Author: Swapan Dasgupta
Publication: The Poineer
Date: July 15, 2005
It may sound callous but had it
not been for the global outcry over the serial blasts in London, the import
of last Tuesday's foiled attack on the Ram temple in Ayodhya would have
been totally lost in the din of partisan politics. It needed the dignified
but categorical assertion of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, not to
mention some pretty remarkable displays of Anglo-Saxon fortitude, to drive
home to Indians that it is neither alarmist nor an expression of bad taste
to decry Islamic terrorism.
Of course, the articulation of outrage
in both countries was markedly different. Whereas Britain chose the life-as-usual
approach to demonstrate their contempt for the jihadis, the opposition
in India preferred a more boisterous, sound-bite centric course. The divergence
is indicative of different political cultures and need not be taken to
mean that Indian democracy is less evolved. At the same time, the BJP did
overshoot the proverbial Lakshman Rekha by making the Centre and Uttar
Pradesh Governments the targets of ire. Debating points needed to be scored
but a more reflective approach that stressed the dangers to national security
from Islamic and other forms of terrorism could have won the party a more
responsive audience.
Yet the frustration of those who
were stunned by the audacity of the jihadis is understandable. For 48 hours,
till the London bombings diverted attention, the country was treated to
a dismal spectacle of evasion and denial. The editorial classes directed
flak at the BJP and associates, as if Hindu activists were responsible
for the assault on the Temple.
They were taking their cue from
a Government which acted on the ridiculous assumption that the nature of
the attack could somehow be fudged by glossing over the religion of the
terrorists. Unlike in London, where ministers and the police have issued
appeals to the public for any information relating to anything suspicious
they may have observed, the Government hasn't even released computer-simulated
photographs of the slain terrorists.
The unmistakable impression is that
the Government is panicky about what the inquiries will reveal about the
terrorists and the local support networks that facilitated this audacious
operation. May be, there isn't a cover-up but there seems a concerted attempt
at concealment of information. We mustn't politicise the Ayodhya attack,
Sonia Gandhi has warned. Fair enough.
Must we, therefore, politicise the
investigations? Must we pretend that the choice of Ayodhya as a target
was dictated by nothing in particular? The issue isn't entirely academic.
Last Tuesday, the terrorists came perilously close to blasting the makeshift?
Ram temple. If a couple of the grenades hurled at the tarpaulin covering
had exploded or if the CRPF jawans hadn't been sufficiently quick in their
responses, India would have been confronted with horrific crisis.
Yes, a few communal outbreaks would
probably have ensued. But the danger wouldn't have stemmed from rioting
alone. A far more delicate problem would have arisen over what to do with
the destroyed Ram temple. There would have been sustained pressure on the
Government from the Left, the "hard"€secularists, the do-gooders and,
no doubt, many Muslim organisations to prevent another "makeshift" temple
from being created at the site.
Arguments, ranging from the aesthetic
to the rational would have been proffered in opposition to another Ram
idol being installed. Who knows, maybe a court would have instructed the
state to desist from any action till this new case was disposed of. To
prevent the UPA Government from collapsing, a dithering Congress would
have fallen back on a do-nothing approach, hoping, as always, that time
would be a great healer.
There would have been other consequences,
including Indo-Pakistan talks being put on hold, the possible outflow of
billions of dollars of Foreign Institutional Investment and the erosion
of India's competitive edge. Even these would have paled into insignificance
by the one overriding message the jihadis wanted to convey on July 5: That
terrorism works. The chilling thought: This was a message particularly
aimed at Indian Muslims.
