December 06, 2015
Array

Thinking Together

While condemning the Hindutva communal elements' attacks and killings of innocent people (as in case of Dadri lynching), the Party is using the word Hindutva elements or outfits responsible for those atrocities. But in the case of Jihadi or ISIS killing people in Paris, the statement issued by the Party condemning the attack does not name them as ISIS or Jihadi or Muslim fundamentalist forces etc, but simply stated as terrorist attack. Though naming the US or others as responsible for the growth of the terrorists is correct, why the Party is reluctant to name the terrorist attack as Muslim fundamentalist attack? This is giving scope for the Hindutva forces to campaign that the Party is interested in naming the terrorist as Hindutva forces if the terrorism is of Hindutva elements, but not interested in naming the terrorists as Muslim terrorists or Jihadi terrorists if the terrorism is from such jihadi elements. This may please be clarified.

 

P Asokababu, Hyderabad

 

YOU are right in pointing out that in our statement on the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, we have simply condemned terrorists, without identifying them specifically as ISIS or Jihadi or Muslim terrorists/fundamentalists. But to read into that any hesitation or reluctance to identify terrorists as such, will not be correct. And to deduce from that any policy or pattern of naming only Hindutva terrorists as such and not doing so in case of their Islamic counterparts will be even further away from the truth.

Though condemning all terrorist acts with equal vehemence, CPI(M), normally does identify the terror groups by name or creed they claim to identify with. At the same time we always try to ensure that terrorists are not identified with an entire community. We normally use terms like 'Islamist' or 'Hindutva' which denote a politicised (mis)use of religion or religious community. As distinct from religious identities, these are basically political identities. This distinction should not be lost sight of.

We do not take side between communalism and fundamentalism as we see them as only helping each other and weakening democratic forces by dividing people. The Political Resolution of 21st Party Congress leaves on doubts in this regard and underlines: "The onslaught of the Hindutva forces and their attacks on minorities are creating conditions for the rise of extremist and fundamentalist forces in the minority community. Therefore attention should be paid to combat minority communalism, which again helps to strengthen the majority communal forces.”

The CPI(M) statement you have referred to was actually adopted at the Party Central Committee meeting, then sitting in Delhi. As the statement was drafted only a few hours after the attacks with only sketchy information available, it could not have identified or named the groups responsible for the same. You will appreciate that same cannot be said about generally linking it with consequences of the US and Western military interventions in West Asia.

Still in Indian context we cannot ignore the necessity of specially underlining the threat of Hindutva extremists. The Hindutva propaganda machine is working overtime to use terrorism also as a tool for its anti-minority and specially anti-Muslim hate campaign. They try to identify Islam and terror with a common refrain that 'all Muslims may not be terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslim'. Identifying Hindutva terrorists by name, acts against such communal branding of Muslims. When Hindutva forces complain of us being interested in naming Hindutva terrorists only, they actually show their frustration on being denied an opportunity to identify Muslims and Islam with terrorism.