ARTICLE BY BURKHA DUTT OF NDTV.

Hindustan Times of to-day (14.3.2006) carried a very sensible and thought provoking article by Burkha Dutt of NDTV. She questioned the call by Vir Singhvi & others on moderates and secularist of all communities specifically on Muslim to mobilise and rally against terrorism.

The rhetoric headline is something unusual "what sort of loyalty test are we talking about here" gives an idea that there is demand for loyalty test on certain groups or communities. This is far from true. What is called for is action from all communities, to isolate the bigoted extremists from claiming any kind of representative character of any community. If L.K.Advani and his ilk deserve denunciation by all right thinking people so are the actions of the left, SP and like who mobilised mainly Muslims to protest against prophet cartoons under the convenient veil of anti imperialism. There were other columnist like Karan Thapar who expressed their complete dismay at the frenzy of the CPM and others to support divisive demonstrations. Does Ms Dutt believe that the anti bush demonstrations initiated but organised by a section of Muslim community and their violent denunciations of prophet cartoonists, all the west & specifically US has nothing to do with the dare devilry i.e. varanasi bomb blasts. The perpetrators found a perfect situation to act in provocation.

If responsible and secular parties instead of mobilizing their followers to confound the terrorists; have in fact mobilised mainly Muslims as if Muslims alone are anti imperialists. In demonstrations organised in Mumbai, UP & Hyderabad there was little against US imperialism and more on anti Muslim west & USA. The subsequent statements of CPM leadership e.g. Yechuri in HT last week did not dwell on the basic flaw in giving and upholding a platform for muslims fundamentalism with a mask of anti imperialism. Ms. Dutt should have taken serious note of Renuka Narayan's anguished sentiments. I don't view Renuka supporting or approving hindutva response to the Varanasi blasts. She was genuinely concerned about response of well meaning Hindus about terrorists acting in the name of religion without the community denouncing in loud voice. Denouncing terrorism should not be confined to just non Muslim secularists. It is not in term of loyalty test that 'moderate muslims' must speak, not just speak, they must shout, scream, holler, be heard so that there is no backlash." As in case of hindutva communalism when mainstream population come out to check mate, the Muslim community also should join the mainstream to denounce Muslim communalism. Communists failed but others should not.

New developments are taking in the Muslim community leadership. Media reported several clerics from different parts of the country issuing fatwas against terrorist attacks on temples and shrines as un-Islamic and against the tenets of Koran. This belies the apprehension expressed by Ms. Barkha Dutt earlier. I do hope that these fatwas are the first initiative on the road to join the mainstream anti communal forces in mobilizing all people of good will not just secularist or liberals. Believers in faith also should come out in streets and should and yell that they are on the side of sanity and against any kind of divisive activities that help & encourage communalism.

By

K.N:Krishnan. 14 to 16.3.2006