TERRORISM: THE ONGOING ATTACK IN MUMBAI

COMMENTARY ARCHIVES, 2 Dec 2008

Vithal Rajan

December 1, 2008
 
Friends,
 
In the last 24 hours I have received three messages: from Mr. Mazher Hussain condemning the attack on behalf of COVA; a denunciation of this latest terrorist attack from Mr. Ali Asghar of Roshan Vikas; and a political demand from Peace, a Hyderabadi Muslim-led group, for greater Muslim participation in the political process. There is clearly great anguish among Muslims of the city of Hyderabad, particularly since the attackers have falsely claimed to be Deccan Mujahideen from Hyderabad.
 
With respect, I find all three responses insufficient. Condemnation becomes a routine affair; angry denunciations lead us nowhere; political demands, perhaps, are good political ploys to make vote-catching politicians rethink strategies, but these might remain ineffectual.
 
Civil society organizations devoted to peace, development, and social justice should create space for themselves and other people to think things out in the long term, and not just be reactive like the popular press. I should like to submit to them some issues for their consideration.
 
India and several other countries have faced, and continue to face, so-called ‘terrorist attacks’ from several sources, and for very different reasons. However, if we focus just on the present phase of terrorist violence taking place in Mumbai, we may recognize that it finds its roots in the systematic arming, training, and funding of semi-literate tribesmen in Afghanistan, themselves led by mullahs not versed in religious matters, by the Americans, especially the CIA.

The Americans cynically used religious fervour in these tribal regions to enable them to win their war against the Soviet Union without much cost in American blood. At that time, the Soviet Union was their great global enemy since it challenged American supremacy, and offered a different route for economic growth. Once the Soviet Union was dismantled, and the global communist threat ended, the USA focused on winning control of Middle East Oil and Gas. I see all of the American involvement within this context to secure the energy sources of the region.

This includes tempting Saddam Hussein to attack Kuwait under the administration of the elder Bush; the first Gulf war and control of the export of Iraq oil; support for Kosovo to shut Russia out of the Balkan region; the fortuitous attack by Al-Qaeda on the World Trade Center, which gave America an excuse to take control of Iraq and Afghanistan, and to nominate the government of Iran, another oil-bearing country, as ‘evil.’ To justify all this to their own people and others, the Americans have hyped up the threat of jihadis, and ‘Islamism.’ Any reading of the history of the British Empire would show glaring similarities – especially the conquest of Burma, a resource-rich country of that period.
 
By nominating jihadis as the enemies of civilization, America does not counter the threat, but vastly inflames it, for by this act of isolating Muslims, it drives a number of impressionable youths into the waiting arms of the terrorist groups, which had previously been established by the Americans themselves for the earlier purpose of defeating communism. The youths, newly recruited to terrorist networks, see American attitudes as a destructive war against the Islamic Quom, the Muslim peoples and their cultures. Deep down, this accords very well with long-term American foreign policy, whatever the surface protestations of their politicians; because it is by creating ‘unreasonable terrorists attacking all civilization’ that America can justify the ultimate conquest of the Middle East and its energy resources.
 
It must be remembered that with this national interest in view, American foreign policy has long supported hard-line Israeli politicians and prevented peace being achieved between Jewish settlers and the Palestinians, using the Israeli army against the Arabs, very much as they have used the Afghan mujahideen against the Russians. This is the way Empires gain supreme power.

Of course, the Soviet Union and other imperialist Western countries sold billions of dollars worth of sophisticated arms to Arab nations in return for the oil. These arms were used in wasteful wars, such as the six-year war between Iraq and Iran, destroying shia-sunni relationships in the region. Such wasteful wars play into imperial hands.

If the oil money had been used to develop the economy of the region and create a sound middle-class this would not have suited imperial interests, for such development would have strengthened real national interests and prevented easy take-over by imperialists.
 
All this, of course, had a reflection on India-Pakistan relations. Empires are more comfortable dealing with dictators, who can be bribed or flattered, than with democracies, or cultures attempting to be democratic like Indian society.

Hence, right from the Dulles hard-line era of the fifties, America called military-led Pakistan its ally, and armed its army, preventing any kind of natural settlement between the two South Asian countries. This had the most deleterious effect on Pakistan polity, rendering the people a captive of their own army, preventing development of their economy, and finally leading to the separation of Bangladesh brought about primarily by military arrogance.

Now that the threat of global communism is ended, and the need for Middle East energy is primary, India is suddenly recognized by America as an ally against Islamism, and Pakistan becomes a buffer to be squeezed relentlessly. The Indian government in relief at winning American friendship has fallen in with this ploy, further distancing itself from the fledgling democracy of Pakistan, and leaving no real solution in sight.
 
All of this produces a rich ground for hatred against India among frustrated, ill-educated Pakistani youths and their sympathizers elsewhere. In the hands of trained terrorist networks this political hatred can be turned into hatred of ‘all Indians, and Hindus, and Jews, and Americans,’ enabling youths to kill such ‘enemy people’ without compunction. It was such a process of demonization that enabled the so-called civilized countries of Europe to kill 100 million people in the two World wars.

I myself have seen that over the past forty years or so middle-of-the-road Jews, who sincerely wanted rapprochement with the Arabs, have almost disappeared, and Arabs and Jews now demonize each other, fully accepting the imperialist definition of their political space.
 
Indian politicians, themselves, have also played into the hands of terrorists, for very short-term gains. Ill-treatment of the Kashmiris under the hands of the occupying military establishment has inevitably led to alienating all Kashmiris, who today are prepared to seek any destiny rather than remain within India. An early political settlement during the days of Sheik Abdullah might have avoided so much sorrow and suffering.

Arrogance towards the Chinese, and permitting the CIA to use Tibetan bases in India to spy on China led in turn to China clandestinely supporting tribal movements in the North-East, where high-handed callous behaviour by the Indian government towards the people blew up these into full-scale insurgency. Continued neglect and exploitation of tribals in central India has led to the intractable naxalite situation.
 
Indian politicians have not been alone in such misgovernance. As mentioned before, the attitude of Punjabi Pakistanis helped create the independent state of Bangladesh. Sri Lankan Sinhalese arrogance created the LTTE response. The ruling elite of all these South Asian countries have tried to rule in the old British imperialist way rather than try genuine democracy, and this has led to their near ruin.
 
Indian politicians have been shortsighted not only in the general case, but even more so in the local particular. For instance, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, for short-term advantage in the Punjab, set up Bhindranwale against the locally strong Akali Dal party. In consequence of the military ‘Blue-Star’ operation to flush out Bhindranwale’s supporters from the precincts of the holy Golden Temple, the Sikh people were alienated, she lost her life, followed inevitably like a Greek tragedy by the Congress-organized pogrom of Sikhs in New Delhi, further alienating in large measure that community.

L.K. Advani, just to create a different political agenda to Congress customary patronage, started the rath yatra to Ayodhya, where his frenzied followers destroyed the ‘Babri Masjid.’ His and the BJP’s political belief that this would lead to a ‘Hindu nationalism,’ somewhat similar to 19th century European military nationalism, was based on a false premise.

While all it marshaled were frustrated Hindu youth ready to destroy, as a mirror image of frustrated Muslim youth, it has led us dangerously close to the breakdown of a consensual political system. Narendera Modi’s pogrom of Muslims in Ahmedabad in 2002, following the wholly unwarranted middleclass Hindu opinion that the burning of the train at Godhra with Hindu pilgrims was the deliberate act of Muslims, has widened the breach between the Muslims of the subcontinent and the Hindus, to a point where the terrorism now witnessed in Mumbai can be viewed as its logical consequence.

Such narrow-minded political inflammation of communal antagonisms continues to plague India. The Congress party, to counter the popularity of the right-wing Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, tried to launch its own brand of local chauvinism by supporting the small-time politician, Raj Thackeray. As a result, local hoodlums have launched a vicious campaign in Mumbai against Biharis. The BJP’s ‘Hindutva’ campaign has pushed a very poor section of tribes to victimize viciously peaceful Christian Dalits in Orissa.
 
Our societies and polities must draw back from the brink to which thoughtless political brinkmanship has brought us. Advani has called this attack in Mumbai by a few terrorists as ‘a war.’ This is dangerous stuff and nonsense. A war is fought between sovereign countries, not between the police and criminals. It is in India’s interest and in Pakistan’s interest to have stable, progressive governments. Civil society organizations in both countries must not let media or political hype lead them into any gross misunderstanding.
 
The continued acts of terrorism witnessed by all of us this year are certainly a grave matter for the police, in this country and elsewhere. Draconian laws are being mooted. Advani for political reasons has accused the Indian Government of being ‘soft on terrorism,’ and a real fear exists that in view of the coming elections the government may promulgate some laws which empower the police to take harsh action against those it considers are natural suspects.
 
Being very harsh on Muslim youth randomly selected in this country, locking them up, beating them, or trying to extract confessions by torture will be self-defeating, as they have been in the past, and in real consequence will amount to being ‘soft on terror.’ Such brutal acts will further alienate the Muslim youth of this country, who have long faced social, political, and economic neglect, leaving them in a world with few attractive exits. Their world is fertile ground for recruitment to terrorism, and police brutality will only convince the unphilosophic that the only way open to them is to take up arms. Let us remember that the police have been the best recruiters for the naxalites.
 
It is not enough to blame the police either – that is the easy option. In a society where vast social and economic distances separate the masses from the ruling rich, it is inevitable that poor communities should be alienated from all arms of government, especially those that use force, such as the police and the army, and in forested areas the forest service. Since the police get no early useful information from the community to prevent atrocities, they are in turn helpless when atrocities take place, and are forced to resort to cruel illegal means such as unlawful detention and torture, full well knowing that most of their victims are innocent but hoping that some chance remark may lead them to the real culprits.

The only way the police of any country can keep the peace is by having friendly relations with communities of people who can point out trouble-makers in time. For that to happen, the people, especially the masses of the poor that the ruling government actually represents their interests, and that the political leaders are really responsive to people’s needs and demands.
 
Hence, it is a long road back to democratic health, but civil society organizations have no way out but to insist on democratic processes, on law, on representation at all levels of governance. Their intimate involvement in such organs of local governance as are available is a necessity and no lack of time or energy can be a sufficient excuse in these dangerous times.

It is incumbent upon them to teach democratic practice to their leaders, under pain of popular displeasure.

It is incumbent upon them to form civic watch and ward committees of community protection.

It is incumbent upon them to find all occasion to consolidate or re-form community linkages between differing cultures for mutual support and enrichment.

It is incumbent upon them to use all modern technologies to create authentic media channels of mutual communication.

It is incumbent upon them to create economic instruments for self-reliance, education, and public health.

It is incumbent upon them not to wait upon a selfish and idealess leadership, but to reconstruct their own communities, and in consequence, their Nation.

Jai Hind!

May We Form a South Asian Region of Peace and Prosperity!
May We Bring about Oneness in All Humanity!  

This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 2 Dec 2008.

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