No Bend in the River

“When you reach the end of your rope”, goes an old saying, “tie a knot in it and hang on.” For last three and half years, people of Malegaon have clung to the last knot in their ropes but there seems to be no bend in the river upon which there are hanging on. There is no bend in the river. The torrential flow of stream runs in the same direction with the same old pace. Occasionally, tiny bubbles of hope are followed by hopelessness. Bubbles emerge to disappear into oblivion. Bubbles of hope are like a mirage in a barren desert which keeps deceiving the desert travellers.

September 8, 2006 Malegaon blasts are a watershed in the history of Indian Muslims. It was for the very first time that Muslims were specifically targeted on a mass scale: 31 deaths and 300 injured. We could nothing practical to prevent the arrests that followed. We screamed. The democratic scream was loud enough to be heard at 10 Janpath. There was a sense of relief in public when the investigation was transferred to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from ATS in December 2006. Frankly speaking, our sense of relief was based on a fallacy we failed to recognise. The ATS was allowed to file the chargesheet just a day before the case was transferred to CBI. The intent of State and Central government was hidden in this one single act. Congress-led State and Central governments connived to fool Indian Muslims but we failed to understand the judicial puzzle. There was no need for celebration but yet we celebrated transfer of the case. Politicians in Mumbai and Delhi must have laughed at this sheer madness. They must have felt happy that Indian Muslims had mortgaged their common sense in exchange of one single announcement.

There was only one Muslim, a former top cop, who warned against the mad movement for transfer of the case to CBI. His voice, like Maulana Azad, was subdued.

We should have taken a hard look at matters of judiciary but we were swayed by the so-called “victory.” There was no legal mind who could explain to us the judicial entrapment thrown by Central government with the active help of state government. By law, CBI could only file an investigative report in the form of a supplementary chargesheet because the matter was in a court of law. There was no single lawyer who could ask: Will CBI file a contrary chargesheet? Can a supplementary chargesheet be contrary to the original chargesheet? Is there any penal code which specifically states that a supplementary chargesheet fundamentally differs from the actual chargesheet?

CBI has finally done the expected: It has put the judicial stamp of approval on the investigation carried by the ATS. ATS took less than 120 days to file the chargesheet comprising of 3000 pages while CBI has taken at least 1200 days just to submit a supplementary chargesheet of merely 75 pages! Perhaps CBI should be renamed as CBS (Central Bureau of Sub-editing!) That brings to us to an interesting question: Which investigating agency is better as far as productivity and judicial delay are concerned? ATS was a far better agency than CBI. CBI sat quietly on the investigations for more than 3 years. Had the case not been transferred to CBI, the judiciary matter must have progressed.

The judicial battle started very late by Kul Jamati Tanzeem (KJT) is going to be a long one. It should be driven by mere judicial merit rather than any religious rhetoric. The focus of the judicial debate must focus on the innocence of all the accused rather than the blame-game on the investigating officers. Rajwardhan, the then Rural SP, may have been involved in pressurizing Abrar into wrongful confession but there is no actionable evidence against him. The same is true of the accusations made against Sadhvi and company.

Judgements are not based on individual conviction. It is based on the subject-matter and evidence laid down in a court of law. Therefore, unless KJT has actionable evidence against Rajwardhan and Sadhvi in 2006 blasts, it should keep quiet and focus on the innocence of the accused the ongoing judicial delay.

Hundreds of innocent Muslims have been framed by intelligence agencies in terror-related charges across the country. At least 20 Muslims have been acquitted in Hyderabad. This raises an important question: Cant intelligent agencies held accountable as suggested by Vice-President Hamid Ansari recently at an Intelligence seminar?

Justice and equality are our rights enshrined in Indian Constitution and we must strive hard to achieve them.

Sonia Gandhi’s Congress party has not done enough to give justice to Indian Muslims. An investigating agency like CBI may walk away without any accountability but political establishment has to bear the burden of wrongdoing.

The volcano of anger, of injustice is building up in Malegaon.

Can Sonia Gandhi step in to right the wrong?

Sunday Inquilab, March 7, 2010

A Judicial Ray of Hope

Shaikh Dastagir, a victim of September 8, 2006 Qabristan blasts

Ashwani Kumar, director of Central Bureau of Investigation, and his committed team of sleuths have suddenly discovered that power is not absolute in a secular democracy. Power comes with responsibility and subject to checks and balances by the short arm of legislators and by the long arm of judiciary. CBI sleuths were so confident of power that they went on to sleep for three long years before being woken up by a judicial bite. Isn’t it amazing that CBI took three years just to utter one sentence – which everybody in Malegaon knows – that accused of Malegaon 2006 blasts are innocent. Had it not been the deep and effective judicial bite of Justice J.N. Patel, CBI would have slept till eternity!

The response of judiciary was quick; Bombay High Court came out with its terse judgment in three months. There was no political response for three long years. Should one assume that the two arms of a democratic republic are in complete disharmony? Should one equate Manmohan Singh-led UPA with notorious CBI? Where PC Chidambaram’s golden-rule of democracy is which he very keen taught to Muslims at Deoband? Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, National Security Advisor and Home Minister must admonish CBI in two words: perform or perish.

Before being bitten by the judicial jaw, CBI had an opportunity to prove and reaffirm nationwide belief that it is indeed country’s most trusted and prestigious investigating agency. CBI had a golden chance to capitalize on the so-called “public outcry” which rose from Malegaon. It had a golden opportunity to score over ATS. But unfortunately it treaded the path of ATS which has a dead end. It followed the misleading footprints of a “communal” (that’s how SM Mushrif describes KP Raghuvanshi in his new book: Who Killed Karkare?) officer like KP Raghuvanshi. CBI inquiry may have been a ray of hope to some in Malegaon but it has proved to be eyewash.

The demand for CBI inquiry was not because of “public outcry” as the public prosecutor has claimed in the high court. It was a personal outcry borne with the desire to fill Muslim leadership vacuum. The lone voice filled the empty spaces in newspapers’ columns and each one of us accepted it as a gospel. It was S.M. Mushrif alone who publicly castigated and criticised this insane decision to demand a CBI inquiry on October 10, 2006 at KC College auditorium. CBI inquiry converted an easy puzzle into a complicated riddle.

The formation of Kul Jamati Tanzeem (KJT) did not help; it, in fact, made matters worse. KJT wanted to spearhead a democratic movement in order to release the accused but yet it forgot a golden-rule of democracy: to take help of secular activists. It aggressively portrayed itself as a Muslim organization which proved suicidal. It is precisely for this reason that KJT refused to cooperate and share its report with Teesta Setalvad and Justice Kolshe Patil. The inflated egos of its members must have further inflated when it submitted its so-called “report” to CBI. Is CBI a court of law? Was CBI legally bound to follow the report? Has KJT got any legal credentials that country’s premier investigating agency will follow its diktat?

CBI sleuths must have mocked at this blind and insane decision. The decision to handover the report was a collective mockery of people of Malegaon. KJT is guilty of connivance; it presented all the “evidence” to CBI the way a fresh bowl of soup is given to guests!

Centre and State government have been playing the role of hide and seek. Both are morally and politically responsible to pressurize the concerned agencies to speed up the pace of investigation. Home Minister PC Chidambaram need not become a judge to discover that justice is one of the foremost problems of Indian Muslims. He would do well to remember what American editor and reformer Frederick Douglass was fond of saying,

“I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong.”

Frederick once wrote:

“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.”

Judges have performed their duty. Politicians have not.

Sunday Inquilab, November 22, 2009

Malegaon blast probe is still the issue

Malegaon blast victim still await justice. Will Mr. Raghuvanshi oblige?

The world's largest democracy is going through one of the most critical phases of its 61-year old life. We should call it India's mid-life crisis; a period of dramatic self-doubt where one tragedy is being matched or answered by a greater tragedy. It seems that competition – one of the main features of marketing – has begun to apply even in the gory field of terrorism. We are being pushed into the dirty pit of terrorism in a cyclical motion. Terrorism has begun to apply the rules of communication. Communication is a two-way process. Terrorism is increasingly following in the footsteps of communication; where 'our terror' is being answered by 'their terror' or vice versa. This phenomenon is alternatively known as 'tit-for-tat terrorism.' It is in this framework that Malegaon September 2008 blast must be looked into.

The Malegaon blast probe which made headlines all across the world was earth-shattering. Before the probe could completely unearth all the faces involved in the blast; another terror storm rocked the nation's psyche and Malegaon probe was suddenly put on hold. The worst aspect of 26/11 may be that it consumed the faces involved in Malegaon blast probe but Malegaon can not be put on the back burner. The shocking revelations of Malegaon blast can not be easily erased from peoples' memories; be it Hindu or Muslim. 26/11 may have overshadowed Malegaon, but it can never be forgotten because it has now been associated with the Mumbai carnage.

Does that sound strange that Malegaon probe has been associated with 26/11?

No. The two fateful events had one similar character: ATS chief Hemant Karkare. And whenever, people would recall 26/11, they will surely remember Hemant Karkare. And the name Hemant Karkare has become synonymous with Malegaon blast probe. There emerges a triangle whose dots will always be connected to each other.

Hemant Karkare's loss has proved to be a severe blow to the Malegaon investigation. The main character of the script is no more. Can a script be completed without the main character? It might be possible that a film can never be sustained with the death of its protagonist but in real life things are different. Karkare has left behind footprints on the sand. Now it is the job of the directors (read politicians) to guide the new actor (read K.P. Raghuvanshi); to make sure that he follows the footprints left by his predecessor.

The new actor must remember that footprints on sand don't last long.

The director (Ashok Chavan), his assistant (Chagun Bhujbhal) and the new actor know and understand that Malegaon script has already been drafted. The new players just need to complete the script. Any change or delay in the completion of the script will be detrimental. Audiences are desperately waiting to witness the climax of the story.

The people of Malegaon are not very happy with the track record of K.P. Raghuvanshi; he was the ATS chief when September 8, 2006 blasts took place. But still, we have no grudge against him; our readers will recall that Nanded blast was being investigated by Mr. Raghuvanshi himself. The ATS investigation in Nanded blast was far better than the investigation carried by CBI later. In fact, Mr. Raghuvanshi should be given a free hand to complete the Malegaon probe as early as possible.

With Karkare's departure, the once media-savvy ATS has suddenly become media-shy. People of Malegaon want ATS chief to assert himself in order to restore the faith of the people. He has not made any remark or addressed a single press conference on the issue of Malegaon probe till now. His long silence is open to misinterpretation. He must speak up his mind in order to put rumour mills to sleep.

It's your turn to speak up, Mr. Raghuvanshi!

Will you please oblige?

Singh a Song

The New Face of Saffron Terror: Will Sadhvi sing?


One does not know whether Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, September 29 Malegaon bomb blast accused, did 'sing' or she is made to sing but Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has already chosen to sing a song. The singer is none other than a Singh who firmly believes that his ability to sing a song of 'cultural nationalism' will save his party. "Those who believe in cultural nationalism," said Rajnath Ram Singh, BJP president, referring to Sadhvi "cannot ever take to terror."

One does not understand Singh's definition of 'cultural nationalism' but he has been an inconsistent president of a party which claims to be truly "nationalistic." Is he the same Singh who sung the "terrorist" song immediately after the so-called 'encounter' at Batla House? Why did he sing a different song after the arrest of Sadhvi? Is it because of the difference in religious affiliation of those who were killed at Batla House? Or did 'acquaintance' prompt him to defend Sadhvi? The widely-circulated picture of Singh with Sadhvi does not incriminate him but as we say in journalism: A picture speaks a thousand words.

One must note that like the accused of the Batla house, Sadhvi remains an accused and not a "terrorist." A terrorist tag can only be accorded by a court of law.

Sadhvi has created so much confusion within the BJP. Initially, BJP disowned her when it was revealed that she was once a part of its student-wing, Akhil Bharthiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). BJP changed its official policy the moment Uma Bharati joined the strange enigma of Sadhvi. Uma Bharati was merely a political trap; Singh easily succumbed to it. After all, Singh and Bharati share the same saffron soul with varying degrees.

BJP's state of no-acceptance no-rejection of Sadhvi makes its case ambivalent.

A president of a nationalist political party should always stick to one song on a one theme no matter whoever may be the target audience.

BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad thought Singh's song was not enough and decided to write the whole script. His utterance was a good example of hysteria's triumph over common sense. "Why this lead (the alleged involvement of Students Islamic Movement of India in Malegaon 2006 cemetery blast) has not been followed in the 2008 blast?" Prasad asked.

Mr. Ravi Shankar should at least know that the motorcycle used in the blast was registered in the name of Sadhvi.

L.K. Advani, who has responded cautiously to Sadhvi episode, must take notice of his party's official ignorance.

Meanwhile the response of the saffron Hindutva groups has been highly intolerant. The rabid display of the 'majoritarian nationalism' or to put it more precisely 'mobocracy' went unnoticed in the mainstream media. Thousands of the saffron souls protested outside a Nasik court on November 3 where the accused were brought for the trial. They carried placards, chanted highly provocative slogans and openly defended Sadhvi and other army men allegedly involved in the Malegaon blast.

India, being a civilised democracy, gives a right to defend an accused. I am glad that Indian Muslims have never ever done such a protest outside a court. Indonesia, the largest Muslim country, did not witness any such protest when Bali bomb blasts' Muslim bombers were executed on the order of the country's highest court.

Nathuram Godse is dead but his legacy of hatred still thrives on. Himani Savarkar, Godse's niece and president of Abhinav Bharat – the organization allegedly behind the Malegaon blast – has advocated an eye for an eye theory. "If we can have bullet for bullet, why not blast for blast?" she has asked. She has even advocated that Indian Muslims should go and find a Muslim country to live!

Post-Independent India was infected with caste and communal riots. Now the bomb blast is an easy and alternative way to infect the body of India. It has begun to bleed with sickening regularity. Do we Indians realise that the war is no longer across the border? It is being fought within. China and Pakistan are not our biggest enemies. Our biggest enemies are fellow Indians who are striking at will wearing the cloak of anonymity.

Sadhvi episode has highlighted one crucial fact in Indian context: Terrorism is not a Muslim specialty. The bomb blasts in mosques in the Marathwada region (Nanded, Parbhani, Purna, Jalna etc.) were indeed carried out by Hindutva fanatics but government and intelligence agencies ignored it lest they antagonise the majority community. Army men's involvement in the Malegaon blast should not come as a surprise. Our intelligence agencies do have people who share the right-wing ideology. Those who have followed the Nanded 2006 blast will agree that the role of India's Criminal Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been highly controversial and biased.

Initially ATS suspected that SIMI was the behind the Malegaon blast. The ATS knew it from the day one that the killer motorcycle belonged to Sadhvi but yet they continued their combing operations in Muslim areas of Malegaon! The sudden 'right-turn' in the investigation was a result of Muslim resentment across the state of Maharashtra. Dozens of Muslim corporators belonging to Congress-NCP had sent their resignations directly to chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and home miniter R.R. Patil.

With elections round the corner, a dual-theory is being propagated by political pundits. Batla encounter was carried out to pacify Hindus and Malegaon arrests were made to "appease" the Muslims! Congress is being accused of playing a dual game.

A murmur has begun to develop in Muslim mohallas that Congress is indulging in a psychological war of perception management. Is Congress playing a game with Muslim sub-consciousness? We can't say with certainty. But at the same time it can't be ruled out. There is at least one reason to suspect. ATS is yet to apply the draconian MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act) although they have slapped it on Malegaon blast accused of 2006. It is still being "considered."

Quite a Muslim question: Are there two set of different laws for two different communities? That's a question which Vilasrao Deshmukh needs to answer.

The Muslim vote will depend upon his answer and not mere lip-service as his government has been doing for the last 9 years. Sri Krishna Commission report is just the tip of an iceberg. The iceberg of genuine Muslim issues may sink Vilasrao's political boat.

This time 'nine days wonder' trick will not save Congress-NCP government.

A question worth-debating: Can Muslims of Maharashtra sing a different song?