Kashmir Times, November 14, 2008
Dangerous portents
Involvement of sadhus and army personnel in acts of terrorism
The Jammu link in Malegaon blast investigations has come out in a more pronounced manner with the arrest of a self styled godman who headed an ashram in Painthal area of Jammu region for a couple of years. These are indeed alarming signals, not only for Jammu, where there is an obvious reason to believe that the recently communalized situation is borne out of long years of labour of the saffron brigade which had been mobilising its cadres and support from among the masses but also for the entire country. The manner in which self styled godmen owing allegiance to the Sangh Parivar have begun to misuse religion to preach the pernicious ideology of Hindutava and fan communal passions is a cause for alarm. It does not appear to be a case of handful of such men masquerading as religious priests and spreading the virulent ideology of communal hatred. There are solid indications that there is a strong networking of such godmen with a systematic mechanism in place for the horizontal expansion of the nefarious designs of the saffron brigade. That such a mechanism is being followed also by self styled religious men of other communities may not be a surprise but in a country where the Hindus are in a vast majority, it is the spread of Hindu fascism and religious fundamentalism that becomes a greater danger. As far as the Jammu connection of blasts is concerned, the recent agitation has revealed the involvement of a large number of persons with dubious background in using the religious discourse to provoke communal passions. The names of several other saints and self styled godmen including Dinesh Bharti, who made no secret of his highly communally provocative ideology, have also figured. Public Safety Act has been slapped against several of these men, yet none have been arrested, which also points to a probable, and dangerous, nexus of some officials with these men. All this cannot be taken lightly. Various angles and suspicions that are emerging must be probed now that the Malegaon probe has revealed the extent of perils of such trends that were visibly noticed in Jammu in the recent past.
Far more disturbing is the involvement of some serving and ex-army personnel including officers in the Malegaon blasts. It may not just be wishful but also dangerous to brush aside the investigations under the carpet. The penetration of the saffron brigade in the armed forces with its lethal ideology appears to be too alarming to be dismissed as a mere case of aberration. The involvement of the Bhonasla Military School in Nasik points out to the increasing probability of there being many more such elements already penetrating into the Indian army. The Indian army has a glorious past and a disciplined history which cannot be allowed to be tarnished by mere complacency. There is need to begin a proper screening within the army. Besides, there is also need to look into the very issue of the vulnerability of the army to such dangers, much of which may also stem from the fact that army has been off late extensively used to deal with situations of strife, bringing them in close proximity to the civilian areas and their politics. Army may have successfully dealt with communal situations in the country in the past but it may be na‹ve to go on believing that this tradition can be used harmlessly to ensure normalcy and peace. There is need to reduce the army role in civilian areas including in strifes like Kashmir and the north-east, where too allegations of vindictive behaviour of some army personnel have been made public for a long time. The unlimited powers and unbridled freedom to them in some areas has also been questioned. The unaccounted for arms and ammunition, which have been seized in every operation and encounter, and for which there appears to be no transparency, is also something that needs to be grappled with. There are reports of illegal groups having easy access to the most sophisticated arms and ammunition courtesy some personnel of the security forces. The integrity and the credibility of the army has to be maintained at all costs, not by sweeping allegations under the carpet but by dealing with them.
Even, more importantly, a question stares in the face that if there is penetration of the Hindu fundamentalists through religious discourses and the army, could it also exist at the higher echelons of power in the bureaucracy and the intelligence networks, whose inputs are crucial for decision making, whichever government is in power? That all this went unnoticed until the Maharashtra ATS geared up its act, that Bhonsala Military School was operating without anybody questioning its role and that the Nanded blast investigations were challenged without quoting any substantial reason by the CBI - all these things unfortunately point to a possibility. The situation then is too alarming to be ignored or simply be used for vote bank politics. Something has to be done seriously and with conviction if the country is to be saved from an absolute communal disaster that it seems headed for.
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