong practices, but surely law of the land can take care of those not following it. Permitting violence by the state machinery tantamount to violation of the oath taken by those in power, and they should to be suspended form the seats of power. And if they are not able to protect the innocent citizens of their state, why should they continue to rule? The question is which political force is above suspicion and honest enough to abide by the laws of Indian constitution? The question also arises, is the state bureaucracy and police honest enough to protect the minorities? Time to introspect and set the things right at deeper level of governance and politics

Nanavati report based on manufactured evidence

" The Tehelka expose showed prominent Vishwa Hindu Parishad - and Bajrang Dal leaders admitting in their conversations with the undercover reporter that Modi sanctioned the killings in the wake of the train burning in Godhra, in which 59 Hindu passengers were killed. "

New Delhi, Sep 27 - The Nanavati commission relied on 'manufactured evidence' to conclude that the Godhra train burning tragedy was pre-planned, according to the Tehelka newsmagazine, which last year carried out an undercover investigation into the 2002 communal violence in Gujarat. Showing the footage of the sting operation, part of the sensational expose in November carried out by an undercover journalist, Tehelka editor Tarun Tajpal said witnesses were caught on camera saying they were bribed by the Gujarat police to make false statements before the investigative commission. We forwarded the footage of the sting to the Nanavati Commission last year, but unfortunately we have not heard anything from them, Tejpal said. The first part of the panel report tabled in the Gujarat legislative assembly Thursday concludes that the train-burning at Godhra town was a premeditated crime and not an accident. Based on our investigation, we appeal to the panel to re-look at all evidence submitted by the Gujarat police as it can have dangerous consequences on society, Tejpal said. The commission said it found that 140 litres of petrol was procured from a petrol pump in Godhra town the day before the burning of a coach of the Sabarmati Express on Feb 27, 2002, but according to the Tehelka sting nobody had bought so much petrol. The commission report rests on the testimonies of two witnesses, petrol pump salesmen Ranjitsinh Patel and Prabhatsinh Patel, who said they had sold 140 litres of petrol to Salim Panwala.
Shockingly, Tehelka caught Ranjitsinh Patel on camera saying chief investigating officer Noel Parmar had paid both of them Rs.50,000 each to change their - statement and identify some Muslims as conspirators, Tejpal said. The other pieces of evidence presented by the police before the commission were manufactured to present the train burning accident as a conspiracy, Tejpal said. The Tehelka expose showed prominent Vishwa Hindu Parishad - and Bajrang Dal leaders admitting in their conversations with the undercover reporter that Modi sanctioned the killings in the wake of the train burning in Godhra, in which 59 Hindu passengers were killed. As many as 1,169 people - majority of them Muslims - were killed in the subsequent communal violence

Forced Conversion In Gujarat

Shabnam Hashmi


Today morning a battery of Forest officers and police descended on the village of Nandapeda near Ahwa in the Dangs, Gujarat. They pulled out the doors and the windows, pulled out the wooden ballis which support the roof; they pulled out wood from the roof of the huts of the villagers. The forest department decided late night that it was illegal wood and they must recover it.

The ATS meanwhile rounded up a few people.
Nandapeda is the only village with majority Muslim population in the Dangs district, considered the poorest district in the whole of India.
The government has been pressurizing the Muslims to convert to the Hindu religion or face eviction from their land.
Some of the residents of this village moved the Gujarat High Court against the government's pressure of converting and changing their religion.
The families have been living in the village for over 100 years.
On June 13th 2008 a senior officer had called a meeting in Ahwa and asked them to change their religion or vacate the land.
After this meeting police and forest officers had been harassing them. Police have been searching old cases registered against any person of the community and asking them to furnish bail papers. The police targeted 33 people against whom some petty crime or a scuffle with the neighbors was registered.
Claiming that repeated representation before authorities for regularization of their land has been in vain, petitioners requested the court to restrain the government from pressurizing them to convert from their religion. Justice Jayant Panchal had in July sought explanation in this regard from the secretary in-charge, district collector and the village sarpanch.
After hearing all parties, Justice Anant Dave admitted the case on September 11, 2008 and ordered to maintain status quo on the disputed land.
On the next day the police captured approximately 80 villagers for transporting cattle into Maharashtra and also apprehended some villagers who were going on motorcycles using the reason of cow slaughter, though there were no cattle in the tempo.

The villagers gathered. There was a clash between the villagers and the police. People were beaten on both the sides. One policeman was also beaten up. Police then opened fire and a number of villagers got bullet injuries. They were taken to Ahwa civil hospitals. The relatives were not allowed to meet them. Police apprehended eight villagers for beating a policeman and though a local lawyer went for their bail, it was not given.
Next day the police came and in the name of combing operation attacked and ransacked the village. Villagers were beaten up brutally including women and children. All men fled to the jungles. The police not only took away all the goods but before going they poured kerosene into the eatable good so that they could not eat anything too.
VHP proposed a rally on 15th.
After a lot of pressure the VHP rally was stopped but they declared a Bandh on 16th.
The VHP gave a deadline to the collector it is heard to get the village vacated.
Today morning as already mentioned the forest department swooped in.
The villagers need urgent help and intervention. I have been personally informing various state politicians and centre about the developments
http://www.counterc urrents.org/ hashmi170908. htm

"I am a living example, representing 2.5 million Manipuris, where my forefathers were forcibly converted to Hinduism in 19th century, which is known as PUYA MEITHABA (burning of Meitei Script) by Hindu missionary"


Who Really Does Conversion?
By Madhu Chandra
17 September, 2008Countercurrents. org
Hindutva fundamentalists have chosen Conversion as a yardstick to kill missionaries, rape nuns, and vandalize churches.
Who actually does fraudulent conversion? Charges are given to Christians and made it as real to whole nation through saffron sponsored media. I am a living example, representing 2.5 million Manipuris, where my forefathers were forcibly converted to Hinduism in 19th century, which is known as PUYA MEITHABA (burning of Meitei Script) by Hindu missionary. Ever since then, every Manipuri (Meitei) has Singh at the end of every name, although many youngsters are abandoning it by returning to indigenous Meitei religion.
The casteism and untouchability emerged after migration of Hinduism to the Manipur society where caste or creed never existed earlier.
The saffronisation of Hindutva, which is purely the proselytizing movement, does not end with my people there. The ongoing conversion of tribal communities to Hinduism is still in full swing in different parts tribal dominated areas.
We have witnessed the saffronising of Dang district of Gujarat during Sabri Kumbha Mela in 2006. The tribal of Jhabua in MP, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhan, Assam, Arunachal etc are the example of saffronising propaganda of Hindutva forces.
In the land where anti conversion law is forcefully implemented, the tribal Christians in Kandhamal district of Orissa are in night mire at the hands of Hindutva forces. To be alive in the village, become Hindu otherwise get out or get kill is the threatening almost every now and then to the tribal Christians in Kandhamal. The law making machinery calls it freedom of religion.

Christians in MP, Orissa and other states where anti conversion laws exist are accused for their involvement in forced conversion when they themselves are the victim of forced conversion at the hands of Hindutva forces.
The Christian population in last twenty years has declined in India. Then how and where comes the question of more people being converted to Christianity in India?
The allegations of conversion is lie and hate campaign of Hindutva forces to license themselves to rape, kill, burn and vandalize the Christian churches. While all religions as per as the constitutions of India, welcomes everyone to their religions. The force, fraud and fraudulent conversion carried out is none other than Hindutva forces, that too totally against the will and wishes of the individuals so as it was done to my forefathers in Manipur and its consequences still suffer by the presently community.
http://www.counterc urrents.org/ chandra170908. htm

Malegaon, Modasa and Mehrauli Blasts

Subhash Gatade

Saba Parveen still repents the fact that she sent her younger sister Farheen to Bhikku Chowk to buy some Pakoras. Little she could have the premonition that she would never get to see her 10 year old sister a class V student alive.
The blast at Malegaon’s Bhikku Chowk, has literally shattered the family of Shaikh Liaquat Wahiuddin, Farheen’s father who lives around 100 feet away from the Chowk near the Kasbapada masjid. A father of three daughters and two sons and a wife has seen all the hell broke lose soon after the bomb blast.
The couple fainted when they reached Wadia hospital to see their own daughter who had suffered severe burns in the blast turned lifeless. The latest bomb blasts in Malegaon have seen four deaths wherein a motorcycle parked near old SIMI office which was laden with explosives exploded killing four people on the spot. It was worth noting that the people living in the vicinity of the Chowk had informed the police about this unclaimed motorcycle standing there for hours together. But the police did not bother to turn up and reached the place only after the blast which saw these deaths.
It is not difficult to imagine the palpable anger which exists among people about the callousness of the police and the insensitivity of the administration. People of this town which has a significant no of Muslim population have not forgotten the treatment meted out to them by the police and the administration when there were similar blasts in the city during their religious congregations killing 40 people in 2006. Despite enough hints about the involvement of Hindutva terror groups in the perpetration of these acts, where a torso with a fake beard was also identified, ultimately saw few Muslim youths getting booked for this crime who are still languishing in jail. A CBI enquiry which was ordered after lot of pressure claims to have reached a deadend. In a recent meeting with Baba Siddique, the ’guardian’ minister of Nasik, representatives of different Muslim organisations in Malegaon gave vent to their feelings of disgust and deep hurt over the developments. Angry community leaders asked the minister "You blame SIMI for blasts in temples, you blame SIMI for blasts in market places, you blame SIMI for blast Masjids. The latest blast has taken place just below the SIMI office. Now whom will you blame ?"( Mailtoday, Oct 3, 2008)

Hemant Karkare, chief of the Anti Terrorist Squad of Maharashtra Police, who was instrumental in nabbing the activists of Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janjagruti Samity for the bomb blasts in Thane, Vashi and few other places in Maharashtra (June 2008) and his team of officers also shied away from blaming some or the other Islamic terrorist organisation for the blast.The perpetrators of the bomb blast who had packed a splendour motorcycle with nuts, bolts, nails and ballbearings and three kilograms of explosive material, near a mosque, beside a SIMI office and the time chosen by them - on the eve of Eid - has definitely put local police and ATS groping in the dark.
But according to an investigative report filed by Mailtoday ( 1 October 2008) : "Police, however, are sure of one thing - that the blasts in Malegaon and Modasa in Gujarat were a coordinated effort, as both occured at around 9.30 p.m. in Muslim dominated areas.Karkare felt that the Gujarat and the Malegaon blasts were similar in nature also." In fact any close watcher of the bomb blasts in the country cannot miss the fact that bikes have been a favourite instrument of the Bajrang Dal to attack Muslims. A narcotest of those involved in Nanded bomb blasts (April 2006) which saw deaths of two Bajrang Dal activists had clearly revealed that ’mysterious blasts’ in Parbhani in 2003 and Jalna (2004) which involved perpetrators on bikes throwing bombs at the congregation and fleeing were actually the handiwork of a terror module of the Bajrang Dal itself.
The report in Mailtoday further adds " This is similar to the blast in Mehrauli market in New Delhi blast on Saturday and also some other cases where bombs were placed on bikes."
Of course Mailtoday is not alone in pointing fingers at Hindu terror groups for these bomb blasts, a detailed writeup in Indian Express ( Hindu Extremist Groups on Radar In Malegaon Probe, Sagnik Chowdhury, 1 st October 2008) reiterates the line of thinking of the ATS officials as far as the particular blast is concerned. " A day after the Maharashtra police said it could not rule out the possibility of Hindu extremist hand in Monday’s blast in Malegaon, investigators are revisiting the crude bombs that were planted in auditoriums on the outskirts of Mumbai earlier this year." The ATS is planning to question the activists of Hindu Janjagruti Samiti, Sanatan Sanstha and other stray Hindu extremist organisations for their possible involvement in the act.The 1020 page chargesheet filed by the ATS in September against the members of these organisations for their terrorist acts is an added reminder for it to pursue the case in a balanced manner.

A deeper analysis of terror strikes since 2006 also reveal that there are at least five such terror strikes which targeted minorities and their religious places and they still remain unresolved. A report filed by Aman Sharma ( Mailtoday, October 3, 2008) provides details of these blasts and the status of investigations. Jama Masjid blast ( 14 injured, April 2006 - Friday) where low intensity, crude bombs were placed in a polythene bag is still pending with Delhi police, no outfit has been named. Malegaon ( 40 killed, September 8, 2006 - Friday) which saw four bombs outside mosques on Shab-e-Barat where RDX-ammonium nitrate bombs in boxes on bicycles was used, still remains unresolved. The investigation in Samjhuta express blasts (66 killed, Feb 19, 2007) where six bombs were planted inside Indo-Pak Samjhauta Express has also not shown any progress and neither any organisation has been named. The case of Mecca Masjid blasts ( 11 killed, May 18, 2007 -Friday) where two bombs were planted inside Mecca Masjid in boxes, is also pending with CBI. The enquiry into Ajmer Sharif bomb blasts (3 killed, October 11, 2007 - Friday) where two bombs in tiffin boxes wee used and where ammonium nitrate bombs were triggered by mobile phone has also not made much headway.The case at present pending with Rajasthan police has also not named any organisation.
Looking at the fact that communal common sense dominates the functioning of the police and the media in our country it is difficult to predict what will happen next. The investigations into the recent Kanpur blast (24 August 2008) which saw deaths of two RSS activists, Rajiv Mishra and Bhupendra Chopra, while making ammonium nitrate bombs, is an example worth studying. While the police took two of their colleagues for narcoanalysis, it did not even bother to question their alleged mentors -one of whom happened to be a Professor in IIT with RSS background.

Some Hard Questions

The Delhi Union of Journalists and its Ethics Council are concerned at the falling standards of reporting as evident in the manner in which the police operation at Batla House on September 19, 2008 was reported by various newspapers and TV channels in the Capital.

We wish to underline that accuracy in reporting facts is the first responsibility of the media. Where facts are disputed, the discrepancies should be pointed out and the sources questioned. Presenting several versions of incidents and using multiple sources of information is an inalienable part of credible reporting.

We also emphasise that uncovering the truth may not always be the job of the media. The media is not equipped to investigate and uncover the truth in severely complicated cases like the incident being examined in the report.

But presenting different facets of events as they emerge is part of the professional responsibility of the media.

In this report we have analysed the reporting of the Times of India, The Hindustan Times, The Hindu, The Indian Express (Delhi editions of September 20 and 21, 2008). Among the Hindi newspapers we have examined Dainik Jagaran, Amar Ujala, Dainik Hindustan, Jansatta, Punjab Kesari and Rashtriya Sahara; the Urdu newspaper we looked at is Rashtriya Sahara.

We wish to make it clear that we hold no brief for either the police or the suspects, two of whom have been killed and several rounded up. We are not passing a judgment on whether it was a planned encounter or a fake encounter or a police operation gone wrong. We do not know the truth. We are only examining the professional conduct of our co-professionals with a view to pointing out the casual manner in which serious issues have been handled right from the day of the serial bomb blasts in
Delhi.

A research team of the DUJ decided to examine the way in which the print media reported the police operation on September 19, 2008, at L-18, Batla House, Jamia Nagar in Delhi in which two alleged terrorists and one inspector of the Special Cell of the Delhi Police were killed. We have attempted in this report to first state the facts as they were reported and then analyse the language employed and the views expressed while reporting and commenting on this highly sensitive and contentious incident.


Analysis of Newspaper Reports dated September 20, 2008

The facts first.

1. Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma of the Special Cell of the Delhi Police killed.

2. Two young boys, Atif Amin and Mohammed Sajid, killed.


3. Mohammed Saif arrested.

The rest of the facts regarding the police operation at L-18, Batla House, Jamia Nagar, Delhi on Sept. 19, 2008 are uncertain. Although the incident took place in the capital of India and all the newspapers and TV channels used the same source, the Police, even the basic facts are not in place. Every daily newspaper and television channel seems to have its own set of 'facts' and often these contradict each other. Accuracy seems to have been sacrificed in the rush to be first with the news and provide the more sensational coverage. Let us examine how the incident was reported in the Delhi editions of the dailies.

The Time of the Shootout:

The Hindustan Times and Dainik Jagran have given the time as 11 a.m. The Indian Express, quoting a resident, says the first shot was fired around
9.45 a.m. The Times of India report does not mention any time. Mail Today says it began at 11a.m. The Hindi Hindustan report would have us believe that it all began at 10.30 a.m. Amar Ujala says firing began around 10.45 a.m. and lasted till 11 a.m.

The Duration of the Shootout:

The Hindustan Times says the shootout lasted 15 minutes whereas its Hindi publication, Dainik Hindustan, says it lasted 90 minutes. According to the TOI, the entire encounter took 25 minutes. Mail Today says the operation lasted 30 minutes. The Veer Arjun says the shootout lasted between 30 and 45 minutes. Rashtriya Sahara, Urdu, claims that the shooting lasted nearly two hours. Amar Ujala says the encounter lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes. Punjab Kesari claims that the encounter lasted one hour.

Rounds fired:

According to the TOI, 25 rounds were fired by the police and 8 by the 'terrorists' . The Indian Express, the Hindu, Dainik Hindustan, Punjab Kesari and Rashtriya Sahara, Urdu say the police fired 22 rounds. They are all silent about the rounds fired by the suspects. Rashtriya Sahara, Hindi and Amar Ujala say the police fired 22 rounds and the 'terrorists' fired 8 rounds.

Interestingly, the Navbharat Times claims that both the police and the suspects were armed with AK 47s but did not use them!

'Explosive' stuff:

All the dailies reported the police claim that those shot at Batla House were terrorists responsible for several bomb blasts.

The HT quoted Police Commissioner Y S Dadwal as saying that "explosives made by him (Atif – our clarification) and his team bore their signature – two detonators, wooden frame, ammonium nitrate and analog quartz clocks."

In the light of this claim, the list of explosives claimed to have been recovered from the flat occupied by the suspects is interesting.

Dainik Hindustan says one AK 47, two pistols, one computer and important papers were recovered.

Veer Arjun reports one AK 47, .30 bore pistols, cartridges and 21 country pistols were found.

Navbharat Times says one AK 47, two .30 imported pistols, 20 live cartridges, magazine, two laptops, mobile phones and other items were recovered.

Rashtriya Sahara, Hindi says police recovered one AK 47 and two .32 bore pistols, one computer and books.

Punjab Kesari says police found one AK 47, two pistols and one computer.

Amar Ujala says the police seized one AK 47, .30 bore revolver, two laptops, half a dozen mobiles and six pen drives.

None of the dailies report the recovery of any ammonium nitrate and analog quartz clocks. No question is asked about the recovery of these chemicals or equipment claimed to be part of the terrorist group's signature.

How many Policemen were there?

Indian Express reports that Sharma went there along with five officers.
Mail Today reports a 15-member team led by Sharma
Veer Arjun claims 50 personnel led by Sharma landed there.
NBT says a total number of 24 police personnel went there.
Amar Ujala reports that a 22-member police team cordoned off the area under the leadership of Sharma.

The TOI, HT, Jansatta, Dainik Jagran and The Hindu refrain from mentioning the number of policemen involved in the operation.

How many Bullets hit Sharma?

The TOI, IE, HT, Mail Today, The Hindu, Veer Arjun, Rashtriya Sahara, Hindi all say three bullets hit Sharma.

Navbharat Times says four bullets hit him.

Jansatta claims that five bullets hit him in the abdomen, thigh, left arm, upper part of the shoulder and right hip (Anchor story).

Rashtriya Sahara
, Urdu reports four bullets hitting him, one each on shoulder, arm, back and right hip.

Rashtriya Sahara, Hindi claims that all the three bullets were taken out during an operation in Holy Family hospital

Amar Ujala also claims that bullets had been removed and quotes Dr. Rajesh Chawla to this effect. It says Dr Chawla was summoned from Apollo hospital. He reportedly told the paper that there was excessive bleeding because the bullets hit the lung and the lower part and after 'bullets had been removed', it was felt that Sharma may survive.

Subsequently post-mortem reports quoted by some of the dailies said that Sharma had been hit by only two bullets and both bullets had exited the body. No bullets were removed from his body.

About Mohan Chand Sharma

Even in paying tributes to Inspector Sharma the papers have reported different facts. HT says that he had "shot dead 75 criminals and terrorists." The TOI says he was "credited with the killing of 35 terrorists and the arrest of 80 others." The IE says that "Sharma's 'kill tally' stood at 75 criminals including 35 terrorists". The
Hindu says he was instrumental in "neutralising 35 terrorists and arresting as many as 80 militants." It goes on to say he had 'gunned down 40 gangsters' and arrested '120' criminals. Amar Ujala reports that Sharma killed 35 terrorists and 40 gangsters, nabbed 80 terrorists and 129 gangsters. It says he was involved in 75 encounters.

Terrifying Testimonies

By Yoginder Sikand

For several months now, almost no week passes without the media reporting about 'dreaded Muslim fundamentalists' being picked up by the police and allegedly confessing to being involved in bomb blasts or plots to engineer violence across India. It is not my argument that all of these reports are cooked-up and dished-out propaganda. Some of these stories must be true, and those behind such acts must be caught and punished. But, the fact remains, many of these stories circulating in the media are wholly fabricated, and these are being manufactured and highlighted for a particular motive: to fuel anti-Muslim passions and, thereby, justify various forms of discrimination and oppression—even murder—of hapless Muslim citizens who, far from having anything to do with terrorism, are victims of terror—of agencies of the state, especially the police and Hindutva terror outfits.
America's 'global war on terror' has provided a convenient cover to the Hindutva lobby and to fiercely anti-Muslim elements within the Indian state machinery to launch a concerted campaign of terror against Muslims. Large numbers of Muslims in various parts of India continue to languish in jails on trumped-up terror charges, suffering brutal torture as well as routine insults to their religion by police officials. Meanwhile, Hindu terrorists, often in league with the police and the state machinery, are allowed to run riot, unleashing violence and bloodshed on a frightening scale, while the state, the police and the courts take no firm action against them. Bomb blasts that are now occurring with frightening frequency, whose perpetrators remain unknown, are automatically blamed on Muslims, while some of these might possibly be engineered by Hindutva outfits or by elements within the state apparatus, or even by foreign intelligence agencies like the CIA orthe Israeli Mossad who have a vested interest in demonizing Muslims and thereby driving India closer into the deadly American-Israeli embrace.That, in brief, was what numerous social activists as well as dozens of Muslim victims of police and state terror testified to at a public hearing on brutalities against Muslims in the name of countering 'terrorism' recently organised in Hyderabad by a group of noted human rights' activists. Going by their depositions and the verdict of the jury of eminent social activists, journalists and retired judges, it appears that powerful elements within the state apparatus are deeply implicated, along with Hindu terrorist groups, in a witch-hunt of India's Muslim citizens. *27 year-old Yakoob Khan from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, was arrested at the age of 17, accused of being involved in the Coimbatore blasts in 1998, a charge that he vehemently denies. 'On the day of the blast I attended class at the Industrial Training Institute where I was enrolled, and when I was returning home I heard about the blasts'. In the wake of the blasts, the police went on a rampage, indiscriminately picking up Muslim youth. Some days later, Yakoob found himself in prison, where he was to spend almost the next ten years, much of it in solitary confinement in a small cage-like cell. 'I was accused of being in possession of explosive material, and of being associated with the Islamic group Al-Ummah, although I had never even heard its name.' In addition to routine torture, while in jail he was often abused for his religion. 'I would be beaten up if I wanted to say namaz. My torturers would tell me to face them while praying, rather than the Kaaba.
They tore my Quran, and while beating me they would scream "Bharat Mata ki Jai"'. 'They ruined ten precious years of my life, my youth, falsely branding me as a terrorist', he says.Yakoob Khan's friend, 34 year-old Shiv Kumar, alias Abdul Hamid, is a Hindu convert to Islam. He eked out as livelihood selling old newspapers and utensils for recycling. He was accused of being involved in the Coimbatore blasts, a charge that he denies. The police forced him to sign a blank piece of paper which they later filled out themselves, threatening him that if he refused to do so they would arrest his family as well. He was remanded to the Coimbatore jail on the basis of this forced 'confession' and his repeated applications for bails were rejected. Because he was the sole earner in his family, his wife was forced to beg in order to survive. He was finally acquitted only recently, after almost ten years in incarceration. 'I was mercilessly tortured in prison. I was constantly told that if I had not become a Muslim and had remained a Hindu I would not have been beaten like this', he says.*Shabbir Masiulllah Ansari was picked up by the Mumbai Crime Branch in August 2006, but he was soon released on bail for 'lack of evidence'. Yet, he was charged anew for being allegedly the 'mastermind' of the Malegaon mosque blasts, while, it is said, that at the time the blasts took place he was actually in police custody. He continues to languish in jail and has suffered routine torture, including acid being thrown on his private parts. In the course of torture he was coerced into making a forced confession, but he later retracted this in court.*Maulana Muhammad Zahid is originally from Malegaon. Some two years ago, at the time of the Malegaon bomb blast, he was in Phul Savangi, a village 500 km away from Malegaon, where he used to lead the prayers in a mosque. The police implicated him in the blast, although his relatives insist he is innocent. When he was produced before the magistrate in Mumbai Esplanade Court, he gave a statement listing the torture that was done to him and also the false statement on which the police had taken his signature. The magistrate ignored his plea and asked for the police produced statement and accepted that as evidence. He still languishes in prison.
*Faisal Attaur Shaikh and Muzammil Attaur Rehman Shaikh are among the thirteen Muslims charged for the 11 July 2006 Bombay local train blasts. The police accused Faisal of being a commander of Lashkar-e Tayyeba and of setting off the blast. They also claimed to have recovered maps of Mumbai and some CDS from Muzammil. In October 2006, 11 out of the 13 accused in the case gave their confession, but later retracted it in the sessions' court. It is alleged that almost all the accused were subjected to brutal torture, which forced them to confess to crimes they said they had not committed. It is claimed that 11 out of the 13 accused could not endure the torture and finally agreed to whatever story the police fabricated. This is why their confession stands retracted.Three men from Tamil Nadu who spent several years in jail accused of being involved in the Coimbatore bomb blasts.*33 year-old Kalim Ahmed Karimi used to manage a small radio repair business in Ahmedabad. On 3rd April, 2003 he had gone out to get some medicines for his pregnant wife who was unwell. The police picked him up and he never came back. Although Kalim was arrested on the 3rd April from Ahmedabad, the CBI states that they arrested him on the 26th of April in Andhra Pradesh. He was charged with being allegedly involved in the Tiffin Bomb Blast case, the Haren Pandya murder case and a 'jihadi' conspiracy. Thereafter, he was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for the Haren Pandya murder case and to 10 years in the Tiffin Bomb Blast case.Says his 70 year-old father, Habib Karimi, 'My son is innocent. Officials of the crime branch picked me up for questioning. Under duress, I was forced to sign some blank papers that they presented me with. They told me that I should not contact any lawyer and that they had men keeping an eye on me. I was also told not to forget that they had my signatures on blank sheets. My son has been tortured brutally and he has been forced to sign a confession. He and some others have narrated the experience of torture and forced confessions before the POTA Judge Sonia Gokani.'
*Junaid is a final year student at Unani Medical College, Hyderabad, and president of the student union. He was picked up on the 3rd of September 2007 while returning to his home. He was produced before the magistrate on 8th of September 2007. Police claim that he was apprehended at Nampally railway station on the 8th of September. He was accused of conspiring against the state, which he vehemently denied. The argument given by the police was that some literature was found in his possession. While in custody he was subjected to heavy electric shocks, including on his private parts, and was coerced into making a forced confession. During his interrogation he was constantly rebuked for having shouted slogans against police violence. They asked him why he raised questions regarding the Sohrabuddin fake encounter and why he attended a conference against it. They even asked him why Muslims have so many children. For two days he was not given anything to eat.His face was kept covered in a black cloth throughout this ordeal. A shoe was stuffed in his mouth and he was told to read the Quran in that condition. In order to further humiliate him he was forced to shout 'Jai Shri Ram'.*24 year-old Aftab Alam Ansari, the only bread-earner in his 10-member lower middle class family, and an employee of the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation, was picked up by the police and taken to Lucknow. 'I was badly tortured with iron rods by drunken policemen who accused me of being a Bangladeshi. I was forced to declare that my name was actually Altaf Muletar and that I was responsible for the bombings in Sankat Mochan Mandir and the Courts in Lucknow. Of course I had nothing whatsoever to do with these.'Aftab was then sent to the civil jail in Lucknow where he was stripped and was imprisoned for twenty two days. 'I was accused of being the area commander of the Harkat ul-Jihad al-Islami, although I had never even heard of this outfit. My interrogators heaped abuses on Muslims and Islam.'
Aftab Ansari giving his testimony'They are targeting us just because we are Muslims', Aftab says. 'They want to falsely implicate us in terror cases so that our image gets tarnished and people start hating Muslims.' Like many other innocent Muslim youths who have been picked up and brutally tortured by interrogating agencies and then released for lack of any evidence, Aftab received no compensation for the enormous amount of money his family spent on securing his release. Nor has the state compensated him in any way for the damage to his health caused by the torture in prison. Nor has he received any sort of apology. Scores more Muslim men and women testified at this public hearing, narrating the harrowing brutalities that they or their relatives have been subjected to, being, so they insisted, unfairly blamed for various terror acts. Predictably, though, the so-called mainstream Indian media took little notice of the hearing, the first of its kind in the country. Nor, for their part, did major political parties and state authorities. As Ghadr, the popular cultural activist from Andhra Pradesh who addressed the gathering, rightly put it, 'To expect anything else from the media and the establishment is folly. The answer lies not in simply narrating our woes but initiating a mass movement against this sort of oppression.'