After a few months of relative calm the terrorists have struck again, this time targeting Pink City Jaipur in a series of bomb blasts killing at least 60 Indians and injuring many more. These blasts come on the tenth anniversary of Pokhran nuclear tests and days before Pranab Mukherjee and Shiv Shankar Menon were due to visit Islamabad to hold discussions with the new Pakistani government. Also, it has been just around seven months since the dargah of Hazrat Moinuddin Chishti at Ajmer was bloodied with bomb blasts in October 2007 killing two and wounding dozens.
It seems that the blasts were specifically targeted towards causing casualities to Hanuman devotees on a Tuesday. To no one’s surprise, the terrorists are strategically targeting Hindu and Muslim devotees on religiously significant days to disrupt communal harmony.
* Sankat Mochan Temple, Varanasi March 7, 2006: Twin blasts in city left 28 dead, injured over 100. Blasts took place on Tuesday when the temple is packed with devotees.
* Jama Masjid, Delhi April 14, 2006: Low intensity blasts at India’s most famous mosque left 14 injured. First blast took place as the faithful prepared for Friday prayers.
* Noorani Masjid, Malegaon September 8, 2006: Blasts on Friday coincided with the Shab-e-Barat. First bomb went off outside Masjid. Blasts at Mushaira Chowk and graveyard too. The toll: 38 killed, over 200 injured.
* Mecca Masjid, Hyderabad May 18, 2007: 14 persons killed, more than 50 injured in blasts and subsequent police firing in adjoining areas. Blasts took place during Friday prayers.
* Ajmer Sharif Dargah October 11, 2007: Terror struck the revered Sufi shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti as thousands were breaking their Ramzan fast, a day before the Friday prayers. The bomb inside the complex killed two persons and injured another 28. [Indian Express]
Meanwhile Rediff.com Message Boards, never a sane place for discussions even in normal circumstances, are brimming with anti-Muslim vile after this particular tragedy. This message by one Gaurang Patel stands out for its viciousness:
To make Muslims understand that terrorism can’t be tolerated lets do Gandhigiri against them in the following way:
i) Don’t give them jobs in your company if you have other Hindu person available for the job. Stop all public relations with them. Don’t speak to them unless absolutely necessary.
ii) If you are in partnership with Muslim then slowly by slowly scrap him of partnership or do business of your own or engage other partner which is Hindu or of other religion other than that of Muslim.
iii) Don’t buy any product from Muslims. If they come to purchase at your shop charge them one rupee more as our country is suffering more from some of their members indulging in terrorists attack indirectly by giving shelter to Pakistani Terrorists.
iv) from the beginning of your girl child make her understand that she could do any intercaste marriage other then Muslims.
v) The shepherd community of India should not sell their old cows & buffaloes to Muslims. Hindus should unite together & form some institutions to buy old cattle from shepherd community so that Muslims didn’t get meat to eat atleast from our side.
vi) Never wear any clothing ( shoes,belts, vollets etc etc) made from leadher.
If Muslims had taken path of terrorism then we must make them understand they we can also take actions in our own way….& i think this is the best practice
to show our feelings against them.
thx.
gaurang patel [Rediff.com]
On the positive side, many others are seeing the method in this madness and realizing that the aim of terrorists is to create divisions and mistrust between communities.
The government’s response has been inept and callous with Minister of State for Home Affairs mouthing inanities like “foreign hand”, “Centre stands like a chattan (rock)”.
One of the reasons the government is so ill-prepared to either prevent or solve such terrorist attacks is that there is no follow-up on the previous such attacks. Case in point: Mecca Masjid Blasts. Andhra Pradesh government constituted an inquiry commission under Justice Bhaskara Rao in June 2007 to submit its report on the incident within three months. It has been more than 11 months since then and we didn’t hear anything. I even shot an email to Y Rajashekar Reddy a few months back inquiring him about the status. Nothing.
Nitin Pai summarizes the situation well.
Here’s what it means: that we will just have to ‘live’ with this new threat to life. Or that we will take the battle to the terrorists. [The Acorn]
All this talk of India being the next super-power and demands for UN Security Council seat is mere hogwash if the state can’t protect its citizens who are killed by terrorists at will, at the time and place of their choosing.
Photo Courtesy: Times Of India
Chirag,
This article touches on Tablighi Jamaat and also talks abt Deobandis:
http://indianmuslims.in/introduction-to-islam-in-contemporary-india/
and if this is how it actually is on the ground, is no cause for worry:
“…Now, the Tablighi movement offers a very unique version of Islam. It basically combines the immense importance of tawhid (oneness of God) with the Sufi concept of connecting to God at an individual level. Scholars like Yoginder Sikand have argued this in detail. For Tablighi Jamaat adherents, namaaz is but a means to connect to God (pray as if you are talking to Him) and also their overwhelming emphasis on islaah-e-nafs (cleansing of soul). Many of their leaders abhor the term Tablighi Jamaat as it gives an impression that they are preaching to others whereas the focus is in fact on one’s own self. The movement has borrowed heavily from the practices of traditional Sufism like individual azkaar (recitation of God’s name) and sometimes under the tutelage of a Sheikh (teacher). …”
That doesnt quite square with:
“… the growing appeal of Tabligue Jamaat’s severe, auster, and generally intolerant vision of Islam….”
though it could have gotten to that somehow from where it started out, I guess. Maybe RSS also has noble and elevating goals in its charter. I kind of remembered something from this article when I launched the first comment. But I know NIL abt this and Mohib and the others are ignoring your comments.
So we will likely not have any meaningful discussion on this and whether there is any divergence from stated goal to situation on the ground, or some error or overstatement on both sides, etc.
regards,
Jai
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people can only talk and they use to talk only always .but talking doesnt change anything these terorist r the people who dont have fathers and mothers and they always fell unhappy whenever they see someone have it .they should think if there own family member dies in such kind of bomb blast what it feels .but we should always keep this thing into our mind that when ELEPHANT(INNOCENT PEOPLE) WALKS DOGS( TERRORISTS) BARKS.
Every jihad is a war fought by a Muslim, but every war fought by a Muslim is not a jihad. A jihadi could not betray a trust, misappropriate booty, mutilate a body, kill the old, women or children; he could not even destroy trees or slaughter an animal except for food. Terrorism has no place in jihad.
The Quran insists that that while there are differences among faiths, it is up to Allah, and not man, to be the judge. For man, there is a clear principle (Surah 2:256): “La iqra fi al deen (Let there be no compulsion in religion).” (This instruction, incidentally, comes just after Ayat ul Kursi, a magnificent evocation to the power of Allah and his protection of man.) A second principle is equally unambiguous: “Lakum deen-e kum wal ya deen (Your religion for you and my religion for me).” It was not an accident that Ottoman Sultans gave shelter to Spanish Jews after they were driven out by the Catholic Inquisition.