In a smart manoeuvre, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh put the blame on the Congress party for coining the term “Hindu terrorism”. That enabled Singh to accuse the Congress of giving a religious colour to terrorism and thereby undermining the fight against it. The accusations and the Congress’ spirited protests against it gave the impression that the nation was divided on the issue of terrorism. One of the main aims of terrorism is to divide people and pit them against one another. The Congress appears to have facilitated that purpose.
India is one of the worst victims of terrorism. The Father of the Nation, two prime ministers and thousands of innocent people were killed by practitioners of violence over the years. The terrorists involved in these activities belonged to all religions and caste groups. But, it is improper to see terrorism as Hindu or Muslim or Sikh or Christian. The scriptures of these religions do not support any act that kills innocent people. In fact, they seek to guide the faithful to remain on the right path. The world over, there is a tendency to identify terrorism with Islam. Even this, on deeper analysis, would be misleading. Some terrorists do indeed act in the name of Islam. But they have a poor understanding of the religion. The LTTE cadres were the first to deploy suicide bombers long before the so-called Islamist fighters began using the term “fidayeen”. The LTTE certainly was not practising Hinduism.
Terrorists are the worst enemies of India and of any nation for that matter. They have no religion, but simply personify evil. In the West, Africa and Asia, tens of thousands of people have suffered on account of the scourge of terrorism. The nearly 300 people killed in the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai belong to all religious, regional and caste groups. That is precisely why most people approved of the hanging of Yakub Memon, though many reject hanging as a just punishment or as a deterrent against crime. Terrorists are ruthless and wait for an opportunity to strike fear in the hearts of innocent citizens. Such elements can be defeated only if the nation stands united against them. That unity and the fight against terrorism in general will be weakened if terrorists are given religious labels. At least, the issue of terrorism should be put beyond party politics.