Terrorism: A Rational Point of View

TERRORISM: A RATIONAL POINT OF VIEW
Prabir Ghosh
Sumitra Padmanabhan
TERRORISM :
A RATIONAL
POINT OF VIEW
www.uniqueebook.com
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About the writers
Prabir Ghosh, the 62 years head of the Science and Rationalists’ Association
of India, is a renowned author, columnist, film maker and political scientist. He
is the internationally famed debunker of godmen, astrologers and other
merchants of “destiny and spiritualism”.
In his crusade against social evils he has survived at least 20 attempts on his life
since the mid-1980s. He is also the undisputed founder of the modern concept
of Contemporary Rationalism and the pioneer of the rationalist movement in
India. Establishing the legal right to mention “Humanism” as religion is just one
out of his numerous outstanding feats
He on behalf of the Science and Rationalists' Association of India offers US$
45,000 to anyone who claims to possess supernatural power of any kind and
proves the same without resorting to any trick.
Since his first collection of essays ‘Aloukik oi Loukik [Vol - I]’ (literally
translated means “Everything is Natural-not supernatural) was published, Prabir
Ghosh’s name was established firmly as an essayist with a difference, with a
mission. His books feature in the list of best-sellers for the past 17 years.
“Guru Busters”, the documentary made on him by Channel 4, BBC Television,
13 years back remains a sensation even now. He was also covered by The
Times, London, and New York Times in their cover story.
The uncompromising attitude and the stunning self-confidence which comes
from deep conviction within, has given him a He-man image. But to those who
know him closely, he is friendly, easily approachable, a loving and caring
human being.
Sumitra Padmanabhan, the General Secretary of Humanists’ Association is

truly a face of humanity. A former Lecturer of English at the City College,
Kolkata, she remains one of the best columnists of contemporary events and a
champion of women’s causes.
As a President of the Science and Rationalists’ Association of India, she has
been closely associated with the Rationalist movement for the past 15 years.
She is also the Editor of www.thefreethinker.tk and www.juktibadi.tk.
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TERRORISM: A RATIOAL POIT OF VIEW

© 2007 PRABIR GHOSH 72/8 DEBINIBAS ROAD, KOLKATA 700 074, INDIA.
Copyright: Prabir Ghosh

First published: December 2007
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* * *
“Do you know? Even now in villages

No light, no fire in the lamps
No work – the work that brings money.
Treading miles of muddy terrain
Our skimpy girls bring water to drink
Their plates never see two meals a day
Vitamins and nutrition –
Are subjects of seminars in city;
They discuss Amartya’s formula
And send bunches of data to the WHO
All that is hoax, as you know it, too
That’s why we take up arms, spread mines on the ground…”
Mallika Sengupta
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Whom do we call a ‘Terrorist’?
Before we brand a person, a group or a party as ‘terrorist’ we must think and come
to a clear conclusion as to the definition of ‘terrorism’.
What does the UN say? What is terrorism as per the Wikipedia? What is ‘terrorism’
according to USA or the European Union? What do all other countries say? What do
the Human Rights Organizations mean by ‘terrorism’? What is the difference
between a terrorist and a freedom fighter? Whether creating economic disruption in
a country can also be termed ‘terrorism’?
Only after going through all these questions can we have a perfect, open-minded
analysis and come to an unbiased conclusion.
Before going to analyze some of the more recent and relevant incidents, let us
remember the worst act of terrorism in the history of mankind, namely the
demolition of the WTO or the World Trade Center of USA on 11th September 2001. It
is known that there were enough evidences to pinpoint the hands of Afghanistan,
Iran, Iraq and some other Islamic countries behind this dirty act under the leadership
of Osama bin Laden.
The old enmity between the Christian

and the Islamic worlds erupted afresh
as the Christian countries gradually
developed into superpowers, leaving
the Islamic nations lagging behind in
all respects. This resulted in the ire and
envy of the Islamic terrorist groups.
The breakdown of the American
Government’s pride and self-
righteousness on September 2001 came
as a sudden shock to the entire world.
It was as if the biggest muscleman of
the locality got a tight slap from a petty
goon in the middle of the marketplace!
To get back it’s lost glory, the Government of US plunged into direct warfare with
the Afghan and Iraqi governments.
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It may be noted that ironically enough, 11th September 1993 was the day when
Humanists’ Association was born in India. [To preach secularism in a country
known for its Hindu-Muslim division]. ‘Humanism’ was cruelly murdered 8 years
later on the same date, killing thousands of innocent people in the busy towers
buzzing with life and high-level activity.
Now, we come to more recent incidents near our home:-
Incident 1: September 5, 2006; New Delhi. At a meeting of Chief Ministers,

Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, the Chief Minister of West Bengal requested the Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh to help demolishing the
terrorist haunts all over India. He demanded that just at
the soldiers of the Indian Army raided the jungles of
Bhutan about two years back and razed the terrorist camps
of Kamtapuris in Bhutan, operations might be carried out
in Bangladesh too. Earlier Bhutan had to agree to the
decision of the Indian government; they had to allow entry
of the Indian Army. Bangladesh also could be put under
pressure and stern steps could be taken to erase the
terrorist camps there. According to him there was no Buddhadeb Bhattacharya
better way to tackle the Pakistani terrorists, Maoists or the
KLO activists. He also added that efforts should be made to acquire the disputed
villages within half a kilometer of the Indian border.
***
Incident 2: September 5, 2006, Dhaka: In a strong reaction to Buddhadeb

Bhattacharya’s proposal in the Chief Ministers’ meet in India, the foreign minister of
Bangladesh, Md. Morshed Khan clearly stated that this stand of India is the
expression of a crude imperialistic mentality. It is a well known fact that the terrorist
activities going on in Bangladesh are patronized by India; even then, Bangladesh
does not take such high-handed approach, he added.
Incident 3: During the end of 2006, the Home Secretary of India visited Dhaka. He
handed over a detailed list with a map of the anti-India terrorist camps existing in
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Bangladesh. In reply, the Home Secretary of Bangladesh placed a map with a list of
terrorist camps in India that are working against Bangladesh.
Incident 4: All political parties in India, be it BJP or the Congress, i.e. the ruling
party as well as the opposition,
feel and express that Pakistan
and Bangladesh are the main
sources of all terrorist activities
in the country. It is those two
countries that are endlessly
supplying violence to our
nation. The Kashmiri fighters
are being trained in Pakistan;
the terrorists have made their
homes in the residential areas – they use the civilians as their shields and camouflage
themselves among the homes of common people. The political parties strongly feel
the need to demolish such haunts.
# # #
Incident 5: President Musharraf of Pakistan untiringly repeats that India has a hand
behind all terrorist activities in Pakistan. India-Pakistan peace talk can never succeed
without considering the opinions of the people of disputed Kashmir and without
including them in the discussions. Unless there is a permanent solution of the
Kashmir issue, peace will never descend upon the valley. According to Musharraf,
India is carrying out state terrorism on the freedom fighters of Kashmir.
The president of Pakistan has said more than once that when the province
called Baluchistan was fighting for separation from Pakistan, the Baluch terrorists
were being helped with weapons and funds by none other than the Indian
government.
Moreover, he says that at regular intervals terrible explosions have been

perpetrated in Pakistan by Indian terrorists.
# # #
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Incident 6: The Lebanese Hizbullah terrorists were openly attacking Israel for quite
some time. The Lebanese government of course did not support these kinds of open
rocket-attacks. But it was not possible to harness the Hizbul Mujahideens. Hizbullah
camps are also in the middle of the civilian habitats. They needed the protection of
common people around them. The Israel government, in the interests of the Israelis,
had endeavored to demolish the Mujahideen camps in Lebanon. As a result there
were continuous casualties by way of 3 to 13 deaths everyday in Lebanon. The
Indian media and the Indian political parties voiced their opinions against Israel;
they know the Indian mindset. These same people find it logical to destroy the
‘secret terrorist camps’ in Pakistan or Bangladesh.
Those who support the need to demolish secret terrorist camps in neighboring
countries, criticize Israel for attacking open camps in Lebanon!
Incident 7: At the time when Israel was attacking the Lebanese camps, the
government of Srilanka dropped a bomb on a school building in the Tamil
dominated area of Srilanka. More than 400 school children, future citizens of the
country, died in the explosion. Another 2000 were injured. None of the Israel-haters
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of our country uttered a single word of protest at this atrocious crime committed by
Srilankan government.
# # #
Incident 8: Pope has recently

made a controversial
statement. He said – a group
of believers in the Islamic
religion are using their
religious belief to spread an
atmosphere of terrorism
throughout the world. This is
going on since the birth of
Islam.
As a result of Pope’s comment, a group of Islamic fundamentalists has announced

war against Pope and the Christian world. What do they plan to do? By destroying
some planes, trains or buildings are they going to prove that what Pope had said
was bitter but true after all?
Incident 9: July 13, 2006. In the

presence of the Press in Mumbai,
Police Chief P.S. Pasricha informed
that there was no involvement of
Muslim terrorists or foreign hands
in the horrible bomb blasts that
shook Mumbai a few days back.
Under the directions of certain
politicians of Maharashtra, some
local goons created the terror. They
have been identified, and would
soon be arrested. During the
parliament session Pasricha made this announcement. Now the members of BJP in
the parliament condemned Pasricha for his announcement – it was beyond his
jurisdiction – they said. All other party members agreed. Even our Prime Minister
did not find Pasricha’s words particularly palatable when he himself was blaming
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Pakistan for the blasts. No, none of the politicians or mafia dons was arrested.
Pasricha was blacked out for
going ‘beyond his limits’. The
central detective department
informed that three notorious
terrorists from Pakistan carried
out the blast in Mumbai and
had returned via Bangladesh.
No minister ever wanted to
know what proof Pasricha had
with him? What made him give
such a statement to the press?
Why is it that no one wanted to know what he had to say? We would like to know.
Incident 10: March 14, 2007; East Midnapur district of West Bengal. The people of
Nandigram erupted in anger when the government decided to acquire 35000 acres of
land in the village to be developed for a Special Economic Zone and hand it over to
the Salim group of Indonesia for making a chemical hub. Earlier on January 3, two
State terror at andigram, carried out by the communist Government
hundred thousand villagers united irrespective of religion, caste and political

ideology. They were ready to die for their land. The administration used pressure
tactics, propaganda and terror; they started economic blockade. But the peasants
stayed put. Then on March 14, a 3000 strong police force that included CPI (M) party
cadre in uniform marched into Nandigram. They opened fire on unarmed villagers
who had put up a stiff barricade with their women and children in the forefront.
They were ‘forced’ to open fire, the police said. Well, they were ‘forced’ to rape and
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they were ‘forced’ to dispose off the bodies. The official toll was 14, as only 14 bodies
were found. Some 148 were injured. The number of ‘missing’ is still unknown. Some
bodies were seen thrown into the sea. And how many policemen were killed? None;
9 were injured out of which 8 were dismissed after first aid.
Police (pic 1) and CPI (M) cadres (pic 2) carried out the mass killings in a joint action, suggest CBI probe
The people of Nandigram made the mistake of trying to decide their own fate. The
government could not allow that. Some day they might come up with the funny idea
of ‘casting their own votes!’ How could the state tolerate such audacity! So they
decided to be firm now. And that led to this massacre. Not that such incidents did
not take place in the past! We have seen mass killings and rapes under the patronage
of the state in Chhoto Angaria, Suchpur, Nanur Bantala and Bijan Setu earlier. But
those incidents were suppressed in time. This time the electronic media did a good
job by catching it on camera. A few headstrong TV channels showed us the live
pictures of the party cadres in Police uniforms and rubber slippers firing at unarmed
villagers.
One of the top leaders of the Communist party of Norway, Peter Johanson visited
India to see the situation; he spoke to the local people and reported that it was sheer
‘cold horror’ – a dirty war carried out by the State Government on the peasants.
# # #
Definition of Terrorism
As per Wikipedia, the largest storehouse of information, Terrorism in the

modern sense (1) is violence or other harmful acts committed (or
threatened) against civilians for political or other ideological goals. (2) Most
definitions of terrorism include only those acts, which are intended to
create fear or “terror”, are perpetrated for an ideological goal (as opposed
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to a lone attack), and deliberately target or utterly disregard the safety of

non-combatants. Many definitions also include only acts of unlawful
violence.
As a form of unconventional warfare,

terrorism is sometimes used when
attempting to force political change by
convincing a government or population to
agree to demands to avoid future harm or
fear of harm, destabilizing an existing
government, motivating a disgruntled
population to join an uprising, escalating a
conflict in the hopes of disrupting the status
quo, expressing a grievance, or drawing
attention to a cause.
Terrorism has been used by a broad array of political organizations in

furthering their objectives; both right-wing and left-wing political parties,
nationalistic, and religious groups, revolutionaries and ruling governments.
(3) The presence of non-state actors in widespread, armed conflict has
created controversy regarding the application of the laws of war.
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An International Round Table on Constructing Peace, Deconstructing

Terror (2004) hosted by Strategic Foresight Group recommended that a
distinction should be made between terrorism and acts of terror. While acts
of terror are criminal acts as per the United Nations Security Council
Resolution 1373 and domestic jurisprudence of almost all countries in the
world, terrorism refers to a phenomenon including the actual acts, the
perpetrators of acts of terror themselves and their motives. There is
disagreement on definitions of terrorism. However, there is an intellectual
consensus globally, that acts of terror should not be accepted under any
circumstances. This is reflected in all important conventions including the
United Nations counter terrorism strategy, the decisions of the Madrid
Conference on terrorism, the Strategic Foresight Group and ALDE Round
Tables at the European Parliament.
There are more than 100 definitions of the word ‘terrorism’. These
definitions are used by: -
UNO,
The European Union,
United States and
‘Other Countries’.
Most countries refuse to use the term ‘terrorism’ for a people’s movement
for freedom from a tyrant ruler. On November 2003 in the UN General
Assembly, a proposal was brought by the United States saying that if any
country sought help to fight terrorism in their country, UNO would
provide the necessary assistance. But surprisingly, a majority of members
said that ‘terrorism’ and ‘freedom movement’ should not be confused. For
example, the activists in Kashmir or Palestine can in no way be termed as
terrorists. The proposal brought by the United States was therefore voted
out.
The United States of America and Terrorism
The Defense Department of USA has defined ‘Terrorism’: - “The term

‘terrorism’ means premeditated politically motivated violence perpetrated
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against non combatant targets by sub-national or clandestine agents,

usually intended to influence an audience.”
Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) are foreign organizations that are

designated by the Secretary of State in accordance with section 219 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended. FTO designations
play a critical role in our fight against terrorism and are an effective means
of curtailing support for terrorist activities and pressuring groups to get out
of the terrorism business.
The Defense Department also defines the FTO or Foreign Terrorist

Organization. Those foreign organizations engaged in terrorist activities
and threatening the security of the American citizens are the FTOs. Every
two years the American Ministry of Defense publishes the list of FTO. Any
bank account or property in the names of organizations enlisted in the FTO
list are liable to be confiscated by the US Government. No US Citizen is
allowed to help monetarily or otherwise any of these FTOs.
The Current List of Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations
1. Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)

2. Abu Sayyaf Group
3. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade
4. Ansar al-Islam
5. Armed Islamic Group (GIA)
6. Asbat al-Ansar
7. Aum Shinrikyo
8. Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA)
9. Communist Party of the Philippines/New People’s Army (CPP/NPA)
10. Continuity Irish Republican Army
11. Gama’a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group)
12. HAMAS (Islamic Resistance Movement)
13. Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM)
14. Hizballah (Party of God)
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15. Islamic Jihad Group

16. Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)
17. Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) (Army of Mohammed)
18. Jemaah Islamiya Organization (JI)
19. Al-Jihad (Egyptian Islamic Jihad)
20. Kahane Chai (Kach)
21. Kongra-Gel (KGK, formerly Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK,
KADEK)
22. Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LT) (Army of the Righteous)
23. Lashkar i Jhangvi
24. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
25. Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG)
26. Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM)
27. Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK)
28. National Liberation Army (ELN)
29. Palestine Liberation Front (PLF)
30. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
31. Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLF)
32. PFLP-General Command (PFLP-GC)
33. al-Qa’ida
34. Real IRA
35. Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
36. Revolutionary Nuclei (formerly ELA)
37. Revolutionary Organization 17 November
38. Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C)
39. Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC)
40. Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso, SL)
41. Tanzim Qa-idat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (QJBR) (al-Qaida in Iraq)
(formerly Jama’at al-Tawhid wa’al-Jihad, JTG al-Zarqawi Network)
42. United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC)
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Section 212(a)(3)(B) of the INA defines “terrorist activity” to mean: “any

activity which is unlawful under the laws of the place where it is
committed (or which, if committed in the United States, would be unlawful
under the laws of the United States or any State) and which involves any of
the following:
(i) The hijacking or sabotage of any conveyance (including an aircraft,

vessel, or vehicle).
(ii) The seizing or detaining, and threatening to kill, injure, or continue

to detain, another individual in order to compel a third person
(including a governmental organization) to do or abstain from
doing any act as an explicit or implicit condition for the release of
the individual seized or detained.
(iii) A violent attack upon an internationally protected person (as

defined in section 1116(b)(4) of title 18, United States Code) or upon
the liberty of such a person.
(iv) An assassination
(v) The use of any –
(a) Biological agent, chemical agent, or nuclear weapon or device,

or
(b) Explosive, firearm, or other weapon or dangerous device

(other than for mere personal monetary gain), with intent to
endanger, directly or indirectly, the safety of one or more
individuals or to cause substantial damage to property.
(vi) A threat, attempt, or conspiracy to do any of the foregoing.
The Government of America – Father of Modern day Terrorism
The Controller of the modern Islamic terrorism is Al Quaida. Yes; and by

knowing the history behind the birth of Al Quaida, we can come to know
why and how the Government of USA is responsible for its creation.
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From the seventies in the last century the Government of America had left
no stones unturned to uproot the Russian rule in Afghatistan. The
‘democratic government’ of
Afghanistan was totally
dependent on the Russian
army. And the strongly
fundamentalist Muslim clan
there was the ‘Taliban’. The
two neighboring countries of
Afghanistan were Russia on
one hand and Pakistan, a
friend nation of America on
the other. So the location of
Afghanistan was strategically
important to America. Hence
the need for political
transition in Afghanistan was
important for faraway USA.
The Government of America started helping the Taliban group in various

ways. – In 1985 a regular office was opened in Rawalpindi of Pakistan with
specialists from the CIA and Pentagon. The rugged Taliban
fundamentalists were trained in sophisticated modern warfare. Only to
reduce their dependence on America the Taliban activists started earning
money through production and smuggling of drugs. Soon Afghanistan
became notorious as one of the largest producers of opium-based drugs.
Civil engineer and Civil Construction tycoon Osama Bin Laden came into
the picture with his expertise as the warfare reached its climax with the
need to build roads, tunnels and trenches. Osama struck a quick friendship
with the Pakistani President Musharraf. Osama was not only a great
organizer and a technological wizard, he was also an expert in arms and
explosives. But in mind he was a medieval male chauvinist and a Muslim
above all. He became the hero of the backward Talibans – training, advising
and guiding them in guerilla warfare.
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‘Al Quaida’ was founded in 1988. Laden knew that a leader may be
destroyed, but the ideology remains. So he trained the desperate and
headstrong Al Quaida warriors in Islamic fundamental ideologies and
brought them up to be so staunch in their religious convictions that they
were ever ready to sacrifice their lives for their faith.
At present ‘Al Quaida’ is spread over 34 countries. It is more a religious

organization than a politically motivated activist group. Those who are not
militant but would like to see Islamic faith rule the world, also support the
Al Quaida. They collect funds, make CDs and spread Islamic fanaticism.
Side by side, they spread hatred for the western world. For them to lay
down their lives to somehow harm the Western World is a sure gateway to
heaven. Whether right or wrong, for them this Islamic ideology is the
driving force.
The Laden, who was created by the Government of America and was a
friend of America, is now its premier enemy. Saddam might have been a
dictator, but he hardly had any ideology to follow, nor any follower to
spread his message throughout the world. His militant activists were
mercenaries – or paid soldiers. This is the big difference. Osama bin
Laden’s ‘Al Quaida’ is a staunch and determined militant community bent
on establishing Islamic ideals. These ‘ideals’ in many cases are totally
contrary to the concept of basic human rights. Wherever men were in
charge, there have been many restrictive measures, ‘fatwas’ or sanctions for
women. For example – women’s bodies should be covered in such a way
that not even the wrists show. If the wrists were visible, that part of their
hands should be cut off. Women were not allowed to go out into the streets
alone. They were denied the right to education and to medical care. They
would rather starve or beg in the streets, than work to earn money.
It is undeniable that Osama bin Laden tried to bring back medieval Muslim
rule and take the people backward by hundreds of years. This was his
‘ideal’, which many ‘highly educated’ Muslims also accepted. And they are
the ones who taught how to utilize advanced technologies –
communication system, use of arms, making of explosives for destruction
of the human civilization.
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The ‘terrorism’ created by Government of America by using Laden has now

boomeranged. And it has enlarged out of proportions by the addition of
Islamic fundamentalism to its core. Now their main target is America. That
is how they brought down the twin towers of the World Trade Center– the
epitome of American supremacy, literally bringing the superpower down
on its knees.
USA is a ‘civilized’ country, a ‘great’ country like India. But the main
difference between India and America is that the Government of
America does not terrorize its own citizens; it maintains perfect
democracy within its territory. But the Government of India on the other
hand continues reign of terror in the border states, in Jammu & Kashmir
and goes on acquiring regions to add to its number of states (for example
Sikkim). America aroused the hatred of the oil-rich Arab Countries by
trying to have its ultimate control over these rich but otherwise backward
nations. The smaller and weaker nations accepted this highhanded attitude
of the bullying big brother. Others wanted to retaliate. But how? At the
moment, direct warfare with America is not a feasible idea. The only way is
to carry out sporadic guerrilla war and occasional terrorist attacks by
killing thousands of innocent people. After the destruction of the twin
towers in 2001, America started its all out crusade to uproot the Taliban
government and Al Quaida. In an ultimatum to the Taliban government,
the American President demanded the following:-
(1) All the leaders of Al Quaida including Bin Laden should be handed
over to America, (2) All terrorist Camps should be closed down (3) All
imprisoned Western Nationals should be released (4) US should be
allowed to carry out combing operations in Afghanistan.
America announced that further discussions on the matter were futile and
this war was against all terrorists of the world – not only Al Quaida. China
and Russia did not like this stand – as the definition ‘terrorist’ was given by
none other than America. They felt that at a later date, it might take an
arbitrary look. On September 23, 2002 the Taliban government refused
America’s 4-point proposal. But by this time America had got all countries
under ‘NATO’ agreement by its side. With them were added the European
Union. Then came – Pakistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan, Israel,
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Japan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and India. Iran and Sweden were
impartial. Egypt and China protested.
Now, if we accept the definition of UN, we will have to agree that USA
itself is a substantially large ‘terrorist’ in its own way. Anything against the
interests of America is always interfered with. To keep its own people safe
and secure, the US does not hesitate to create terrorism in other countries.
The difference in culture and values among nations also create alienation
and hatred. The values of America and the medieval values existing in
some of the Islamic Countries are incompatible. This enhances the mutual
hatred. Some Islamic nations – like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Morocco,
Turkey, Jordan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan of course, tactically
support the US government . But a majority of the poor people of these
same countries nevertheless cherish a hatred for anything American or
‘Western’. Such is the influence of ‘religion’.
Among those classified as ‘other countries’, most nations have divided

Violence into two categories – Lawful and Unlawful. Only the instances of
unlawful violence are termed as Terrorism by these countries. This
classification is made keeping political advantages in mind.
Sometimes we find that political parties and governments instigate people,

make them hysteric and get them involved in terrorist activities for their
own benefit. They keep police, military or the state outside the operations
and get their jobs done to invariably get some specific political benefit. The
state brings different religious, ethnic or linguistic groups into the vortex of
violent terrorist activities with the help of their own pet militant group of
criminals. For effective implementation of the entire planned operation,
along with shrewd politicians, reporters, lawyers, explosive-experts,
scientists, media and top police people are also called for help. These ‘other
countries’ have the required funds for these operations. The political parties
of all these nations are basically corrupt and their politicians are the pillars
of corruption.
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So, we see that

among the ‘other
countries’ many are
themselves
Terrorist Nations.
In 1996 Amnesty
International
prepared a report
after carrying out
investigation on 150
countries. Out of this, 82 nations have been found to carry out terrorist
activities themselves. Here the government conducts atrocities like
kidnapping, detention without charge, raiding houses without proper
warrants, arresting under fictitious charges where no witnesses are kept in
support of charges of holding objectionable items or papers. Here the
soldiers are given a freehand to loot, rape and kill common people. The
purpose is to create an atmosphere of terror.
Among these 82 countries, our Great India is one.
The reign of terror created by a ‘terrorist nation’ is many times more grim
and horrific than the terror created by terrorist groups within the country.
It is impossible
to fathom the
depth of this
gruesome
reality from
outside. Those
who survive
suffer from
fear psychosis
and many lose
mental balance
in the long run.
Continuous, acute tension gives rise to heart diseases, diabetes, frigidity,
impotence, asthma, ulcers, stammering, nervousness and even depression
and suicidal tendencies. Many become complete mental patients.
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It is not easy for an outsider to gather the horrid details or even imagine
them when the state carries on terrorism on a particular area or a group of
people. It is mainly because the media of a ‘terrorist country’ are never
impartial in their reporting. So the other citizens never come to know of
the terror created on an isolated ethnic group.
More than a hundred thousand Kurd citizens (an ethnic tribe of Iraq)
have been killed by the ex-president of Iraq. Thousands of people were
looted and killed
by their own
countrymen only
because they
belonged to the
Shia sect of
Chhattisgarh. The
seven North-
eastern states of
India – namely,
Assam, Manipur,
Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal, Meghalaya and Tripura are under
constant threat of State Terrorism. This terrible state-organized
intimidation is now spreading to the districts of West Bengal – Purulia,
Bankura and West Midnapur.
These Terrorist States often push their terror-struck victims towards

counter ‘terrorism’.
We the citizens of each state should first decide upon the definition of
‘Terrorism’. Those who are branded by the state – are they really spreading
terror? Or are they victims of injustice? The progressive social workers and
reformers should form a group of activists with legal experts, judges,
police, human-rights workers, politicians, NGOs and active citizens and
join in discussions and debates at national level and decide upon a proper
definition of the word ‘terrorist’. An under-trial on charges of so-called
‘terrorism’ should also be judged after proper legal hearing. In a reign of
terror, the state influences the police, army, lawyers and in sheer fright,
22
even the friends and relatives of a person arrested as a ‘terrorist’ often turn
their back towards him. They hesitate to seek the help of law. In the United
States or the European Union an under-trial prisoner get proper legal help.
If needed, NGOs or Human Rights workers come forward.
In a Terrorist State, there are very few Human Rights workers and their
powers are limited. When the state itself is the law-breaker, only one victim
out of a million instances, get help from Human Rights organizations.
The political parties that create confusion and disrupt proper and smooth
election process, or try to use objectionable methods by taking away voting
rights of citizens, or create an atmosphere of panic at election time, can
definitely be termed ‘terrorist political parties’.When a nation is
‘democratic’ by name and ‘terrorist’ by nature, these ‘terrorist political
parties’ thrive.
A common opinion is on the rise that a large number of terrorists belong to

the Muslim community. They are spreading terror throughout the world in
the name of religion; they are instigating less educated and educated alike
with the hope of Divine favor and God’s grace to terrorize other
communities. The
subject does not end
here. In many countries
even now women are
deprived of education
and healthcare in the
name of religion. In
some, purdah is
compulsory, going out
alone is prohibited for
women. There, if a woman is raped, she is punished with life sentence and
the rapist goes scot-free. In Afghanistan, women were threatened with dire
consequences if even as much as their hands were uncovered; the fatwa or
divine verdict was that their hands would be chopped off. If these are not
‘terrorism’, then what is?
23
This forceful denial of legal rights of citizens is ‘terrorism’. Be it extortion

by police and politicians from pavement vendors, or be it extraction of
donation for religious festivals. Regular bribes paid by the highway drivers
to the police or the monthly agreement of public vehicle owners with the
police stations – all these are instances of ‘terrorism’.
Let us study some recent incidents near our homes:-
a) July 2006: In the ancient Madhav College of Ujjain in M.P., Professor

Savarwal was beaten to death by some students of his own college. Police
were mute bystanders. The leader of ‘Akhil Bharatiya Bidyarthi Parishad’ (a
students’ body) Shashiranjan Akelar was the prime culprit. The silence
and inaction of the state BJP Government was encouraging for the
‘terrorist’ students. Shashiranjan got accolades from the students’ Parishad.
b) July 2006: Saumik, a student of Shibpur Bengal Engineering College in

Kolkata, died as a result of student ‘terrorism’. The state has no guts to
stop this statewide ‘terrorism’ called ragging in all engineering colleges.
The simple reason is that, if action is taken on the miscreants, the students
might be displeased with the men it power leading to protests en masse!
c) August 2006: A girl in MCM DAV College was talking on mobile phone
inside the classroom. The lady professor asked her to switch it off. The
desperate student did not care – the professor gave her a slap. This
incident led to a torrent of disruptive activities – a students’ strike was
called. The professor was forced to apologize. All this happened when
there was clear and written instructions not to use cell phones inside
classrooms. Is it not ‘student terrorism’?
d) July 2006: The Vice Chancellor of Meerut University received a complaint

that there was error in checking of answer papers. He ordered for re-
examination. This was enough for students to flare up. A group of angry
young women raided the VC’s residence climbing over a 7ft.high iron-
gate. They shouted slogans, broke flowerpots, damaged a scooter in the
garage. After being arrested, they told the media – we broke the pots this
24
time, next time we will break the VC’s head. How did they learn this kind
of terrorism? What steps will the government take against them?
e) July 2006: It is a small school in Doda district – Nag Batni High School. To
punish the small children of his class, a teacher throws acid on their faces.
Seven children sustained severe injury with their faces and eyes burnt.
Some got 90% burns. Six years old Ali is struggling for life.
These are examples to show the spread of ‘terrorism’ in all levels of

society.
# # #
A report: A sample that shows the intensity of crimes committed by the

State –
Anandabazar Patrika (20 June 2002) gave a detailed report in Bengali by

Saubhadra Chattopadhyay from Imphal, Manipur. It is given in short,
translated into English: -
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
June 19, 2002: When he was 14, he was picked up and

detained by soldiers of Assam Rifles for enquiry regarding
his missing uncle. He was freed after two weeks. For the
same reason he was again arrested when he was 17; again at
20. This boy from Uripok, Manipur is now 24. He is an
introvert of ill health, cannot tolerate bright light or noise;
screams at a particular burning smell, prefers to stay in
dark; is scared of strangers; cannot concentrate in anything
for more than 10 minutes. He is an average, lower middle-
class youth of Manipur.
Take the instance of this 16 years old girl from the valley of
Manipur. She used to accompany her mother to her liquor-shop where three army jawans
(common soldiers) were regular visitors. One day in her mother’s absence they raped her and
left a 100-rupee note. Of course they had presented her a lipstick the previous day. This tribal
25
girl now says – she has no desire for sex or love. All she wants now is drinks. Full
intoxication is all she desires now.
According to the Tortured Children’s Program of an NGO named ‘Core’, it is not only the
tribal population from villages, there are numerous cases of victims from well to do and
protected families from towns, that fill the various homes and hospitals. Shantibala Devi, a
psychologist from the Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital says – during 1996-98 she was in
Churachandpur district of Manipur. Many common people had hysteria. They were suffering
from fear psychosis; were in constant fear of being picked up by army men. Their report says
that there was a sharp increase in the number of suicides. The average number of suicides in
’97-’08 was 4.4 persons per month and 7 attempted suicides in a month. In ’98-’99 the
average per month rose to 8. The ratio of men and women who committed suicide was 1 : 1.
In the year 1997 alone, 416 civilians were killed by soldiers (men responsible for the safety
of citizens), 71 were tortured, 38 went ‘missing’ and 72 custody-deaths were reported. The
president of the NGO, Anna Pinto said that during the last 3 years, atrocities against women
rose by 300%. And due to excessive tension and frustration, the number of drug users,
alcoholics and gamblers were also extremely high. In her words, ‘most people in Manipur
suffer from high blood pressure and insomnia. It is a natural reaction to a life of constant
mental tension.’
There is not much help available for people suffering due to torture by security men; leave
alone grown ups, even children have no place to go. Anna says, she can give painkillers and
such common medicines. Those who are too scared to go out alone are given escorts, and some
advices at times – that’s all. Even NGO workers are afraid of security people and made us
promise not to disclose names of victims; as ‘in the past, after news about torture was
published, the victims were
again picked and beaten up’.
In Anna’s calculation, there

are about 3000 prostitutes in
Manipur. Most of them were
forced to come in this line.
60% of their clients are again
those army men. In an
interview to ‘Core’ a 17 years
old Meitei (a tribe) girl said
26
she had AIDS, but she did not disclose it. She does not ask her clients to use condoms – she
wants them all to have AIDS.
In a ‘Terrorist Nation’, the people in charge of the safety of its citizens, do not
provide security, they torture and enjoy the fun. From this sample we can guess that
the soldiers in all states are more or less the same. They enjoy unbridled freedom,
have no scruples and are not answerable to anyone.
# # #
Terrorists in a train
July 6, 2006: We all have seen the following news published in almost all Indian
dailies. I give a part of it: -
In Guwahati-New Delhi North East Express train, a group of drunken soldiers stripped a
passenger from U.P. and ordered others to vacate the compartment. If not, they would also
meet the same fate – they yelled. They threw out the belongings of the other passengers and
one of them brutally tried to practice sodomy with the already stripped civilian Paramatma
Yadav from U.P.
[Nothing is known about the punishment, if any, meted out to the soldiers.]
Army – Border Security Force – Police – all are made of the same filthy material.
Those who are not so are exceptions. It has become a favorite slogan in India— ‘Desh
ka neta kaisa, Sena-Police jaisa’ (How are our leaders? They are same as our police and
our military)
What is ‘Salba Judum’? An anti-Naxalite people’s movement?
‘Salba Judum’ or ‘Peace Movement’ is a spontaneous people’s upheaval against

Naxalite terror – this is what our media are feeding us continuously. People know
only what the media tell them. But we gather from the forum for the protection of
citizens’ rights of Chhattisgarh that it is the state that has created the organ ‘Salba
Judum’ to finish the tribal upheaval in rural areas.
27
A team of 14 went to Chhattishgarh to investigate into the truth about these

confusing reports regarding the tribal upheaval for human rights. This team was
represented by members of various organizations for people’s democratic rights.
Among these were members of P.U.D.R. of Delhi, A.P.D.R. of West Bengal, P.U.C.L.
of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh and the Indian Association of Lawyers. They
conducted their investigation day and night from 28 November to 1 December 2005.
Their joint report contains the following phrase in its introduction: -
“When the State makes war on its people…”
The gist of the joint report is that
1) Salba Judum is no spontaneous people’s movement.
2) The tribal inhabitants of Dandakaranya forests were demanding their rights

over the land and the natural resources of the area for quite some time. Their
demands were given an organized from by some activists who fought for
equality and justice; it is these groups that are branded as ‘Maoists’ and
‘Naxalites’ by our government. They are leading the demands of the poor
tribal inhabitants of these undeveloped areas.
3) This movement has actually disturbed the feudal landowners’ interests. This
handful of rich landlords gets the support of the village sarpanch, panchayats,
MLAs and MPs. These politicians are mostly from BJP or the Congress party
and these exploiters form the spine of the ‘Salba Judum’. They use the
disgruntled and anti-social individuals whom the tribal leaders have ousted
from their group for
corruption.
4) The fighters of ‘Salba
Judum’ are being
trained by the central
Para-military force
and the state armed
police force. They
have been given
various modern
firearms.
28
5) This organized armed terrorism is going on with the joint effort of the
Congress government at the center and the state BJP government against the
extremely poor tribal inhabitants.
6) This ‘Salba Judum’ or ‘Peace-workers’ (!) contain 3000 strong non-government

armed terrorists who work for the government by proxy.
7) These private soldiers get salaries equivalent to that of the state police officers.
8) A group of 200-300 such soldiers select a village marked as a Maoist camp

and execute organized attack.
9) They burn and loot the entire village.
10) The homeless survivors flee from their own village; for them the government
opens ‘relief camps’. To distance the common villagers from the influence of
‘Naxalites’ they are thus isolated and given shelter in the camps.
11) Salba Judum calls for meetings quite often for anti-Naxalite propaganda. In
75% of these meetings the District Collector himself is present.
12) Among tribal villagers there remains a strong support for the so-called
‘Maoists’ or ‘Naxalites’. As long as people are in the villages, it is impossible
for the government to distinguish between a common villager and a Naxalite.
13) The villagers with the help of their leaders also put up active resistance
against the brutalities of ‘Salba Judum’
14) People detained at the ‘relief camps’ are put under terrible mental pressure
and physical torture for the names and whereabouts of their ‘Naxal’ or
‘Maoist’ leaders. They are threatened that if they did not cooperate they would
be arrested, or killed at fake ‘encounters’.
A terrorist nation snatches away the democratic rights of their citizens and
carries out systematic terror on poor villagers who demand minimum justice. It
29
is the same picture all over the world – from India to Iraq. Only the script
changes to suit the characters and the set.
# # #
During May 2006, a group of people under the leadership of Humanists Nandini
Sundar and Ramchandra Guha, carried out a survey. According to them –
1) There is no law and order in the state.
2) It is a reign of terror led by Salba Judum; they are the law-keepers.
3) Salba Judum rules the small towns of

Chhattishgarh.
4) Some thousand of villages are

identified as ‘Maoist villages’ and
death and destruction loom there
with regular loot, rape, killings and
arrests.
5) Already more than a thousand people have died in the hands of the soldiers
of Salba Judum. The killers boldly announce their exploits but get away scot-
free.
6) No steps are taken by Central or state governments to rescue these poor

villagers; the state allows and encourages this reign of ‘Terror’.
In the ‘terrorist’ State India we find the arbitrary law of A.F.S.P.A.
In the northeastern region of India there are seven states known as the ‘seven
sisters’, namely, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and
Arunachal Pradesh. The notorious A.F.S.P.A. or the Armed Forces Special Powers
Act prevails in all these states. Even the UN Human Rights Commission expresses
its wonder and concern that such acts can still be used by any government.
30
The atrocities carried on by the Army in these regions are unparalleled; even US
soldiers did not enact such cruelties on the people of Iraq or even the Iraqi soldiers.
In support of the brave Manipuris and condemning the excesses of the Armed Forces
in Manipur, the Humanists’ Association carried out continuous protests by
organizing rallies, seminars, video shows, spreading leaflets, getting mass signatures
etc. One such leaflet reads:-
What is A.F.S.P.A.?
Please know … and think…
The Indian Government is carrying out an un-announced war against its own
countrymen in Manipur for the last three decades. These ‘special powers’ of the
Armed Forces were the handiwork of the British rulers who introduced it in order to
handle the ‘Quit India’ movement in 1942. Why do we need it now in a free country?
The various sections of this rule say –
Section 4A – Any army ‘jawan’ or a common soldier has the power to shoot and kill
anyone only on suspicion.
Section 4B – Soldiers have the power to destroy people’s property.
Section 4D – The Army has the power to enter any house, at any time without a
warrant in order to search.
Section 6 – Whatever is his crime, a soldier cannot be convicted or punished in any

way.
Now mind the words ‘on suspicion’ and ‘without warrant’! This means unbridled
power. It is the power to carry out anything between torture, killing and rape,
burning or destruction of homes in the Region on a large scale for years. Just by
‘suspecting’ someone to be a terrorist, the army can kill or maim people. Thus,
A.F.S.P.A. is a license to rape, loot, torture and kill at random.
The Human Rights Sub-Committee of UNO in 1991 and again in 1997 has
condemned this A.F.S.P.A. as totally against the International Charter of Human
31
Rights. It also categorically stated that India being a signatory of the 1996
International Charter of Political and Civil Rights and the 1984 Charter against
cruelty and torture, has committed an extremely unethical crime by continuing to
enforce A.F.S.P.A. since 1958 till date!
The so-called ‘Democracy’ of India is shamefully incompatible with this ‘license

of terrorism’, A.F.S.P.A.
Let us see what Amnesty International has to say on this issue.
India: Amnesty International renews its call for an unconditional repeal of the
Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958.
Amnesty International is deeply concerned that the Indian Government may seek to
retain provisions of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958 that contravene its
international human rights obligations and that continue to pose grave threats to the
human rights of its people.
On 2 December, the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, announced that
the Home Ministry was working on “modifying existing provisions or inserting new
provisions” in the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 (A.F.S.P.A.), so as to give
“due regard to the protection of basic human and civil rights”.
A decision to amend, rather than to repeal the AFSPA would fly in the face of the
most significant recommendation by the five-member Committee led by former
chairperson of the Law Commission, Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy, contained in its
report submitted to the Government of India in June 2005.
Amnesty International has repeatedly expressed its concern that the AFSPA contains
provisions which contravene, either directly or by granting perpetrators impunity,
key human rights including the right to life, the right to be free from torture and
other ill-treatment, the right to be free from arbitrary deprivation of liberty and the
right to remedy and reparation. These rights are enshrined in international law and
standards, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to
which India is a state party. The AFSPA, which is operative in “disturbed areas”,
including large parts of the Northeast region of India and Jammu and Kashmir,
32
gives security forces wide ranging powers, including the power to use lethal force in
contravention of international standards.
In light of the main provisions of the AFSPA being in violation of international

human rights law, Amnesty International fully supports the recommendation to
repeal the Act and urges the Government of India to implement this part of the
Committee’s recommendations.
Public Statement
AI Index: ASA 20/034/2006 (Public)

News Service No.: 325
18 December 2006
Parallel ‘Terrorist’ groups patronized by the State: -
All over the country wherever there is upheaval of the poor and downtrodden for
justice and normal human rights – parallel activist groups are made and trained by
the government of India to tackle them and to isolate them. Parties change – a new
government comes to power. But this notorious practice goes on.
There is a set formula used for deploying these parallel forces.
1) To recruit government’s own people in the activist group.
2) To make a group within the group and buy them with money and promise of
power.
3) If needed, to break the group with the help of these ‘purchased’ members.
4) To add a few mercenary anti-social elements to the group of honest activists.
5) Give special training to these chosen few with Govt. funds.
33
6) Apparently it is impossible to differentiate between the mercenaries and the

real fighters for a cause.
7) The style of functioning differs – the state recruited ‘terrorists’ carry out
explosions in schools, bus stops, shopping malls, trains, temples and
churches. They leave behind leaflets and posters of real activist groups to
mislead people and create a bad name for them. The purpose is to destroy
public sympathy for the activist groups.
The picture is the same all over India. ‘People’s Rights Organization’, PRO in short,
is a Delhi-based organization fighting for human rights. They carried out a detailed
and long survey on the ‘terrorist’ groups functioning in the valley of Jammu &
Kashmir. As per their report, in the Kashmir valley there are at least 7/8 ‘terrorist’
groups run by Government funds. The Indian army provides them weapons and
training. Their names are: -
1) Ikhwan-e-Muslimeen
2) Muslim Liberation Army
3) Muslim Mujahideen
4) Kashmir Liberation Jihad Force
5) Taliban
6) Al Burk
7) Al Ikhwan
8) Hussain Commando.
These kinds of phony groups are in action wherever there are activists already
struggling for freedom or fighting for justice and basic human living conditions, led
by some idealistic cultural groups.
# # #
In the year 1996, an all out effort was made by the state to destroy the Rationalist
Association. In August 1996, when the rationalist ideology was spreading fast deep
inside rural Bengal and was successfully spreading its message of unification of all
parties fighting for justice and true democracy, a conspiracy was hatched jointly by
34
state and foreign powers. On one hand a few old members were bribed and
removed, on the other hand from 1992-93 a number of smart, young people were
introduced into the organization; who joined the conspiracy later in 1996. Of the
active and bright lot of members, it was difficult to discern who came with the
purpose of sabotage and who joined in the dissent later. In this large-scale
conspiracy, politicians reporters, astrologers, some NGO operators and religious men
and women joined together.
But in spite of this, the rationalist

movement did not die a premature
death. A number of honest thinkers,
literacy persons, scientists, doctors and
lawyers came in our support along with
numerous common men of different
vocations to fight this unequal battle
against superstition and spiritualism in
India.
# # #
One can destroy ‘terrorism’, with stronger counter terrorism. But the arousal of a
new ‘Awareness’ cannot be erased with terrorism. That is why a ‘Terrorist State’
fears cultural upheaval or an awareness movement among the masses much more
than an armed movement.
# # #
1) The definition of terrorism is so wide that to resist terrorist attack or to fight

for one’s legitimate rights are also termed ‘terrorism’ by some countries. Even
destroying the computer-system to damage someone’s personal interest is also
treated as terrorism in some countries.
Any written document or any statement (written or otherwise) if considered to

be against the interests of the state are termed as ‘terrorism’. So, new ideas, free
thoughts too have to face state opposition at times. Think of Galileo and his
torture by the Church – even today pioneers of new ideas, free opinions have to
face similar wrath from the state. In India, from Rammohan Roy to
35
Ishwarchandra Bidyasagar, all had to fight opposition from contemporary

religious stalwarts for going against ancient practices of Suttee (widow
burning), or child marriage. They had to go against the mainstream to bring
about social change. In a degenerate society truly progressive people are
bound to become isolated.
It is these people who are ‘terrorists’ in the eyes of the state and a vast majority
of people misled by the media. They become at times, heroes for the
downtrodden masses. But truly progressive and knowledgeable people,
however small their number may be, always support their causes.
2) Wherever there is ‘state terrorism’, to resist it and to survive, counter-

terrorism is likely to emerge. Not that it always happens, but there is a logical
possibility. Saddam Hussain’s bulldozer of terrorism continued without
resistance since 1979. Without proper and able leadership the masses could
hardly stand up against oppression.
It is not always true that the masses would have the last word; many a time, in
the absence of an able leadership, masses suffer endlessly for years. If there is a
leadership, clashes between State and non-state groups are inevitable.
3) People may resort to clashes in an effort to liberate themselves from

economic exploitation. In one third of the vast rural terrains of India there is
widespread influence of the so-called Maoists and the Naxalites. I collected this
information from international news magazines. Actually the exploited masses
are not quite aware of the Maoist ideals nor do they know what is Naxalism. All
these poverty-stricken, oppressed and tortured masses are – landless laborers,
daily wagers of some kind or unorganized factory workers. Most of them are
not paid the wages their employers promise to pay. They have no decent roof
above their heads; potable drinking water and one square meal a day are a few
among their primary requirements. There is no infrastructure for education or
medical treatment, no prospects for regular income. If these undernourished
people raise their feeble voices for the basic constitutional rights, the easiest
way for the rulers to stop them is to unleash a fresh bout of terror. In the
presence of state representatives, their ‘private army’ carries out their ‘action’ of
loot, rape, killing and setting fire to their hutments. The nexus of police-
36
politician-government officials are either silent spectators or active participants

in this planned massacre.
The underdogs of the

Indian society, the various
tribes living in abject
poverty have at last learnt
to demand justice and the
basic amenities of life –
thanks to the able
leadership of the few
progressive and forward
youths among them. The
rulers are apprehensive –
since it is impossible to
uplift all the poor classes
without first cleaning up the mess of corruption that is deep-rooted at the
topmost strata. Another scaring fact is that these downtrodden masses are
demanding their rights over the natural and forest resources; they are uniting –
making communes and cooperative farms and are trying to live like humans.
These communes work in real democratic way – with proper voting system. If
this goes on – the ‘modern’ methods of rigging, booth jam and false voting
would lose their effect! Even organized state terror would not be able to stop
this upheaval. The problem is that our police and army are experts when it
comes to torturing the poor, non-violent villagers; they are not so well versed in
tackling armed
rebels. If three of
these rustic rebels
open fire, our one
hundred strong army
battalion falls – lying
on their stomachs to
save themselves. That
is why the state
prefers making a
parallel army with
the help of rural
37
musclemen. The city-bred middle classes learn from newspapers that these half
naked, ill-fed, poor masses who do not even get clean water to drink, are
dangerous rebels, ‘terrorists’ – Maoists or Naxals! This roll of the news media is
in support of the privileged class whose interests would be affected if all the
poor people were to demand justice. If a few of those ‘terrorists’ were arrested,
kept in jail for years without trial, it would not bother our educated friends in
cities; even though the doctor from Bangalore arrested from Australia under
suspected charges of having a liaison with terrorists raised quite a hue and cry.
In India, for the city bred, poor people simply do not exist! So from economic
exploitation to revolt and terrorism of the oppressed and then again to ‘state-
terrorism’ – the circle is complete.
# # #
4) Some say that ‘terrorists’ are those who try to disrupt the economic system of
a country. To tell the truth, the corruption of our ministers is enough to disrupt
the economy of our country; we do not need any outside help for this. Ours is a
country where the ministers give more importance to the amount of kickbacks
received than to the quality of defense material. Here once politics becomes
your profession, you can shift from a hut to a palace within a span of one year
and own ten such palaces in ten different cities. And there with the active
cooperation of leaders, ministers and Police Officers fake currency notes worth
tens of millions of rupees can be printed (last time we heard of the astronomical
figure Rs. 36,000,0000000/- (more than 8,000 million dollars) worth of fake
stamp papers). What was detected was only the stock stored in a certain
building. And that, probably was the tip of the iceberg. What was not detected
has already circulated throughout the country and has become a part of our
economy. It was impossible to detect them because they were printed with the
help of paper and machinery used by the Government mint of Nasik.
In the fake stamp-paper scam, one Mr. Abdul

Karim Telgi has been caught, and along with him a
bunch of government officials. On December 22,
2002, the Victoria Hospital of Bangalore conducted
‘Narco Test’ or Narco analysis of this Abdul Telgi.
This is the only hospital in India that has this
38
facility of carrying out investigation through which truth can come out. With
the help of drugs injected Telgi into the body, the person
concerned is brought to a semi conscious state, as under hypnosis, and answers
questions without being able to distort or hide truth.
Telgi’s ‘narco test’ results had been recorded in camera and tape. Copies of
these results have come to the hands of some news media mysteriously after a
period of 2 years and 9 months. On September 6, 2006, the whole nation
witnessed this on many TV channels all through the day. Renowned
neurologists explained that it was impossible to distort answers during a
‘narco-test’ as the answers come directly from the subconscious mind.
Mr. Telgi’s subconscious expressed that along with him in the scam there were
heavyweight leaders like Sharad Pawar and Chhagan Bhujwal. We can guess
that this expose was carried out to teach Sharad Pawar a lesson as he was
distancing himself from the Congress party and getting closer to the BJP. But
our question is why the CBI did not take this opportunity to expose such a big
scandal? Why more people were not put under ‘narco test’? Was it because
there were possibilities of more names and more unpleasant truths to be
excavated? Blackmailing was the only aim!
Many countries have termed this kind of large-scale, ‘fake currency note scams’
as acts of ‘terrorism’ – internal ‘terrorism’ that affects the economy of the entire
country. In banks and post offices, experts can detect an occasional fake
currency note and the matter is followed up and the racket busted. Most of the
time, ‘hands of Pakistan’ are suspected in the racket. But when the notes are
printed for years on government ‘security paper’ in printing machines used by
Reserve Bank of India, ‘real’ fake notes are produced. Then who would punish
whom? The state desists from booking the culprits for years. Now can we not
say that the state itself is resorting to an ‘economic terrorism’ – exploiting and
fooling an entire nation?
In this situation, a total upheaval of the exploited masses against state

oppression is desirable. Without an organized resistance by the masses such
large-scale cleansing is impossible.
39
Yes, I repeat the words – ‘organized resistance’. There was a project undertaken
to link the entire nation by four massive highways – the ‘golden quadrangle
project’. Corruption was rampant and large-scale theft was going on during the
construction. Narrating the situation a detailed report was submitted to the then
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Bajapayee by engineer Satyendra Dubey of Bihar.
The letter to the P.M. was in a sealed cover inscribed ‘strictly personal’. But to
the shock of the entire nation engineer Satyendra Dubey was killed within a few
days of sending the letter. How was this confidential letter exposed? Who
opened the letter? Was even the PM’s office infested with criminals? Resistance
by an individual does not always succeed. But organized protest usually does. I
will give a few examples: -
Incident 1: It was the year 2003. The place was the newly formed state of
Jharkhand, adjacent to Bihar and West Bengal. It has extensive dense forest
areas protected by law. Logging and felling of trees are prohibited; armed
security force is deployed here to protect the jungles. In spite of that, under the
supervision of ‘jungle mafia’ groups, ruthless cutting of trees was going on day
and night, right in front of the forest guards. No, the guards were not silent
spectators; they were participants, they took their share of the booty from this
illegal business. There was a systematic racket – these stolen logs were taken to
the local markets, then to the sawmills. Truck services, sawmills – all thrived
during this reign of forest mafia. The state ministers, secretaries, police, forest
and environment departments – all were aware of the situation. Year after year,
thousands of millions worth of wood were being stolen from the forests of
Jharkhand.
About two years back the so-called

‘Naxalites’ gave a notice in the form of
written leaflets – “those who are finishing
the forests illegally will be ‘FINISHED
OFF’. Nobody would be spared – guards,
saw-mills owners, whoever is directly or
indirectly connected to this racket”. The effect was little short of magic. Cutting
of trees stopped and the entire market of illegal selling of logs vanished
overnight.
40
Incident 2: During 2004, in Bihar and adjacent Jharkhand, train robberies were
regular events. Along with snatching of hard cash and ornaments, molesting of
women was also common. Later, the dacoits would boast about their exploits –
that is, killing and raping of women in trains.
Once in 2004, after a horrible incident of train robbery, where a number of

women were raped, a few of the villagers united to avenge the crime. Next
morning in broad daylight, in full view of public, five train-dacoits were shot
dead. Two of them were found to be policemen! Those who killed announced
before they left – ‘yes, this is the punishment – in future, whenever there is
robbery or rape, the culprits would meet the same fate’. The villagers told that
the killers were ‘Naxalites’. Whether they were Naxals or not, train robberies in
Jharkhand came to an end.
5) Cultural exploitation too, gives rise to organized resistance by the oppressed

community. A good example is that of the birth of Bangladesh. East Pakistan
was forced to accept the culture and language of more powerful West Pakistan
for years. In spite of a common religion, the people could not accept the cultural
difference. To save their language and culture, the Bengali-speaking people of
East Pakistan struggled and succeeded in separating themselves. ‘Bangladesh’
was formed.
From Darjeeling to Telengana many

small regional political parties have come
up. The reason for this in most cases is
the need for separate cultural identity.
Later these struggles have become
violent in many instances. In a ‘terrorist’
nation, terrorism is the only language
understood by the rulers. To ask for
social justice or human rights, people
resort to pressure tactics through
violence. Through armed terrorism even
illegal actions obtain legality; we have
seen many instances: -
Recently in September 2006, in the
41
‘planned city’ of New Delhi, the Supreme Court ordered some shops to close down
as they were running their business in places marked as ‘residential areas’. There are
‘commercial zones’ for the purpose. Following the Supreme Court order, the
government sealed the shops in the locality. The moment these shops were sealed,
all the businessmen of the locality came right onto the street and started breaking
cars and buses, showering bricks and stones on the policemen who came to stop
them. The place literally became a battlefield. Even pedestrians were not spared and
the road was blocked completely for hours. The police fired a few rounds; three
businessmen were killed. On both sides many got injured. Finally government
surrendered to the ‘terrorism’ of the businessmen who had broken the law in the
first place. Government had to make an affidavit to the Supreme Court in favor of
the rich traders.
This whole incident gave a very wrong signal to the entire nation. It was – you
can do an illegal thing and get away with sheer ‘terrorism’. Creating pressure
on the government; you can even change the law to your favor by sheer muscle-
power.
6) In various parts of India, oppression by the Centre is one of the causes of

rising ‘terrorism’.
There are seven states in the Eastern part of India – Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura,
Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal. Even globetrotting Bengalis do
not have the names of these states in their itinerary. Ask anybody from Mumbai
to Chennai, they will say West Bengal is the easternmost state of India. Most
people of India are totally unaware of the existence of these states. Most citizens
of India do not even know what atrocities are being committed in one of these
states, Manipur, by the Indian Army. Loot, rape and illegal detention are the
order of the day. In the papers and magazines of West Bengal a little bit was
reported, but to the rest of India, all these states, with the exception of Assam,
are nonexistent. Only 5 MPs are elected from these six states; and there are 545
seats in the parliament! So it is utter ‘foolishness’ for the government to look
after these ‘useless’ regions. The policy of this election-based politics is to do the
utmost for the regions from where the maximum numbers of MPs are elected.
Ministers are made from these regions; more funds are deployed in these states.
The central ministers are so regionally biased that they do not have any qualms
in deploying funds liberally in their own provinces. From Gani Khan
42
Chowdhury to Lalu Prasad Jadav – all have this severe communal outlook.
Gaining popularity in one’s own state may mean dissatisfaction and grievances
in other states going unheeded.
The people of Mizoram or Manipur who are oppressed and exploited in every
possible way, find Myanmar a better friend than the Indian government. They
carry on all their businesses freely with Myanmar. India is there to find fault,
not to help. Indian government to them is like a guardian who cannot feed the
child but is ever ready to punish at the slightest pretext. In this situation
regional dissatisfaction and State ‘terrorism’ has given rise regional ‘terrorist’
activities.
7) The Islamic extremists aim to instigate the Muslim believers in the name of
religion and get them involved in various disruptive actions. Now as nations
like USA, Europe and India are uniting against Islamic extremists more Indians
have begun to be suspicious about Muslims in general.
We know many eminent Indians, particularly artists and singers, like Bade
Gulam Ali Khan, Bismillah Khan, Dilipkumar or Md. Rafi were not at all
communal; they were respected throughout India. Still, can we say with
confidence that a majority of the people of the Islamic community is non-
communal? No. That is why even now our country is divided into Muslim
areas, Hindu areas etc. Invariably a Muslim voter is made to stand for election
from a Muslim dominated area even in Communist West Bengal.
After the nineteen fifties, for a long period of time, the leftist parties demanded
a ‘common civil law’ – that is, the same civil law for all communities of this
country.
After this we saw the case of Shah Banu – when all Muslim men wanted to keep
the Muslim Personal Law in tact. It took the shape of a nationwide demand in
favor of the Muslim Personal Law. Seeing the situation, the Communists were
afraid of losing Muslim votes. They conveniently withdraw from their earlier
demand for a ‘Common Civil Law’ and vanished from the scene! All civilized
countries have the same civil law for all the people of the country; the Muslims
of those countries have accepted it too without protest. Then why the Muslims
43
of India are not ready to accept it? Because our government is keeping the
Muslim community appeased in the interest of the vote-bank.
Even Congress is purely a communally inclined political party. From the time of
Jawaharlal Nehru, Muslims had become his favorites; Indira Gandhi followed
suit and happily
collected ‘Muslim votes’
in her favor. And Rajiv
Gandhi narrowed it
down to ‘Muslim Men-
folk’ by passing
ordnance to turn the
verdict of the ‘Shah
Banu case’ in favor of
Muslim men. Even the
communist parties did
not vote against this decision. It was a veritable competition among all political
parties to win the Muslim male heart. Women did not count. It may be noted
that even in Muslim countries, polygamy is not so rampant, nor is ‘Talak’
(divorce) as easy as in India.
BJP has earned a bad name as a communal force. But it cannot be denied that it
is now a power to reckon with, be it as the ruling party or as the strongest
opposition. The main reason for the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party is the
shameless Muslim appeasing policy of all parties without exception. All other
parties like Congress, Communist, Rashtriya Janata Dal (Lalu Prasad),
Samajwadi Party (Mulayam Singh) and the Marxists blame the BJP for
instigating communal feelings. But these parties have miserably failed to keep
their own parties out of communal bias.
Even in Kerala from the Congress to the Communist Party, no one fails to woo
the Muslim League, knowing fully well that Muslim League is a communal
party. To be a member of the Muslim league, one has to be a Muslim in the first
place. Still no one finds it unethical to tie the knot with the League.
If the reader finds the above points logical, he or she should openly say so and
expose the true character of all the political parties. The educated Bengali
44
middle class has not made any effort to do it. Along with that one should also
uphold the fact that the ‘communal’ BJP allows non-Hindu members and even
leaders in their party.
The non-communal façade of the CPM, the ruling party in West Bengal, is a
fake one. Communal groups like Mujaheer Sangh, SIMI etc. are collecting
money in the name of Muslim extremists, conducting meetings, processions as
they like in this state. The government is a silent spectator. They are afraid to
hurt the Muslim sentiment, lest they lose the votes of the Muslim citizens. Even
the Pakistani extremists are well aware of this fact; that is why it is easiest to
smuggle terrorists into India through the state of West Bengal.
As long as the parties allow unlawful activities in order to woo votes, there can
be no respite to ‘terrorism’ of all kinds. We will have only false slogans fooling
the public.
# # #
But things were not so bad during the thirties to the sixties of the last century.
From the Congress workers to the Naxal youths, all political workers attracted
public respect to some extent. Now, all common people know that those
connected to politics are nothing but liars, cheats and boastful criminals. That is
the nature of the mainstream politician. People like Muzaffar Ahmed, Binoy
Konar and Biplab Dasgupta are now part of history. Now it is the day of hard-
core criminals like Lalu Jadav, Sahabuddin and Bablu Srivastav. We have seen
‘Operation Duryodhan’ and ‘Operation Chakravyuh’ exposing them on TV
channels. Some are caught and are ruling from behind bars, some not yet. This
is the difference. In this atmosphere it is impossible for political parties to
sincerely and effectively resist ‘terrorism’.
We common people also are confused at times. We should remember that in the
India-Pakistan cricket match the way Indian Muslims celebrate the victory of
Pakistan, is similar to the way Indians in England celebrate India’s victory in
England-India match. Expression of happiness at India’s victory while sitting in
England does not mean hatred for England. But we have heard Indians abusing
supporters of Pakistan, asking them to go back to Pakistan. Sometimes it takes
the look of a communal riot. But we forget that it is quite possible for some of
45
the Muslims of India to have their roots, their ancestral homes or even some of
their friends back in Pakistan. Even many Sikhs from Punjab have that
connection. This blunt communal division exists in India because the leaders
of our country have preferred it that way. The general quality of the political
parties needs to change.
To bring about a qualitative change in the political parties, the educated

middle-class has to be made aware of the above facts and analyses; a
continuous process of awareness program should go on. Clear perception
about subjects like, patriotism, secularism, terrorism or separatism should be
made available to the people. Only then an organized resistance against
corruption can emerge from common citizens’ groups; only then can this
politics of double standards come to an end.
I do not agree with those who are skeptical about any possible improvement in
our society. They say – ‘it is useless to try, there is no hope, this is the order of
the day, you and I cannot change it overnight’, etc. Now let us think – how was
our society sixty years back? Senior politicians used to get respect from the
common man, there were some ‘idealistic’ people and honesty was given due
importance, a scholarly person got more respect than a mere rich man.
With time
gradually the
society underwent
a change.
Increasing greed
and the resulting
corruption of a
few gradually
brought a general
degeneration in
the society. It is the
people who
influence and
change the society,
and then society
changes the
46
people. Keeping this in mind we can ask – why then a handful of people
cannot reverse the trend and improve our society towards a better tomorrow?
Definitely they can.
# # #
Getting people acquainted with new ideas, spreading these new ideas among
many – these are the materials that make a cultural revolution; a revolution that
can change a decaying society into a new and healthier one.
8) In India communalism has erupted on many occasions due to its communal,

religious, linguistic and caste-based differences. The common slogan – ‘Unity
among Diversity’ is thus proved bogus. Take a man from Nagaland to Tamil
Nadu. Would he feel at home? Where is the unity? His food habit, language,
dress, everything will differ from the food habit, language and dress of the
Indian Tamil – and that would create a distance; he would feel like a stranger in
his own country. On occasions he would feel discriminated against.
In our vast country due to these differences in language, caste, creed, religion
and even food,. an atmosphere of an unhealthy narrowness had spread all
around. This narrowness and the resulting mood of mutual suspicion is the
creation of our political parties and their leaders.
The example of communalism has been mentioned earlier in connection with

Laluprasad and Gani Khan. But the trend is maintained by almost all the
ministers without exception. The ministers do not remember that they are
ministers of the entire nation, not of a region. On one hand they instill
communal feelings and on the other hand they talk big about national unity.
Regional separatism and regional terrorism are creations of these anti-
national leaders! All the parties in their dependence on elections have
regularly fanned communal feelings and instigated disharmony among our
own people.
People who went to Mumbai last year to sit for an examination for jobs in the
Railways had to come back after getting beaten up by Shiv Sena activists. Shiv
Sena says Maharashtra is for Maharashtrians; only Maharashtrians have to be
appointed from Maharashtra. An all India examination called for Non-
Assamese applicants too for sitting in an examination to be held in Assam. But
47
the Non-Assamese young men and women had to flee after getting badly
thrashed by the Assamese people.
Bangali khedao, (drive away the Bengalees) was the name of the movement in
Assam. Now we hear of ‘Oriya khedao’, ‘Muslim khedao’, ‘Chakma khedao’ etc at
regular intervals – and such drives are on the rise. This kind of regional bias has
led to innumerable losses by way of destruction of property, loot and killing.
There is no end to this kind of regional communalism all over India. But till
date have we found any political party making a minimum effort to stop this? –
Here we find regional quota for joining the cricket team; a national team. The
Chief Minister of West Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, sent a ‘strictly
confidential’ letter to the chairman of the Indian Cricket Control Board Sharad
Pawar requesting him to include Saurav Ganguly in the team! As Saurav was
not taken in the team, the Bengali communal sentiment was aroused. In the next
match, in their utter anger and disappointment, the Bengalees wished for
India’s defeat, they rejoiced when Rahul Dravid was out, exposing their naked
communal nature. It showed us the emptiness of slogans like ‘Unity in
Diversity’.
9) Even today due to the caste division, a class of people becomes victim of
severe oppression by the people of the so-called ‘upper classes’. Most of them
are landless farmers. Some work in sandpits or illegal coalmines. Some work for
16 – 18 hours a day in stone quarries or brickfields. They are unorganized
laborers; so they are exploited to the utmost. If they even talk about their
normal rights, their employers’ private armies would attack their hutment to
teach them a lesson – by looting and setting fire to their shanties, raping or
killing their folks. This is the ancient Indian tradition.
This tradition began with the coming of the Aryans. The settlers were taught to
call the original inhabitants as ‘non-Aryans’, (‘Anarya’ = primitive men).
‘Untouchability’ is a punishable offence. In spite of that, in this 21st century,

atrocities in the name of caste-division are rampant all over India. Like a deadly
cancer it is destroying our nation from inside. ‘Untouchables’ are not supposed
to come near others of higher castes—so much so that even their shadows
48
should not touch them. They cannot take drinking water from common wells,
unless poured by some kind person from a distance into their pots and pans.
Great men like Gandhiji, Jyotirao Phule or Ambedkar had fought to establish
the rights of the ‘low-castes’, to give them right to live with human dignity. But
things have not changed. The poorest of the poor are still the so-called ‘low
castes’; they do not have the minimum dignity of life. Ambedkar struggled for
25 years and failed to change this immobile, inhuman religious custom
prevalent in India. Finally on 14 October, 1956, he, along with five hundred
thousand low-caste people, formally rejected Hinduism and converted to a
casteless
religion,
Buddhism.
In 1981, the
UNO in its
General
Assembly
declared that
any citizen of
a member
country of the
UN has the
right to
follow any
religion or
faith of his or
her choice. It
would be
acceptable to
the law of
that country.
But in spite of
all this, in
India, no law
Doctors protest reservation or no social
49
reform could save the poor classes from the traditional wrath and hatred of the
upper-caste citizens. In fact even if, in search of dignity they get converted to
Buddhism or Christianity, political parties like RSS or BJP or the people of
upper classes come down with vehement criticism or harassment for the
disgraceful act of conversion. The ruling party Congress did nothing but talk
big about ending the caste war; in reality it had no guts to raise its voice
against the oppressive private soldiers of rich landlords. The constitution says
it is the duty of the government to provide its people basic amenities – clear
drinking water, healthcare and education. After the utter failure to provide
infrastructure for earning two square meals a day to its citizens, in 2006, the
government is trying to declare a reservation of a quota of 49.9% seats in higher
education for Scheduled Castes, Tribes and other Backward Classes. What an
atrocious way to appease the poor, to increase the class distinction, to fool the
underprivileged! What is the intention of the government? Instead of providing
the basic facilities and justice, which would have increased the dignity of these
oppressed classes, it is enhancing the communal feeling and creating ground for
further communal disharmony. The more complicated this caste issue becomes,
the more the government will try to prove to the downtrodden – ‘we are
fighting for you’. Without giving the basic justice and primary education, to
reserve seats in higher studies is a ridiculous ‘tokenism’ aiming at misleading
and cheating the vast number of our poor underprivileged masses. All parties
are unanimous in this issue in their desire to gain votes.
# # #
10) An Imperialist nation by definition is one that prefers to increase its power
and control over other nations. And as a result, it is natural that the nations
under its power, economically or culturally oppressed by it, would carry on
their struggle for freedom. In most of the cases both the parties carry on
‘terrorist’ activities – this is history.
Most of us believe that emperors like Ashoka or Kanishka were great rulers.
They had vast empires. At the same time we condemn ‘imperialism’. Not only
Ashoka or Kanishka, most great kings wanted to increase their territory. Some
of them succeeded, some could not. So, to shout slogans against America –
‘DOWN, DOWN, IMPERIALISM’, and to say good things about Shivaji the
50
great king on his birthday in the same breath, is utter hypocrisy or sheer
foolishness.
The Bengali middle-class has an

inherent hatred for the word
‘imperialism’. Is the hatred really
against imperialism or is it that
they are allergic to ‘America’?
Probably the latter is true. The
name ‘USA’ gives them the creeps.
Even the media know about it. So
when it was evident during the
American elections that President
Bush would undoubtedly win, the
local papers like Anandabazar,
Pratidin or Ajkaal went on publishing anti-Bush propaganda by way of survey
reports saying that ‘Bush is losing popularity’, ‘Bush’s defeat is certain’ etc. The
papers knew how to please the middle-class and sell the papers. There need not
be any truth in the news. Later if the fact turns out to be just the opposite, it
would not matter. Our readers have poor memory.
Other English papers had published facts. They knew that printing fiction to
please the masses would bring down the credibility of their papers.
In most of the villages and towns of West Bengal we have these Bengali middle-
class for whom Imperialism = America. They cannot stretch their imagination
any further. Only to satisfy this populace our left front government goes on
holding meetings and making posters against ‘American Imperialism’. It
organizes 15 km long procession with tableau to make anti-American-
imperialism propaganda. War hungry America is betraying its imperialistic
character by sending troops to Afghanistan or Iraq.
When Iraq occupied Kuwait, the Left Front did not make even an inch-long
procession in protest. Why? When India sent their army to East Pakistan to help
them fight against West Pakistan, did it not expose its own imperialistic
character?
51
The citizens of this great nation probably do not know that: -
Article 1(3) (C) of the Constitution made it clear that the Union of India could
acquire foreign territory. Also, “one of the attributes of sovereignty is the
power to cede parts of national territory if necessary”. (In re the Berubari Union
AIR 1960 SC 845). The Union could also cede its territory subject to necessary
constitutional amendment (Maganbhai Ishwarbhai Patel v. Union Of India (1970) 3
SCC 100)
# # #
Let us not forget the fact that even when India was under the British rule, there
were states that maintained their free status against payment of taxes. They
were Kashmir, Manipur, Nagaland. But later India occupied all these states
using various strategies. Is it not a clear instance of Imperialism?
We can see the result of this forcible occupation in the continuous struggle
going on in these regions for freedom from this imperialistic rule. The
government of India says the people of those states are ‘terrorists’. The people
call themselves ‘freedom-fighters’.
In the India under British rule, fighters from Bhagat Singh to Khudiram – all
were termed as ‘terrorists’. But do we call them terrorists? Or are they patriotic
heroes in our eyes who were martyrs and gave us freedom?
In the end we can say that as long as there is imperialistic occupation and
oppression by the state, there would be ‘terrorism’ of the people for freedom.
Can we not tell the truth? Do we not have the courage to call a spade a spade?
Let us all rise above petty selfish gains and fight for justice—for us and for
others. Let us bring down this edifice of corruption and march towards a
better tomorrow.
It is difficult, but not impossible.
============================
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Terrorism: A Rational Point of View

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TERRORISM: A RATIONAL POINT OF VIEW

About the writers

Sumitra Padmanabhan, the General Secretary of Humanists’ Association is

TERRORISM: A RATIOAL POIT OF VIEW

Copyright: Prabir Ghosh

“Do you know? Even now in villages

Whom do we call a ‘Terrorist’?

The old enmity between the Christian

Now, we come to more recent incidents near our home:-

Incident 1: September 5, 2006; New Delhi. At a meeting of Chief Ministers,

Incident 2: September 5, 2006, Dhaka: In a strong reaction to Buddhadeb

Moreover, he says that at regular intervals terrible explosions have been

Incident 8: Pope has recently

As a result of Pope’s comment, a group of Islamic fundamentalists has announced

Incident 9: July 13, 2006. In the

State terror at andigram, carried out by the communist Government

hundred thousand villagers united irrespective of religion, caste and political

As per Wikipedia, the largest storehouse of information, Terrorism in the

to a lone attack), and deliberately target or utterly disregard the safety of

As a form of unconventional warfare,

Terrorism has been used by a broad array of political organizations in

An International Round Table on Constructing Peace, Deconstructing

The United States of America and Terrorism

The Defense Department of USA has defined ‘Terrorism’: - “The term

against non combatant targets by sub-national or clandestine agents,

Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) are foreign organizations that are

The Defense Department also defines the FTO or Foreign Terrorist

The Current List of Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations

1. Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)

15. Islamic Jihad Group

Section 212(a)(3)(B) of the INA defines “terrorist activity” to mean: “any

(i) The hijacking or sabotage of any conveyance (including an aircraft,

(ii) The seizing or detaining, and threatening to kill, injure, or continue

(iii) A violent attack upon an internationally protected person (as

(v) The use of any –

(a) Biological agent, chemical agent, or nuclear weapon or device,

(b) Explosive, firearm, or other weapon or dangerous device

(vi) A threat, attempt, or conspiracy to do any of the foregoing.

The Government of America – Father of Modern day Terrorism

The Controller of the modern Islamic terrorism is Al Quaida. Yes; and by

The Government of America started helping the Taliban group in various

At present ‘Al Quaida’ is spread over 34 countries. It is more a religious

The ‘terrorism’ created by Government of America by using Laden has now

Among those classified as ‘other countries’, most nations have divided

Sometimes we find that political parties and governments instigate people,

So, we see that

Among these 82 countries, our Great India is one.

These Terrorist States often push their terror-struck victims towards

A common opinion is on the rise that a large number of terrorists belong to

This forceful denial of legal rights of citizens is ‘terrorism’. Be it extortion

Let us study some recent incidents near our homes:-

a) July 2006: In the ancient Madhav College of Ujjain in M.P., Professor

b) July 2006: Saumik, a student of Shibpur Bengal Engineering College in

d) July 2006: The Vice Chancellor of Meerut University received a complaint

These are examples to show the spread of ‘terrorism’ in all levels of

A report: A sample that shows the intensity of crimes committed by the

Anandabazar Patrika (20 June 2002) gave a detailed report in Bengali by

June 19, 2002: When he was 14, he was picked up and

In Anna’s calculation, there

What is ‘Salba Judum’? An anti-Naxalite people’s movement?

‘Salba Judum’ or ‘Peace Movement’ is a spontaneous people’s upheaval against

A team of 14 went to Chhattishgarh to investigate into the truth about these

The gist of the joint report is that

TERRORISM: A RATIOAL POIT OF VIEW

State terror at andigram, carried out by the communist Government