Shyam Parekh

There is a reaction to every action – that’s what we all learnt in science text-books. The Mumbai terrorist attack can’t be an exception. The knee-jerk reaction was removal of the home minister and replacement of Maharashtra chief minister. But the long-term consequences appear scarier.

It’s a known fact that terrorism and such similar nefarious activities thrive only when there is a sufficient local base and a sentiment that justifies the local sentiment. While Pakistan’s role may be evident and action against the erring neighbour may appear logical, we need to run a fact check on the local reality.

Ever since Babri demolition, Indian society has split on communal lines. The most obvious result is the communal ideology which has not only become a national pre-occupation and has been driving the Indian politics ever since, rather than development, liberalization or even other social and national concerns. This has gone deep to such an extent that an entire community that shares the religion with Pakistan has been increasingly coming under a scanner.

For most of the politicians, encircled with a zed-plus security ring, this only means reaping bumper harvests of hate in the field of the forthcoming elections. But for the billion others it simply leaves questions marks about everything.

While many are burping with satisfaction by bashing other fellow-citizens for being akin to the enemy neighbours in religion, they are completely unaware of the consequences. The first and the most important one: India which has prospered over centuries by offering home to diverse cultures, is very rapidly pushed into becoming a monocultural identity.

As hardliners flourish in this environment, the insecurity and isolation of minorities intensifies. The ghettoes which offer safety, security and comfort to the minorities are growing rapidly. These islands within India not only provide survival option to the millions but also nurture and harbour an increasingly unjustified hatred towards rest of the India. Its ‘Us Vs Them’ that re-assures the millions who live here.

The pent-up emotions against any injustice, even accidential or benign, grow here exponentially and reach unrealistic proportions of hate, revenge and angst. This offers the most suitable culture for anti-national and anti-societal feelings to grow at an unprecedented speed. Terrorism is just one of the natural fall-outs. There is no hope for effective countering of terrorism without weeding out the breeding grounds – that is the hatred that perpetuates among those who have been denied social acceptance.

Everyone who loves India and wants fight terrorism, should not only refrain from jingoistic war cries on Pakistan, but make a serious attempt to fill the chasm that was created in 1992. Not by hollow talks of secularism and tolerance, but by integrating the minorities into mainstream. To begin with ensure that someone is NEVER denied a house, a job, a commercial space or acceptance in general by the society, because of his or her religion. This will be our gravest mistake. For many who are being administered a steady dose of potent communal potion from across the border, this will be seen as a reason enough to justify terrorism.