India: The cycle of violence

Deccan Chronicle, 26 November, 2009

It has been exactly a year since the horrific terror attacks in Mumbai that killed at least 170 and wounded the entire nation. Never again, we roar in desperate anger. The guilty must be punished, we scream. And a year later we have Force One, a special counter-terror unit on the lines of the National Security Guard, in place in Mumbai. The trial of Kasab goes on, the exasperating dialogue continues with Pakistan about “proof†and its tangible and philosophical dimensions. Meanwhile, we have also embarked on the Headley chase.

The 26/11 attacks were certainly the most dramatic in our recent history — especially since they played for almost three days on live television, and happened largely in luxury hotels, shocking the privileged classes into the realisation that they too are vulnerable. But the attacks were in no way an isolated event — these belonged to a larger terrorscape that took shape over two decades as sectarian polarisation laid us open to hate attacks and counterattacks and plunged us into a murderous cycle of violence. And this week we are revisiting perhaps the biggest fountainhead of that religious polarisation, with the Liberhan Commission’s report being tabled in Parliament.

Almost 17 years ago to the week, the Babri Masjid was demolished by Hindutva forces with the blessings of the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership. The ground had been prepared by L.K. Advani’s rath yatra in 1990 and with the destruction of the mosque, the dominance of politicised Hindutva over other religions, as well as over certain constitutional guarantees, was established. “The state had become a willing ally and co-conspirator in the joint common enterprise to announce the revival of a rabid breed of Hindutva, by demolishing the structure they had denounced as a symbol of Islam†, states the report. And it took 17 long years just to place before the country the facts of the event as found by this enquiry commission set up 10 days after the demolition on December 6, 1992.

Such a long wait just for the facts defies the very purpose of an enquiry and the hope of justice. Several of the accused are now dead. And the rest may never be punished. For with every passing year we have lost eyewitnesses, individual memory, official documents and trust in the secular fabric of India. With every passing year the polarisation between Hindus and Muslims has hardened, making us more vulnerable to terrorism both from within the country and beyond its borders. Once the cycle of violence is established, any spark can set off the next attack.

Especially when there is no justice in sight. What passes as spontaneous fury is usually a response to the spectacular failure of governance and law. The Mumbai riots in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition left at least 1,000 dead and almost 3,000 wounded in two phases of bloodshed. Then the retaliatory bomb blasts in March 1993 killed another 300 and left about 1,000 wounded. The Srikrishna Commission’s report on the 1992-93 Mumbai riots still remains unimplemented and the guilty remain unpunished.

This shameless impunity of the powerful fuels the cycle of hatred that endangers India. Which is why it is essential to implement the recommendations of enquiry commissions, however late they may be.

Justice Liberhan’s report mentions the guilty in clear and precise terms, holding 68 people individually culpable. We need proper action against them, at least against those still alive. It is criminal to spend crores of the taxpayers’ money on a report if its recommendations are not implemented.

But the report gives recommendations beyond its mandate. And this, I believe, was most important. There is hardly anything in the report about the day’s events that we — except perhaps the post-Babri generation — did not know. The report vindicates those truths that were in danger of being erased by organised lies.

And it also points out other things that we know, but still need to see in official recommendations. Like, it hits out against the cosy nexus between politicians, the police, bureaucrats and other power-mongers: “The nexus between the politicians, religious leaders, civil servants and the police officers should be disrupted and rooted out†. It suggests police reform, which has been identified repeatedly by commissions and individuals as the primary step to improve both security and governance.

The report also comes down heavily on the misuse of religion for political gain. It suggests a “separate law providing exemplary punishment for misuse of religion, caste, etc for political gains†— and the government has accepted the recommendation. The government is thinking of the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, and will set up special courts, they said. And it promised to expedite the hearing of three cases registered in connection with the Babri Masjid demolition.

In the same thread of thought, Justice Liberhan’s report suggests that the Election Commission must ensure that any complaint by any Indian citizen about “attempts to misuse religious sentiments†for the sake of votes would be dealt with immediately and could result in the candidate’s disqualification. It has also recommended that members of the civil and police services are periodically screened to “identify and weed out the communal or biased elements†.

Curiously, it has also asked for a body to regulate media with a permanent tribunal, in the lines of the Medical Council or the Bar Council. Given that neither the councils mentioned have managed to contain either corruption or negligence among the members of their respective professions, I am not sure that this will have much effect. But the report does mention the very important role played by the media in reporting the truth, braving considerable danger and harassment by the Hindutva fanatics.

In short, Justice Liberhan has indeed offered a rather comprehensive and balanced report. Let’s hope it will not go the way of the Srikrishna Commission report — tucked away and forgotten. For unlike other enquiry commissions, the Liberhan Commission investigated the original sin — the demolition of the Babri Masjid that is till today the reference point of all incidents of sectarian strife and any violence that may have sectarian elements.

What happened on December 6, 1992 made India less safe. And by not punishing the guilty we have continued to make India more dangerous for us all. At least now that we have a formal report and recommendations, hopefully the government will take appropriate action. The guilty need to be punished, the flaws in the system need to be corrected if we really want a safer and more secure India.

Antara Dev Sen is editor of The Little Magazine.