Our son, the fanatic

Nobody knows better than him the exact inside story of the recent spate of bombings in Mumbai as well as the busting of terrorist modules elsewhere. Practically all the suspects in these incidents over the past six months have been Indian, and Muslim. Nobody also disagrees with him that, even so, these acts could not have been carried out without the involvement of the ISI or terror-crime mafias whose leaders Pakistan harbours. Nobody would also disagree that the perpetrators of these acts should be handed out the sternest punishment no matter what their twisted motivation. But the serious, thinking, analytical and introspective leader that he is, even Advani would not disagree that the ISI or its rented mafias could not have found these 8220;indigenous8221; recruits if we had run our politics differently, if we had not allowed electoral interests precedence over old-fashioned rajdharma.

You might think, for once, that the arrest of so many Muslims for terrorist acts only fits in with their now globalised stereotype. But a news story in this newspaper earlier in the week reminded you that these suspects actually defied an old stereotype about Indian Muslims: That they are poor, backward, live in ghettos, are brainwashed in madrassas and stray from the mainstream. The key suspects include an MD, an MBA, one with Masters in Computer Science, another defending his Ph D from jail, a former captain of the cricket team of Mumbai8217;s Wilson College. These are not the usual flotsam of a poor, ghettoised, leaderless and largely jobless community. These are people who did rather well in our system, getting the best of education and in areas where jobs are easy to find. They had comfortable, upper-middle class careers awaiting them. Yet they gave it all up for the lure of revenge.

While the courts deliberate on their alleged crimes 8212; and let8217;s all hope they are shown no leniency because there is no justification ever for terrorism 8212; the rest of us need to introspect on how the situation has changed so dramatically. Surely, Muslims and other minorities have had reasons to feel vengeful in the past as well. The demolition of Babri Masjid and the riots that followed in Mumbai led to the terrorist 8220;revenge8221; of the serial bombings on March 12, 1993. But look up that list of suspects. It was mainly the mafia, or its back-street boys. There was almost no instance of the involvement of a mainstream Muslim. Most of these hit-men came from the poorest regions of India, with no way of making a living other than joining the crime syndicates. They merely used their expertise, network and contacts with the ISI for the bombings. Many of the key 1993 suspects were believed to be professional criminals. This is not true of those allegedly involved in the recent bombings. What has brought this change about?

The reason there were European, American, Pakistani, Arab from all nationalities, Indonesian, Malaysian and so on Muslims on the list of Al-Qaeda suspects but not one Indian was simply that the belief in constitutionalism, in the reasonable fairness of the laws, was still quite firm here. A Muslim could surely be angry. But he could vent his anger by shouting slogans, voting against the party he hated as he has done against the Congress since Babri or exercising a degree of political power through tactical voting. Much of that has changed in the aftermath of Gujarat. He has seen not only the government acquiesce, if not actively help, the rioters but also the leading lights of the dominant political party even hyphenating their embarrassment over the riots by always putting forward Godhra as some kind of a justification.

He chafed at his impotence in influencing the outcome of the polls in the state. Subsequently he has also seen the unfairness of majoritarianism which is such a new concept in Indian politics. He has seen the differential treatment his police and the government have given, for example, to the Godhra and Best Bakery cases. In better days he would have at least drawn solace from the fact that great constitutional institutions like the Election Commission and the National Human Rights Commission have risen for fairness and the rule of law. But now he has also seen those humiliated and questioned by the very same people elected to protect the Constitution. In a better, saner world, he should have had the patience to hope, if not believe, that this was a passing phase, an aberration, and that constitutionalism and the rule of law are ideas that will bounce back once sanity returns to our politics. Maybe it was this hope we saw recently in the deserted streets of Ahmedabad8217;s Muslim neighbourhoods when men, women and children stayed indoors to protest against being branded terrorists. It was a silent protest, democratic and peaceful. But these are angrier times. And the ISI, with RDX, AKs and whatever else it needs to terrorise, is looking for opportunity.

Some of this was probably on the prime minister8217;s mind when he reminded Narendra Modi of his rajdharma in Ahmedabad last year. What is rajdharma if not constitutionalism, an unbending adherence to the principle that all are equal before the law and that nobody has the power to change that just because he may hold the gun or the lathi, or have the support of a majority. That argument has been made often after the Gujarat elections: That people have given their verdict, so critics, pseudo-secularists, Musharrafites, pinkos, all shut up. That is a dangerous argument but always tempting for one with the majority on his day. So Laloo can say the fodder scam does not matter because his party was re-elected. Mayawati could tell the CBI to go take a walk on the Taj case if she was to win again tomorrow. The Congress can say none of its leaders has to face any scrutiny for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots now because it8217;s been re-elected in Punjab. Jayalalithaa has already been 8220;exonerated8221; by the same people8217;s court. But are any of the leading lights of this coalition willing to forgive Indira Gandhi for jailing them just because she won such a huge majority in the summer of 1980? Did that 8220;people8217;s verdict8221; vindicate or justify the Emergency?

That8217;s the question Vajpayee and Advani should be asking themselves even as their intelligence agencies and police unravel these recent incidents. Did they invest more than five decades in public life to leave behind an India so divided and so constitutionally weakened that its minorities would become easy fodder for the guns of nasty neighbours rather than have the faith to find succour from its own, decidedly superior, system of laws?

Last week this newspaper organised Tiranga, a stirring concert that featured the great maestros of Indian classical and poetry. Among the audience sat the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, most of his cabinet colleagues who happened to be in town that day and two former prime ministers. There was no politics in the air. Just a good, healthy, national feeling. Poet Javed Akhtar sang a verse in praise of the Ashok Chakra in our flag and my colleague Renuka Narayanan sent me an e-mail reminding me of the inscription on Ashoka8217;s first rock edit. It read:

Esahi vidhi ya iyam
Dhamma palana,
Dhamma vidhane, Sukhiyana gotiti

For this is my rule: Rule by the law, of the law, prosperity by the law, protection by the law

This was Third Century BC and a very pre-Islam, pre-Macaulay India. And we are being told now that this is mere constitutional patriotism and that before we complain about anything we should see the voting percentages in Gujarat and be prepared for the day when the same wave will sweep the rest of the country. If you were told today that it will then grind into electoral dust this wisdom of our forefathers, the principles on which our great nation is built and that the mob will become a great kangaroo court where numbers would decide what is just and what is not, chances are even you would be a very angry citizen as well.

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