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The attack on the wealthy Akshardham temple in end September
was a reaction to the brutalities inflicted on Muslims by the Modi/BJP
government during the pogroms earlier this year. With little or no action taken
against the perpetrators of inhuman crimes of loot, rape and murder, the victims
reacted in their own way. 37 were killed and 81 injured in the attack on the
temple However much the BJP/VHP may attempt to divert attention by putting the
blame on Pakistan (as has become their habit) they cannot escape from the fact
that it is their butcheries that is primarily responsible for this back-lash, in
which many innocent Hindus were killed and injured at the temple. Primarily it
is they who are responsible or these killings.
Though it is still not clear as to who is responsible for
this action the main gainers from it have been the BJP and the Sangh Parivar
themselves. Immediate capital was made out of the blood spilt, by a call for a
Bharat Bandh by the VHP. Within hours Advani was at the temple and Vajpayee cut
short his trip to the Maldives to visit the site. (The PM took 35 days to reach
Gujarat after the Godhra incident) The media say that with this action Modi’s
stock has once again gone up, giving him an edge in the forthcoming Gujarat
elections (yet the Jammu results may indicate just the opposite). What was
particularly surprising was the fact that the two militants involved in the
action were killed even though their bullets had got exhausted at the time. With
their death, evidence as to their background has also got buried, allowing the
saffron brigade to promote all types of rumours. BJP central leaders showed
concern with the attack on one temple, but could not care less about the 209
masjids and dargahs destroyed during the communal carnage.
The temple was probably chosen as it caters to the very rich
Patel community (many of whom are NRIs), who played a prominent role in the
carnage. Besides this temple is located near the Chief Minister’s house and also
that of the police headquarters. Yet, retaliation on innocents is not the answer
to the fascists. Nor is the reaction of the Congress(I) and other parliamentary
outfits.
Ironically, in the aftermath of this action, the Congress(I)
has added to the Hindutva mania. Sonia too visited the temple at the same time
as the Prime Minister. Their government in Maharashtra, defacto supported the
VHP bandh call, and in Gujarat they called a bandh on the following day.
It is a fact that due to lack of effective
opposition/resistance the Hindu fascist force’s arrogance is crossing all
bounds. If there is no proper democratic resistance, such anarchic actions will
continue and only add to the Hindu-Muslim divide, thereby assisting the hate
campaign of the fascists. Yet, it must be understood there is a limit to the
tolerance of the Muslims. Not only have they had to face the butchery of the
earlier pogrom, they have had to witness the venom-spouting Modi during his
so-called gaurav yatra, which he continues to this day. They also have to
observe the media blare VHP Chief’s statement that the Gujarat experiment will
be taken to the rest of the country. The Muslims have little faith in the
parliamentary opposition as their opposition to the fascists is tailored to
serve electoral politics, and so, muted. And due to the lack of an effective
democratic and revolutionary force that can mobilize the vast masses to hit
back, the Muslims see no alternative but to turn to the Islamic fundamentalists.
Particularly the Congress(I)’s soft Hindutva stand only whets the appetite of
the fascists. Whether in power or out of power, the only method to fight back
the fascists in Gujarat and elsewhere is by mobilizing the masses against them
and developing a striking force that can punish their ring-leaders.
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