Terrorism: Threat to national unity

Repeated terror attacks, naxalism and communal violence all across the country certainly leave a sense of fear, insecurity and moreover a threat to the national unity. Narrow political outlook, growing religious fundamentalism along with poor governance and social injustice further weaken India’s unity amid its socio-religion and cultural diversity.

The serial bomb blasts in the heart of the national capital New Delhi though on one side bring a common term to lead a movement against terrorism from the political parties and religious leaders, but there is still a great mass of Muslims who contradict with the whole conduct of security forces especially after the Jamia Nagar encounter, which ended with the death of two alleged terrorists and arrest of few others.

Under such atmosphere of differing opinion, the government, political parties, intelligence and media as a whole need to take the whole community into confidence and mobilise religious leaders of all communities to seat together and draw their own lines in the interest of nation and the notion of “INDIA” as a united democratic country without identifying someone to a particular caste, religion or region.

Furthermore, the series of attacks on Christian minorities – first in Orissa’s Kandhamal district following the killing of Hindu leader Swami Laxmananda Saraswati and then in Karnataka over the religious conversions – and the inability of a faulty law and order machinery to respond to the widespread organised violence by some Hindu groups further make it a complex social factor frightening a particular community in pursuit of political gain.

Such attitude by our whole governance is obvious to nurture hatred feeling among communities. It is no more a question of enacting a stringent anti-terror law which has many times resulted in the harassment of a particular community or marginalised section of the society. In the absence of a clear cut policy, transparency in governance and an efficient justice delivery system, anti-terror law has more drawbacks than advantage.

Terrorism, as per everybody’s knowledge is not tagged to a particular community- say it the killing of Mahatma Gandhi by a Hindu; Indira Gandhi by Sikh or Rajeev Gandhi by Tamil Tigers. The recent bomb blasts by certain section of Muslim fundamentalists or religious clash by Hindu Rightists are equally responsible for socio-religious polarization.

To conclude, the utmost need to stop all these disorders is a political will in bridging the communal divide by involving different community leaders to confront with those home-grown terror groups. Better for politicians to rise above their vested interest and stand jointly for a common cause of national unity. Only a united India can eliminate the anti-social elements within us who don’t want peace to prevail.