Kerala blasts show terror has no religion
The blasts at a prayer meeting in Ernakulam last Sunday that killed three people and some reactions to the incident should come as an eye-opener for Kerala. While the news of the deadly attack on members of the Christian group Jehovah’s Witnesses was received with shock and disbelief, it soon set the rumor mills running at full pelt, churning out communally provocative propaganda and vitiating an atmosphere that was already emotionally charged with sentiments over the Israel-Hamas war.
Though some of the mystery is expected to be solved as the investigation progresses, it has now turned out that the attack was plotted and executed by a single person—a disillusioned former member of the group who nurtured a strong hatred towards it. The incident shows how one misguided element can threaten a whole community. More importantly, it showed that terror has no religion.
In this light, the resolve expressed at an all-party meeting to jointly resist efforts to create mistrust and intolerance should be commended. The resolution passed at the meeting, convened by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and attended by representatives of all parties, called upon the people to unite to isolate attempts to destroy the social unity, cultural heritage and secular values of the state. The government promised action against those spreading hatred and got cracking with the police booking people for provocative social media posts. The police even filed a case against Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar for some of his social media comments. However, exposing a double standard, CPM state secretary MV Govindan, who was one of the first to hint at a Palestine link, has been spared.
While the government must take strong action against communal propaganda and attempts to polarise society using such incidents, it must also ensure a thorough probe to bring out the whole truth. Questions about the security lapse and how one man could execute such a complex plan remain unanswered. While some social media posts after the blasts were reflective of the times we live in, looking to negate only the political implications of the incident could prove harmful in the long run. The government and the political leadership must admit to and address the growing influence of extremist views in society. Given the extent of communal polarisation, one can only hope that better sense prevails, should such incidents happen again.