Perpetrating communal violence is terrorism

Military commentator

Having fought terrorists in J&K and in the North-East, most soldiers must be at a loss in understanding the terror unleashed in our cities by religious extremists, egged on by politicians. The scourge of terrorism has always been associated with terror emanating from foreign soil, and in some cases, from home-grown terror outfits. This form of terror is being addressed with reasonable success by multiple agencies. However, the terror unleashed by religious groups and violence in the name of nationalism and religious fundamentalism is something that we as a nation need to be prepared for. We were not, as the riots in Delhi have clearly demonstrated.

Religious extremism and intolerance are dominating the landscape, spurred by permissive or even supportive political leaders. They have elevated religious differences to a terror form — what else is it if houses burn and lives are lost to mob fury? These musclemen have rebranded themselves as local political supporters and have entered mainstream politics, albeit of hate, and thriving on the bogey of insecurity. These terrorists operate in a familiar pattern and are fed on virulent ideologies, backed by political patronage.

The fact that the courts have had to pass diktats to the executive indicates that the powers that be have been found wanting — and primarily have allowed the police forces to go adrift. Stark comparisons of the police inaction in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi and the present violence cannot be missed.

In 1984, the Delhi Police were mute spectators and ineffective in the discharge of their duties. The police watched as the pogrom was perpetrated by mobs, led in most cases, by local political heavyweights — all displaying allegiance to the ruling party at that time. The mobs were organised and armed with lists of residents to target localities and houses of Sikhs. The trigger to the violence was prematurely given a communal tenor and a section of the police took sides.

In 2020, too, the fault-lines along religion are being leveraged. Some in the police have taken sides. Entire colonies have been attacked and gutted on the basis of the demographic and religious profile by organised and well-controlled mobs.

The build-up to this violence in the NCR was not a surprise or an intelligence failure. Many experts opine it was to be anticipated and expected. However, it was allowed to fester and ferment by the law and order machinery, probably based on a design. The actions of the cops ranged from the extremes of inaction to overreaction, as demonstrated from the incidents at JNU and Jamia Millia Islamia.

Prompt and decisive action, as allowed by law, could have thwarted arson, lynching and public brandishing of weapons. The mere excuse that action would lead to being branded ham-handed is escapist and unacceptable from a professional force. Intelligence inputs were either ignored or did not percolate to the actionable levels, leading to a perceptible ostrich mentality and focusing on the mega visit of US President Donald Trump. If this was done to dispel the impression (to the world) of a police state due to heavy deployment of forces, then it obviously backfired.

In both 1984 and 2020, the police forces have mirrored the ideology of the ruling political dispensation. There has been a partisan response to threats and the police seem to be functioning ruthlessly as an agent for the government in power. This has made basic community policing difficult to discharge and has led to a loss of public confidence.

The Dhingra Commission investigating the 1984 anti-Sikh riots was scathing in its comments against the Union Government and the Delhi Police for not finding the perpetrators of the riots, murder and looting by lack of interest shown by the police to proceed with investigations and punishing the culprits. It opined that, instead, they hushed up cases and shielded them, as is happening now with armed police personnel providing protection to hate-mongering politicians.

The leadership of the police force has alsobeen under a cloud sinc the lawyers-versus-police clashes that took place in the Tis Hazari courts in November 2019. The Delhi Police leadership’s credibility took a hit when the force was made to back down while elements in it felt they were acting in upholding of the law. The handpicked leadership was found wanting, yet it was allowed to carry on despite the threat increasing with the anti-CAA protests, the Delhi elections and Trump’s visit. There is no substitute for impeccable leadership and the politics of deep selection of the top brass has probably led to this debacle that the Home Ministry and the police face today despite being flush with resources.

The projection of the business-as-usual image attempted by the government to downplay the simmering tensions by the Balakot strike anniversary also being celebrated like the Uri surgical strike was avoidable. These operations on the tactical and operational scale are definitely indicators of our political resolve to combat terror. Tinkering with the selection of military leaders to choose ‘a few good men’ may result in a weak and pliant top brass eager to please and flex military muscle to further political gains. It is hoped the armed forces’ leadership doesn’t go the police way.

Identifying and prosecuting such terror is as urgent as dealing with foreign terror. We must deny these groups’ credibility and destroytheir narratives. Such hate-mongers must be declared terrorists and their goons must be dealt with under the law.