(Seema Mustafa) When leading Pakistan lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan who had led the movement for the restoration of the judiciary said at a recent peace conference held in New Delhi that there were at least 40,50,60 locals who had helped a handful of Pakistanis execute the Mumbai terror attack, there was quite a stir amongst the audience. Indian Muslims in particular were concerned enough for some of them to approach Ahsan later and ask him if he had evidence to substantiate what he had said. It appeared he had not and was merely re-stating what the Pakistani establishment has tried to maintain in an attempt to divert Indian attention back into the Muslim mohallas and gali’s of India.
There is need to recognize that the Indian Muslim is a direct victim of terrorism in that he has been made to pay a heavy price for the terror attacks in India. He has been arrested, interrogated, tortured at will by the police with the help and support of the ruling governments in the states and the centre. His life has been ruined as a result as he has lost his job and his livelihood because of the illegal arrests. He has been made to respond to Pakistan sponsored terrorism, as if he is responsible for the violence. He now finds it difficult to get a house even in big cities like Delhi and Mumbai, and is the first to lose his job when companies start retrenching workers. He finds new suspicion and distrust in the eyes of those around him, and is made to feel guilty for terrorism he barely understands and definitely does not support.
So when any person from Pakistan, more so who is seen as liberal and concerned, insists that Kasab and his colleagues had local support it strikes terror in the Indian Muslim’s heart and is viewed with major concern by the secular constituency of India. For it gives a handle to the governments and right wing groups here to further castigate the Muslims, and insist that they be held accountable for the violence emanating from Pakistan. The BJP and the RSS revels in this, and the Congress these days is not far behind in spreading distrust and resentment against the minorities.
It is therefore important for the peace constituency of both India and Pakistan to factor in sensitivities that allow the right wing in both countries to gain in strength. The jihadi groups in Pakistan as well as the radical right take tremendous encouragement from divisions in Indian society, and one of the aims of the terrorist groups is to isolate the Indian Muslims from the mainstream as far as possible. Communal and shortsighted governments in India are encouraged to further this process, and this makes it all the more necessary for the thinking people of both countries not to give fodder for further alienation unless there is sufficient proof and evidence.
The issue of local involvement was raised in India after the Mumbai attack.
Read More
Post new comment