The recent terror attacks have left a fear in the mind of people living in the country. Innocents are being killed all over through these cowardly acts committed by some mindless people. I don’t know what purpose they serve by killing the innocent? What message they are trying to give to the common man? Several families have lost their sole earners; small children have been left alone to survive in this world as they lost their parents to an untimely death. Many got permanently disabled. But this bloodshed through terrorism seems unending.
India is a secular country. These acts are aimed at disrupting the communal harmony and unity. They are aimed to divide us. In Delhi, I live in a so called Muslim ghetto – Batla House in Jamia Nagar. It is the same place where the police on Friday gunned down two terrorists for their alleged involvement in terror attacks. The moment I heard this news in office, I was stunned. I feared for the safety of my family. I feared for my life. Shivers went down my spine to know that I am living among the terrorists.
I am of the view that terrorists have no religion. They are neither Hindus nor Muslims. No religion teaches you to kill innocent people. This is just not acceptable. The government alone cannot do much to counter these attacks. Although, we have strong laws to handle terrorism but along with that it is our responsibility to help the police, by remaining alert and provide all the necessary support that we can.
I know how it feels to see your place in the news for wrong reasons. I feel ashamed. I also feel guilty. Due to the act of some mindless people, the whole community has to feel ashamed. If these people think that they are doing it for the Muslim community, they are wrong. Their acts are condemned by every true Muslim. Religious scholars and organizations like Deoband have already condemned terrorism. A fatwa had already been issued in this regard.
Jamia Nagar, from now on, will always be looked upon suspiciously. To my knowledge, this is the second time that terrorists are being killed in an encounter in this area. This is an easy hideout for them. Residents cry foul over the police act. Some say these are fake encounters. Some say government is targeting Muslims. Sometimes the authenticity of these attacks is doubted. But don’t you think somewhere, we ourselves are to blame.
Being an unauthorized colony, there are no residents welfare associations. Nobody keeps track on the migrants coming here. This is a place where people from UP, Bihar, Bengal and other states regularly come for work. They easily get rented accommodation. If we want to avert this in future, then we should make sure that whenever we rent our place anybody, we should inform the police to ensure that the right person gets to live there. We should try to keep track on the people visiting this area. The police are there to help us. We can get CCTV cameras installed. If something suspicious is found, inform the police.
Post encounter, many students living in rented places or in hostels have left for their homes for fear of being picked by the police. The business is not the same. Most of the shopkeepers near Khalilullah Masjid where the encounter took place kept their shutters down even after three days of the incident. With Eid only few days away, not many people are out on the streets of batla house which otherwise are always crowded with traders and shoppers.
Due to strong police presence in the area, people prefer to stay indoors. The kababwalah, the sabziwalah, fruit sellers and others who stay here and earn good money during ramzan are complaining of few buyers. Even the central market in Lajpat Nagar bore a deserted look on Sunday.
In the end, I strongly condemn these acts of terrorism which has killed several innocent people. These terrorists should be hanged in public. How can anyone justify innocent killings? We all should stay together and fight these cowardly acts. Together we can and we will fight to secure our country’s harmony and unity.
Photo Credit: Child with the Indian Flag by FreeBird
Dear Urdudaan
What you say is a very dangerous thing to say. Do you even begin to realize what this means? It is disruptive ideas like this that turn a civil society into a jungle raj. It does not take long for the jungle raj ayotollahs to run away with such ideas. Who do you think defines what is justice? Would you bear the mantle? What if your defination of justice is wrong? what is it that would stop you from turing a despot?
I state an example to illustrate my case – Honour killings! In pakistan, afghanistan and even in backwaters of our own country there are numerous cases where tribal justice mandates killing of women who (in the eyes of the tribal leaders) have broken the law. Do you think this is justified? I am sure as a reasonable man you too would be appaled by such killings. This is just one example of justice on the spot.
As for the ‘alleged terrorists’ thing the people caught by the police still have to be proven gulity in the courts of our great country. Our constitution grants this right to every one. would you be willing to break the constitution just to satisfy this primeveal urge for revenge?
Dear Sir,
Your article “living in Fear” is very interesting. No religion preaches violence is true and yet organised religions have been propagated through violent methods.
The world has yet to be convinced that Islam is a religion of love and peace.
The Fatwa on Salman Rushdie, Taslima Nasreen, Tariq Ramadan many others
who have found a safe home in the west to live their lives are a few examples of the violence practised by those whom claim to be custodians of Islam.
It makes me and people like me very sad to see the communal harmony disturbed, fear instilled and safety of life and property the main concern.
I am ashamed to call myself Indian when I read killings of innocent Indians for the sake of their religion on made up charges without being proven.
At the end of the day, it all boils down to how motivated the state is to see that perpetrators of violence are brought to book.
The state definitely needs to play an active role in ensuring that peace and harmony prevails. No blame game will help. Reality needs to be confronted.
Moonis, thanks for an honest write-up. It is really heartening to hear an opinion that is not politically coloured, and not shrill in its conspiracy theory quotient. This, despite how close to home this latest drama is for you
.
Wonderful to hear such voices and let our public domain have more such voices from within all communities.
And you’re very right to use the word ‘alleged’ because that is the only appropriate usage until they are legally found guilty.
the following will help solve our current problems: a vibrant civil society where all of us speak freely, where we are not afraid to question ourselves, our own actions and preconceived notions, and where we see that all our problems – poverty, illiteracy, gender discrimination etc – are faced by all religious communities. If we work to address those and not get distracted by the petty politics of the lunatic fringes or by fear, it will resolve all these other supplementary issues. The bottom line is development.
Hello Sudha,
You are right what we need is a vibrant civil society with full of moral courage to stand up and defend the rights of our citizens. We have to change our mindset and think that we are Indians first and Hindus,Muslims,Christians or Sikhs second.
Countries like the USA and China are far moresuccessful than us because for them the concept of nationalism is a major driving force.
We also need to get into that mode of thinking. It is precisely our innate division in society that is hindering our progress. We need to rise up above all this.