Terror strikes India again
WE condemn the dastardly act of violence perpetrated on innocent people in a series of bomb blast in Delhi on September 13. We condole the death of 25 and sympathise with 100 people who were injured. An indigenous terrorist group calling themselves 'Indian Mujahideen' has claimed responsibility for the attacks. This is the same group that had claimed to have carried out the recent attacks in Ahmedabad and Jaipur.
The group claimed that, "The Indian Mujahideen -- the jehadi militia of Islam -- have once again attacked to make you face the disastrous consequences of the injustice and oppression inflicted upon the Muslims all over the country," in their handout. It has almost dared the Indian government to take action against them. Their grievances, they say, stem from the events of Ayodha, of Gujarat, and of the killings of Christians in Orissa.
It is a pity that such a grisly and senseless mayhem has been carried out by a group claiming to be followers of a religion that has emphasised nothing more vigorously than renunciation of violence in resolving differences. It is even more poignant that the bombings were carried out in the Holy month of Ramadan, a month of peace and prayer. True Muslims will not have any hesitation in disassociating themselves from groups like this that bring nothing but calumny to Islam.
It is good to see the absence of the usual knee-jerk reaction of the Indian intelligence and the media as in the past instances, putting the blame on the neighbour without any substantive evidence. We would hope that the Indian law enforcing agencies would be able to go to the bottom of the incident and apprehend the perpetrators.
Events in India ring a very familiar bell in Bangladesh. If not of the same intensity, we too had been the victim of serial bomb blasts carried out by religious extremists. There are disconcerting reports that these elements are regrouping -- that leaves no room for euphoria that we have seen the end of the fanatics who chose violence over reason, who kill innocent people without remorse -- all in the name of religion.
It needs little emphasis that terrorism is no longer a local phenomenon. Whatever be the hue of the terrorists and the reasons for their germination, they straddle international borders, if nothing else than for warped ideological regions. This must be stimulus enough for the regional countries to seriously contemplate sharing resources to address the scourge.
Without a common focus, the phenomenon may engulf the region inextricably.
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