Indian liberals find their holy grail: Hindu terrorist discovered?

July 26, 2008: Islamic Jihadis bomb a hospital in Ahmedabad.

August 31, 2008: Islamic Jihadis take seven people hostage in Jammu, including four children aged between 2 and 9.

Sept 27, 2008: Islamic Jihadis hand over a live bomb to a nine year old boy, killing him.

As Islamic Jihad proceeded to break one humanitarian barrier after another, Indian liberals were feeling the heat. As people lay in the streets of Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Agartala and Guwahati, writhing in agony, the tide seemed to be turning against them. The liberals needed a game changer; and they got one.

Somewhat ironically, it was the Madhya Pradesh police, one of the several "communal police forces" in the country that gave them their deliverance. The boyish looking "Sadhvi" Pragya Singh was everything they wanted; a Hindu religious leader, an extremist with connections to the BJP. The extra icing on the cake was that she brought an Army man Lt. Col. Purohit in tow; since the liberal crowd has never taken too kindly to the Indian Army either, there was little reason not to celebrate. The outcome: the Malegaon attack, in which the Sadhvi was apparently involved, has now been reported on more than any other terrorist attack in India's history.

Since the national debate has now been pushed towards the issue of "Hindu terrorism", the Oracle has no choice but to say a word or two. Of course, I would much rather discuss building an advanced anti-meteorite defence system, because, quite frankly, an Indian stands a far greater chance of being killed by a meteorite than by a "Hindu terrorist".

The Sadhvi may be guilty, and it is quite likely she is. The larger question is whether the thesis : "Not every Muslim is a terrorist, but every terrorist in a Muslim" has been disproved. Mathematically, yes! Statistically, no! With the Sadhvi's arrest, the possibility of a randomly chosen Indian terrorist being a Muslim has just fallen from 100% to 99.9% and, in all fairness, this little change should not be alowed to reflect on state policy. If anything, her arrest proves that Hindus in India are just beginning to lose faith in the protection of the state; which is all the more reason that Islamic terrorism needs to be dealt with convincingly. Since we in India spend a lot of time trying to understand the Muslim grievance, perhaps it is time we spared a thought for the Hindus.

It is harsh to say so, but the so called "Muslim grievance" seems to be a global phenomenon. Some Muslims, clerics in particular, seem to have taken it upon themselves to stay offended as a profession. The business of finding grievances seems to live rather well even on the most humble of provocations: such as a Muslim cabbie in New York being "offended" by a passenger carrying alcohol. The provocation could be a cartoon published in an innocuous Danish newspaper; a transgression in distant Denmark is used as an opportunity to typecast white persons, Western nations, Christians, Jews and indeed any other non believer as part of the same vast conspiracy against Islam. And then the logic is turned on its head to complain about Muslims not being greeted in the streets with a big smile the day after 9/11. The same sense of fairness that is used to demand more civil rights for the people of Kashmir (by ending special powers of the armed forces) is then debauched to justify ethnic cleansing of the valley by purging it of 500,000 pandits; a call for tolerance accompanied by a demand for holocaust, all rolled into one in the guise of Islam.

Even so, India has to face this monster of "Muslim grievance". This fire breathing monster runs riot in our streets, killing and maiming people every day. As pointed out in the previous paragraph, the monster has a global face and thus it is too much to expect of India to come up with a solution all on its own. India can do its part by making the nation as democratic as possible, but it is nevertheless important to keep the nation together. The Constitution won't stand if there is no nation left. The need of the hour is, therefore, to build respect for the law. A good way to start would be an act of Parliament that actually outlaws terrorist activities expressly.

The political consequences of the arrest of the Sadhvi are actually rather small. The people of India are too preoccupied with mourning their dead to actually wonder about the spectre of "Hindu terrorism" or what perils a handful of youth calling themselves "Abhinav Bharat" may bring to bear. The theme that will play out in rallies across the country is that of the very real threat of Islamic Jihad. The theme that will play out in the media is rather different. One could well say that the debate over terrorism has now been pegged back in favour of Islamic Jihad for at least a generation. In talk show after talk show and debate after debate, you will hear the cheerleaders of terrorism say: "A Hindu terrorist has also been captured. So anyone who thinks that Islamic Jihad is a problem should back off!". Unfortunately, more often than not, the way these debates go are reflected in the laws Parliament makes, which means that our fight against Jihad has suffered a setback.

Of course, no matter how disproportionate it is to the magnitude of Islamic terrorism, any signs of extremism in the Hindu majority are worrying signs for a nation that is looking to take off. It could get out of hand if the problems are not addressed. The correct approach to take would be to treat Islamic Jihad as a sordid disease such as malaria or smallpox that needs to be eliminated. Any effort to brand Islamic terrorism as India's fault is approximately on the same level as the medieval belief that leprosy is a form of divine retribution. Those such as Teesta Seetalvad, Arundhati Roy, Shabana Azmi or Shabnam Hashmi who preach this dangerous superstition should be treated as enemies of the people and of the democratic state.