Cite an example, for the sake of record, if you have ever found an Indian Muslim hijacking a plane, derailing a train, burning a copy of the Constitution or desecrating the Flag of India, DR. S. AUSAF SAIED VASFI throws a sort of challenge to the powers-that-be.
What is State terrorism? The truth is that we too do not know precisely what, legally speaking, is State-sponsored terrorism? The line is too thin between the legally sound and legally unsound acts committed by a man-in-uniform while ostensibly discharging his duties.
When a police officer arrests an innocent Muslim youth, without sufficient grounds, tortures him regularly for the extraction of fictitious confession, to be honourably released ultimately by the courts of law, finding no case at all against the accused – is it State-sponsored terrorism?
The legal wizards rather wiseacres may pinpoint 101 lacunae in this preposterous question, usually posed by the sufferers. The frequency of this query puts up two options before the Union Home Ministry and the Ministry for Law: either provide a flawless definition of the State-sponsored terrorism or give a legal right to the victims of police atrocities to prosecute the tormentors, who go just scot-free because of the hackneyed plea that they were performing their legal and constitutionally ordained duty.
In 11 of our 28 States and Union Territories, such legally deficient cases have been filed selectively by our police. As the cases were legally weak and punctuated with holes, they were thrown out by the courts.
What goes without saying is that extreme care had been taken to arrest educated, young Muslims like IITians, doctors, engineers and other professionals. This double-edged police strategy brought two diabolical results: careers of the budding Muslim youth were destroyed forever and blemishes were cast on their otherwise fair name.
According to the sources close to the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, 102 suspect Muslim youths were arrested from U.P, 8 from West Bengal, 156 from Gujarat, 30 from Karnataka, 25 from Madhya Pradesh, 14 from Bihar, 52 from Tamil Nadu, 14 from Rajasthan, 4 from Delhi, 7 from Maharashtra, and 17 from Andhra Pradesh.
The current total stands at 429. But the figure continues to skyrocket.
Now the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has taken up the issue in right earnest. It organises Mass Hearing (Jan Sunwai) at various places and especially invites highly respected personages of the majority community who listen to the tales of woe of the sufferers and their ageing parents in a cogent manner. A panel also sits there lest the discussion should become too lengthy and swerve from the basic point. Such sessions of Jan Sunwai have already been organised at Jaipur, Lucknow and New Delhi. Other States like Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are awaiting their turn. Delhi witnessed such a session on Sept 10, in which Mr. S.R. Darapuri, former I.G. Police of U.P, said: It is the handiwork of some sections of the police and Intelligence Bureau officers, done in the name of dealing with terrorism. What is apparent is that it had been done in a less-than-responsible manner. The reported atrocities were committed under a planned policy of the government which were allegedly followed relentlessly.
The social and human rights activist as well as Chairman of the PUCL, Mr. N.D. Pancholi, who is also an advocate of the Supreme Court of India, stressed the need of a mass movement and an agitation to undo the wrong. He lamented the fact that the government has not till date dealt with the root cause of terror.
The government is busy in superficial and unfruitful exercises.
The president of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umari regretted that the media is also playing a partisan role. He cited the example of Bangalore where Jamaat and SIO volunteers armed with bold banners tried to prevent the fleeing Northeasterners; they repeatedly tried to prevail upon the terror-stricken Northeasterners heading for their home states but the print and electronic media ignored this demonstration of large-heartedness and civility on the part of Muslim organisation.
Dr. Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas, General Secretary of Welfare Party of India, reminded the gathering, that one of the ministers at the centre under the UPA government clearly said that “the attack on Parliament was fake and no Pakistani had died in the firing, instead they were some Kashmiri youth”.
Mr. Mohammad Ahmad, Secretary Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, expressed outrage at the refusal of some lawyers in the country who refused to take up cases of Muslims simply because they do not want to plead Muslim cases. But they showed no feelings when the RTI activists like Shahid Azmi are done to death simply because they happened to be Muslim.
For the last 15 years or so the Indian Muslims have been passing through this agony in which their educated, promising progeny is being arrested and its image being tarnished. The prime of Muslim youth is passing in jails. When they come out through the good offices of the court, they have no place to go.
It appears to be a deliberate attempt at re-orphaning the ageing parents of the Muslim youth. It is an attempt to systematically demoralise them. It is an attempt to sap their self-respect, self confidence and what not. In this context, it should be of interest to repeat that Muslims happen to be a peaceable and peace-loving minority of plural Bharat. Even their worst enemies cannot cite a single example bespeaking of terror. Cite an example, for the sake of record, if you have ever found an Indian Muslim hijacking a plane, derailing a train, burning a copy of the Constitution or desecrating the Flag of India.
Normally, Muslims do not break heads and windows for the resolution of their problems. Would you mind, if in the said context, the Muslims give a trial to the agitational approach?