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| Anyone here lost a limb or kin, and speaks English? | | | Antara Dev Sen
No matter how many times you witness it, you can never get used to a perfectly ordinary day being shattered by bombs ripping through a busy market, or through a park buzzing with laughing children, killing surprised innocents, maiming others, leaving far more shattered. The horrific Delhi blasts last weekend killed 24 and injured more than 100. And lacerated further our already wounded democracy.
For the blasts seem to have come at a very convenient time for some political parties. And the media. What on earth was the media to do, now that the 123 Agreement was over, Jammu and Kashmir had calmed down, there was audience fatigue on the Bihar floods, the antics of one Marathi Manoos and his uncle had become tiresome, Singur was back in a deadlock, the continuing atrocities on Christians in Orissa had lost news value. Besides, neighbours had quietened down — the redoubtable Asif Ali Zardari had become President of Pakistan, the formidable Prachanda had become Prime Minister of Nepal, and Bangladesh offered no excitement except so very surreptitiously that it wasn’t news yet. Even Parliament was not in session. How long could one fill-up entire newspapers and 24-hour news channels with sports and Amitabh Bachchan’s family?
At this point, a new set of blasts in the national capital got the media incredibly excited. Animated scribes rushed to lure you, brushing aside journalistic ethics, trampling on decency and good sense. Scenes of the blast were shown over and over again, with diligent reporters thrusting mikes into the faces of grieving victims, asking, "What did you feel when you saw your child/ husband/ wife/ father/ uncle lying dead in the blast?" or "What are you feeling now?" Theatrical newscasters asked, "What was this child’s fault? Why did the enemies of India snuff out this little life?" And such. "When will we bring in tough laws?" screamed newspapers and TV channels, "When will we have zero tolerance on terrorism?"
From the relief of having a real issue sprung a determination to force the government to be "tough on terror". Competing channels’ own inflammatory speeches were accompanied by endless repetitions of master provocateur Narendra Modi’s diatribe. We didn’t hear saner voices. Instead, we focused on hating home minister Shivraj Patil and his silly series of suits.
Worse was the callousness with which some newspapers and TV channels showcased the boy who was a witness and is helping the police investigation. This little balloon-seller should have remained unidentified, especially since the poor are so vulnerable to attacks. Instead, we know his name, his face, his voice, his gait. I do hope the administration will protect the child after the police use him and toss him back on the streets.
If the blasts were convenient for the media, they were even more convenient for the BJP. The Congress scored handsomely with the nuclear deal, inexplicably rekindling their patriotic image. No one knows what exactly this deal is about, but people believe that the Congress fought valiantly against the whole world to bag a big victory for India. So now we will get more electricity — or is it the nuke? Whatever, it’s certainly more power.
The Congress was preening, elections were round the corner and the BJP had no real issue. Mr A.B. Vajpayee had bowed out of public life, the fissures within the party had widened, their ideology was under scrutiny. Some Hindutva aggression was being built up, of course, like the Hindu-Muslim violence over Amarnath in Jammu and Kashmir and its echo in Madhya Pradesh, or the attacks on Christians in Orissa and now in Karnataka. Harping on the bomb blasts in Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Bengaluru and Hyderabad to extract a tough terror law for Gujarat had not worked with the Centre. Given this scenario, the Delhi blasts were remarkably convenient.
The timing was perfect too — it happened bang in the middle of the BJP’s three-day national executive meeting. It not only helped project ‘Lauh Purush’ Advani as our possible saviour from UPA bleeding hearts, but also projected Narendra Modi, the architect of the Gujarat massacre of Muslims in 2002, as Mr Advani’s successor, perhaps a future Prime Minister. Marking the BJP’s regression from a political party aggressive on Hindutva to a fascist party that treated non-Hindus as non-human.
Mr Modi swiftly grouped the government with the terrorists. "We are determined to carry on the battle both against terrorists and against those who prevent us from fighting terror," he said. Adding: "The country stands at the crossroads of a crucial phase, when the government of the day has become a threat to the unity and sovereignty of the country." Mr Advani promised to make India safe by bringing back Pota.
Strange, because most adults are aware that repressive laws like Pota are routinely misused in our corrupt country where the police are dedicated to political masters rather than the people. And State brutality only fuels radicalism, builds sympathy for terrorists and strengthens terror networks. Counter-terrorism moves must not violate ethics, law and human rights — governments must not become terrorists themselves. Besides, if Pota was so potent, then the BJP-led government could have prevented the attacks on Akshardham, the Red Fort and Raghunath Mandir when it was in force.
To fight terror we must look beyond immediate retaliation. We need to view ourselves through the eyes of the enemy. The Delhi blasts were apparently revenge for maltreating Muslims. The terror email points out how Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad goons are not treated as terrorists even when caught making bombs. "The word terrorism is never used when a story on Sangh violence is told, no matter how large-scale the violence is," they charged, citing Gujarat 2002 and Orissa today.
The stereotype of the Muslim terrorist often makes us disregard State-sponsored terror. The main breeders of terrorism are the State-sheltered killers who target Muslims, Christians or dalits across India. If we can end such criminal inequality and make the justice system more fair, minorities would feel confident in their homeland and not be tempted to support terrorists.
There is no clash between security and human rights. Strengthening civil liberties actually fights terrorism. Zero tolerance is more about a just State, than about scapegoating minorities. To root out terrorism we must stop playing to the gallery — whether through minority appeasement or minority bashing.
Antara Dev Sen is editor of The Little Magazine. |
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