People's Democracy

EDITORIAL

Defeat Extremists Of All Hues

THE disputed site at Ayodhya was once again a target of anti-national militants. It is a matter of satisfaction that their attempt was foiled by the security forces and all the six militants were killed in the ensuing flow of bullets. This incident, however, once again highlights the vulnerability of various targets in India to terrorist attacks. The central government and the various state governments have to ensure that the guard is not lowered against such attacks and the efforts by anti-national forces are foiled.

The entire political opinion in the country has universally condemned this attack barring of course the communal forces led by the RSS/BJP. In a cynical expression they are seeking to exploit this incident to shore up their declining influence among the Indian people. Instead of viewing this attack as an attack against the Indian nation and its stated policy of secular democracy, the RSS/BJP and their other outfits are seeking to inflame communal passions for their political benefit. This is not merely cynical but this is equally dangerous for the unity and integrity of our country. The provocative statements and the calls for bandhs are a brazen attempt to try and rouse communal passions and somehow seek to re-enter the centrestage of Indian politics.

The disputed site at Ayodhya has always been a target of extremist attacks. On December 6, 1992 the Babri Masjid which had stood on the ground for over four centuries was razed to the ground.  It is a matter of singular coincidence that the Allahabad High Court has, a day after the recent (i.e., July 5, 2005) attack, ordered that the BJP president L K Advani should also be tried for the charges of a criminal conspiracy to demolish the Babri Masjid. A charge from which Advani was spared while he was the deputy  prime minister and the home minister. The High Court has reasoned that since the chargesheet had already been framed and Advani along with others who are currently being tried were charged together, the former cannot be exempted. This was a position that the vast majority of enlightened secular opinion in the country had taken from the beginning.  This is the only position that is in consonance with the law of the land.

The demolition of the Babri Masjid and the subsequent retaliatory actions by anti-national militants from the other side have always fed on each other for their sustenance. Islamic fundamentalism and Hindu communalism need each other for their survival and feed on each other for their growth. Both seek to undermine India’s secular democratic republican character.

In this context, it is relevant to recollect that immediately after the Kargil war when the BJP-led NDA was seeking a re-election to office, the information secretary of the Islamic fundamentalist organisation, Laskar-e-Tayyeba, had publicly stated: “The BJP suits us. Within a year they have made us into a nuclear and missile power. Laskar-e-Tayyeba is getting good response because of the BJP’s statements. It is much better than before. We pray to God that they come to power again. Then we will emerge even stronger.” (The Hindustan Times, July 19, 1999).  Need anything more be said!

The prime minister has appealed to the nation not to fall prey to any provocations. The CPI(M) and the Left parties while calling upon the government to undertake a speedy and thorough probe to expose the identity of those who have masterminded such a heinous attack have appealed to the people to be restrained and not get provoked by the communal forces. The RSS/BJP’s sinister attempts to exploit the situation for their political benefit as well as to overcome their organisational crisis at the expense of the country’s unity and integrity must not be allowed to succeed. Once again the Indian people are being called upon to rise to the occasion to ensure that the communal forces do not highjack the character of India as a modern secular democratic state.