Reality hits home

Terror as a domestic phenomenon is, of course, not new to Mumbai. In 1993, when the metro was rocked by a series of blasts, investigations became easy once the involvement of the D-Company was established. But as the investigations into the 7/11 blasts progresses, the Kashmir link as well as an underworld connection is being ruled out. This may come as a bitter reality check for the country. The emergence of indigenous terror cells among Indian Muslims is certainly a culmination of a process of alienation that has its roots in anti-Muslim riots and subsequent communal polarisation. There is also every likelihood that the timing and the targets of these attacks, too, are aimed at sharpening the existing communal division and thus creating an atmosphere conducive to future recruitments.

Notice how recent terror targets have been religiously sensitive places like Varanasi, or timed to coincide with religious occasions 8212; like the Delhi blasts occurring on the eve of the Diwali and Id festivals. Why this apparent objective to trigger communal riots? Ordinary Indian Muslims 8212; outside J038;K 8212; had never been attracted to Kashmiri militancy even though they share a common faith with Kashmiri Muslims and Pakistanis. Security agencies in J038;K put the number of Indian Muslims who came to join various Kashmiri militant groups over the past 16 years of insurgency at a negligible 50.

Why didn8217;t Muslim youth from UP, Bihar or Gujarat 8212; unlike youth from Pakistan 8212; not join militant outfits in Kashmir, even though they had no Line of Control to cross, no mountains to negotiate, no army to hide from to reach the Valley? In fact, for them it is just a short journey by train or bus. Thousands of Indian Muslims do come to work as manual labourers in the state, but their inclination to join forces with Kashmiri militants is altogether absent.

Nothing explains this phenomenon more than the case of the Jamat-e-Islami 8212; a cadre-based Islamist party founded by Maulana Abul Ala Moududi in 1941. With partition, it had its Indian and Pakistani chapters. When the Jamat-e-Islami was introduced in Kashmir in 1951, its affinity was always with the Pakistan chapter rather than with the Jamat-e-Islami Hind. Unlike the Jamat in Pakistan and Kashmir, the Jamat-e-Islami Hind has remained an apolitical organisation, with unflinching loyalty to the Indian motherland. In any case, if radical Islam had been a motivation to turn to militancy, then the Al Qaida would certainly have had considerable recruits from among India8217;s 130 million Muslims. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently boasted that the Al Qaida has not managed a single recruit from India, and he was absolutely right.

Most senior police officers in J038;K agree that areas where communal violence is rampant become easy recruitment grounds for militants. Security agencies in Kashmir are currently investigating the presence of some ten Gujarati Muslims taking arms training in the mountains of Tral, where a former seminary student from Maharashtra was killed in an encounter recently.

There are other examples too. Chand Khan 8212; the man who ferried fidayeens from South Kashmir to Akshardham 8212; had told his interrogators in Srinagar that he joined the jihadi group only after Gujarat riots. Azam Ghauri8217;s evolution in becoming one of India8217;s most wanted militants has its roots in communal riots. According to the investigations, Ghauri 8212; who had a Naxal past 8212; was present at a meeting organised in Bhiwandi soon after communal violence had ripped it apart in 1985. Ten years later, Ghauri, a young man from a Hyderabadi Muslim family, and his close associate Karim 8216;Tunda8217; handicapped, set up a proper terror network for the Lashkar but their main motivation remained avenging the communal riots and their recruits were invariably victims of riots. Gauri was killed in an encounter in 2000.

Then there is Jalees Ansari 8212; a doctor who was arrested in 1994. He decided to leave his job and plant bombs on December 6, 1992 8212; the day of the Babri demolition. Ansari joined the Tehreek-Islahul-Muslimeen Movement for Reform among Muslims 8212; an extremist group founded in Mominpura Mumbai to 8220;avenge communal violence against Muslims8221;.

Going by these recent developments, we can spot new faultlines on the terror map. Violence is no longer limited to the Hindi belt or to Gujarat and Maharashtra, but has travelled all the way to Kerala too. The emergence of National Democratic Front 8212; a 50,000-strong outfit that came up as a reaction to the Babri Masjid demolition 8212; has put this state that prides itself on having the highest literacy rate in the country on the boil.

At a time when Mumbai8217;s Black Tuesday is being used as political capital by various political parties, it is important not to lose sight of the internal dimension of the latest terror attacks. This, in turn, raises crucial issues. Issues like justice delivery for the victims of the Gujarat riots, and the dangers inherent in blaming the entire Muslim community in India for the acts of a few alienated elements intent on pursuing their politics of revenge.