Quiz Time: Spot the terrorist

With the Centre flirting with the Narendra Modi model, don't rule out the possibility of bombs, masterminds and encounters fuzzing the distinction between ‘secular' and ‘communal' parties in the days to come

Hardnews Bureau Delhi

On August 17, Gujarat's pugnacious chief minister, Narendra Modi, found a willing audience in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Modi got 20 minutes with the PM to explain to him the threat Islamic terror represented by the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and its alleged new avatar, Indian Mujahiddeen (IM), posed to the nation. So enthralled and impressed was the PM with Modi and his information about the shadowy world of the Mujahideen that he summoned National Security Advisor (NSA) MK Narayanan to join him.

A triumphant Modi later told the media that he had used this meeting to caution the PM of the looming threat of terror attacks in other Indian cities and the compelling need to first pass the Gujarat anti-terror act and later to replicate it all over the country. The NSA became an instant convert to Modi's prescription to enact a tough terror law in the country. Terror was militarising mindsets and the country's first cop was the first to fall for it.
Subsequently, Modi also informed that he had cautioned the PM about the impending terror strikes in Delhi and other areas. So when the bombs
blew up in Delhi killing 25 people and maiming scores of others, a pumped-up Modi had a reason
to claim vindication.

Although it is fine if there is intelligence and wisdom-sharing among politicians, what is really bizarre is the manner in which Modi emerged from the meeting with the impression that his intrepid police had cracked the nation-wide terror network and he had been able to achieve more than a foundering Central government could ever dream of. Nothing could be further from truth.

The arrest of Azamgarh-based Mufti Abu Bashir and ten others was not just the enterprise of the Gujarat police, but it was facilitated by the intelligence provided by central agencies (read the Intelligence Bureau (IB)). What is really intriguing was the manner in which Modi was allowed to put his stamp on the terror probe and reinforce his image as the alpha male capable of saving the god-fearing Hindus from the fangs of Islamic terror. No one would really own it up in the central government, but Modi was given legitimacy for his past and present actions that had not been given before.

What does this really mean? Is Manmohan Singh playing smart politics by deepening the cleavage between BJP's prime ministerial aspirant, LK Advani, and the new mascot of aggressive nationalist Hindutva chauvinism, Narendra Modi, by giving the young pretender greater attention and respect? Or is there more to it than meets the eye?

The truth is that Islamic terror is re-shaping alliances, both geo-politically as well as domestically. It is allowing people like Narendra Modi, trashed for many years for his dubious role during the Gujarat carnage, to repackage himself and step out as a strong leader whom the country awaits. What we are also witnessing in a certain way is the firming up of alliances between the ruling elite within the country as well as outside to take on what are perceived as forces of social disruption. The recipe for countering these forces is use of more police, strengthening intelligence network and tougher terror laws rather than strengthening law-based institutions that dispense justice fairly and objectively. Also, such a strategy does not include attempts to bring about inclusive development in society - a fact so glaringly brought out by the Sachar Committee report.