Jump to content

Hindu terrorism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by DawnOfTheBlood (talk | contribs) at 08:15, 22 June 2010 (Undid revision 369509745 by 117.194.198.217 - I simply believe referenced text should not be deleted without discussion. Please join discussion). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Saffron Terror or Hindutva terrorism is a neologism[1] that refers to a attacks in India allegedly perpetrated by extreme Hindu groups on minority religions.

It was in the aftermath of the September 29 bomb blast in the predominantly Muslim town of Malegaon in Maharashtra that these terms came to be used widely.[2]

Usage

The controversial phrase of Hindu terrorism entered public debate in India following the 29 September 2008 western India bombings.[3]

The term has been criticized as a "myth"[4] and as a tool for political posturing toward the Muslim minority[5][6][7]. BJP's former President Rajnath Singh has denounced such claims[clarification needed] as "vilification of Hindu saints and army officers in the name of Hindu terrorism".[8] Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh had been raising the issue of Hindutva terrorism at least since October 2008 when he wrote about it to the prime minister.[9] Although in reality these terrorist groups had been operating much earlier.[10] After a long time the Indian authorities finally cracked down on a radical Hindu terrorist cells which was responsible among other acts for the bombing in Malegaon killing 7 muslims.[11]

Bomb Blasts

Bomb blasts in India which have allegedly been perpetrated by Hindu extremist organisations include 2006 Malegaon blasts, Mecca Masjid bombing (Hyderabad), 2007 Ajmer Sharif Dargah Blast and the 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings.[12][13][14][15][16][17]

It was in the aftermath of the September 29 bomb blast in the predominantly Muslim town of Malegaon in Maharashtra that the terms Saffron Terror and Hindutva Terror came to be used widely in various medias.[18] Three men accused of the 2006 Malegaon bombings, including Lt Col Shrikant Purohit of the India army, have been described as representing Hindu terrorism.[8]. Purohit was also accused of being involved in the 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings until the role of Pakistani terrorist Asif Zamani was unearthed.[19][20].

Babri Masjid Demolition

In a scorching indictment of the entire Sangh Parivar, the Liberhan Commission that probed the demolition of the Babri Masjid, has said the BJP, Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal and VHP, hatched an elaborate conspiracy to not just demolish the Babri Masjid but bring the country ‘‘to the brink of communal discord.’’ In a voluminous report running into almost 1,000 pages, Justice M S Liberhan has spared no saffron leader, not even Atal Behari Vajpayee, who is termed as a ‘‘pseudo-moderate’’, pretending to keep a distance from the Ram Janambhoomi campaign when he was actually aware of the conspiracy.

The report has dismissed all the arguments of the BJP leadership and its saffron allies to deny any pre-planned plot behind the destruction of the Mughal era mosque in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. The report, which took 17 years and 48 extensions to write, says the demolition was a result of the RSS-led conspiracy, rather than the spontaneous expression of the sentiments of Hindus favouring the construction of a Ram Temple.

As the report was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday along with the government’s action-taken report (ATR), there was hardly any excitement, barring the excitement generated by Samajwadi leader Amar Singh who lunged at BJP’s S S Ahluwalia for raising ‘‘Jai Sri Ram’’ slogans. This was despite the fact that the report lists not just L K Advani and Murli Monohar Joshi as being culpable, but also mentions A B Vajpayee as one of the persons responsible for misleading the people with his pretence of detachment from the movement.

The report is a meticulous exercise to undercut BJP’s chief defence — that the demolition was a result of an upsurge of Hindu sentiments. It says that although the disputed structure was demolished by ‘‘the hands of the common man’’, what prompted him to do so was ‘‘the cacophony of religious righteousness and the zealot’s rhetoric’’ orchestrated by the Sangh Parivar.

Talking to TOI, Justice Liberhan denied that he has indicted Vajpayee. However, he is only partly correct. The report does not put Vajpayee in the same league as L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, let alone those the former chief UP chief minister Kalyan Singh who, according to the report, directly executed the conspiracy. But it does say that Vajpayee can’t be “held innocent.”

Justice Liberhan remains steadfastly focused on RSS as the source of conspiracy, suggesting that it was virtually running the Uttar Pradesh government, placing officers of its choice in key slots and removing those who were not ready to bend to its wishes.

Gujarat Riots

The 2002 Gujarat violence describes a hindutva terrorist's planned Godhra train burning and resulting violence of saffron brigades on innocent Muslims. On 27 February 2002 at Godhra City in the state of Gujarat, the Sabarmati Express train was forcibly stopped and attacked by a large Muslim mob. Saffron Sena (Hindu Terrorists) workers is said to have taken this opportunity to burn the train. In the name of retaliatory attacks massacres against Muslims on a large scale, in which 790 Muslims were killed. 1000s of people were reported missing. Places of worship were damaged: 298 dargahs, 205 mosques. Muslim-owned businesses suffered the bulk of the damage. 61,000 Muslims fled their homes. Preventive arrests of 3,616 Muslims were made by the ruling BJP government. In total 7,651 Muslims were arrested. Nearly 10,000 rounds of bullets were fired by the police, killing another 93 Muslims. In the name of encounters, 100s of muslims were killed and now the officials related to this crime are charged on killing innocents in fake-encounters.

Christians attacked in Orissa

First, to a serious outbreak of terror attacks on minority Christians in the Indian State of Orissa, Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons were murdered in 1999.

Christians attacked in Karnataka

Some 20 churches were vandalised in Mangalore, Udupi, Chikmalagur, and in other districts of Karnataka (south-western India). They include the monastery of the Sisters of St-Clare in Milagres. Christians have accused the police of doing nothing to prevent attacks by Hindu terrorists. Mahendra Kumar, one of the leaders of Hindu militant youth organisation, denied that his group attacked any Catholic church, saying that they only attacked prayer halls belonging to the New Life Evangelical sect. He added that more attacks were planned.

Hindu BJP government of Karnataka arrested four Christians comprising priests, nuns and youths from St. Francis Xavier Church in Bangalore, the state capital. Before they were arrested, 30 members of Hindu radical groups attacked them accusing them of converting locals to Christianity. [21]

Murder of Graham Staines

Court in Bhubaneshwar, capital of India's Orissa State, sentences to death Dara Singh, ringleader of Hindu mob that burned and killed Australian missionary and his two sons four years ago; Singh's 12 accomplices are sentenced to life in prison; missionary, Graham Staines, and his young sons Philip and Timothy were attacked as they slept in their jeep; killings were part of wave of attacks on Christians that were ascribed to Hindu radicals fighting conversions.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ 'Hindu terrorism' debate grips India BBC News - 21 November 2008
  2. ^ http://www.zeenews.com/news479823.html
  3. ^ Zubair Ahmed, BBC News, 21 Nov 2008: "A new and highly controversial phrase has entered the sometimes cliche-riddled Indian press: 'Hindu terrorism'. As with the term "Islamic terrorism" and "Christian fundamentalism", this latest addition to the media lexicon is highly emotive. It was in the aftermath of the 29 September bomb blast in the predominantly Muslim town of in the western state of Maharashtra that the term "Hindu terrorism" or "saffron terrorism" came to be used widely.
  4. ^ Not terrified of terrorism Daily Pioneer - 12 December 2008
  5. ^ Muslim Anger Vs Hindu Anger International Terrorism Monitor - Paper No. 466
  6. ^ Rip off 'secular' media's mask The Pioneer - 24 November 2008
  7. ^ Everybody loves a good conspiracy The Hindu - 23 December 2008
  8. ^ a b SUBVERSE | Unholy terrors Times of India Editorial, 19 Nov 2008.
  9. ^ http://www.eurasiareview.com/2010/05/india-rise-of-hindutva-terrorism-south.html - The Rise Of Hindutva Terrorism 17/05/2010
  10. ^ http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?265400 - 17/05/2010
  11. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/world/asia/12iht-12india.17740721.html - India police say they hold 9 from Hindu terrorist cell
  12. ^ Hindutva terror Lies and deception HardNewsMedia.com, Editorial, June 2010, Retrieved 16 June 2010
  13. ^ Dip Your Nib In Scepticism OutlookIndia.com, Editorial, 06-21-2010, Retrieved 16 June 2010
  14. ^ RSS members behind Hyderabad, Ajmer blasts IBNLive.in.com, 05-14-2010, Retrieved 16-06-2010
  15. ^ The Rise Of Hindutva Terrorism OutlookIndia.com, 05-11-2010, Retrieved 16-06-2010
  16. ^ Investigators have neglected 'Hindu terror' for a long time DNAIndia.com, 05-19-2010, Retrieved 16-06-2010
  17. ^ Malegaon, Ajmer, Hyderabad blasts... Joining the dots IndianExpress.com, 04-10-2010, Retrieved 16-06-2010
  18. ^ http://www.zeenews.com/news479823.html
  19. ^ "Treasury Targets Al Qaida and Lashkar-E Tayyiba Networks in Pakistan". US Treasury. 1 July 2009.
  20. ^ US names Pak man for blasts on Samjhauta Times of India - 14 February 2009
  21. ^ http://www.ucanews.com/2010/05/03/christians-attacked-then-arrested-in-karnataka/
  22. ^ http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/s/graham_staines/index.html
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hindu_terrorism&oldid=369513532"