The terror attacks on Bombay have created panic and fear in every section of society (‘Whodunit? Pak, Qaeda link seen’, DNA, November 28). Terrorist attacks are now happening with frightening regularity. But the reality is that they always happen to “somebody else” far away. The civil society seems unaffected as long as their interests are not touched.
A classic case is the Gujarat carnage of 2002. When terror attacks continue, as in Bombay, the obvious question is, “Who could be responsible?” As a result, there is a tendency “to find someone” , and very often, there are scapegoats.
What is imperative is that governments, both at the Centre and state, must be fair and impartial while dealing with the issue. Terrorism has no religion, so it is ridiculous that politicians defend alleged terrorists from “their own” religion, and strongly condemn those who belong to “another” religion. Governments and political leaders must not draw political mileage when terror strikes.
This can be achieved if we have visionary and charismatic leaders. At every step, we need to defend the secular character and the diversity guaranteed to us by our Constitution. A sagacious political will and a deep commitment from every single citizen will go a long way in doing so.
—Fr Cedric Prakash, director, PRASHANT, the Jesuit Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace, Ahmedabad
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