Thoughts from Mumbai: A Return to Gandhi’s Dream for India

http://thewip.net/contributors/2008/12/thoughts_from_mumbai_a_return.html

Rupa Chinai
- India -


In the aftermath of Mumbai’s most recent encounter with terrorism, there is the feeling of isolation felt by those pleading for sense and reason. These voices are being drowned out amidst the jingoism and war cries of an “eye for an eye” currently heard on the streets of the city.

In this chilling environment of unreason, I wonder what would be the reaction to people like me, who feel pity for the path chosen by young men like Ajmal Kasab, the only surviving terrorist from the attacks? This sentiment does not seek to justify the heinous crimes he committed or protect him from the punishment he deserves through the due process of law. But how can one find the words to urge people to understand the context from which youth such as Ajmal develop and how civilized society must respond to the challenges they pose?



• Many in India call for peace in response to the November 26th terrorist attacks on Mumbai. •The newspapers here have gleaned information from Ajmal’s interrogations in police custody and reveal that he hails from Faridkot village, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The BBC and Pakistan TV channels have shown Ajmal’s family home, the school where he studied until class four, his father and other villagers who confirmed Ajmal’s links with them. We learned that Ajmal’s training with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (a militant group that seeks the liberation of Indian occupied Kashmir) led to his becoming a crack commando with skills in urban guerrilla warfare. We even know the names of some of the people who trained him.


The Pakistan government responded by bluntly denying Ajmal’s Pakistani nationality, cordoning off Faridkot village and whisking away his family. It has denied Indian government allegations of ISI involvement in terrorist training. This response, apart from inviting Indian ire, has drawn flak from within Pakistan, in particular from Nawaz Sharif, former Pakistan Prime Minister and leader of the opposition.

These reports however, give key insights into how militancy has found a base within Pakistan. They reveal that the militant groups are the only ones imparting skills and professional training to these poor, rural youth, creating illusions of having provided their lives with meaning in an existence otherwise steeped in poverty and misery.

Ajmal has reportedly spoken to the Mumbai police about some of these illusions – he believed that he was on a mission that would earn him a place in jannat (heaven) and in the annals of those who have died for the cause of Islam. He also reportedly said that his sponsors promised to pay Rupees one and a half lakhs (US$3,165) to his family upon completion of his successful suicide mission.

But now from the grave reality of his prison cell, Ajmal has apparently begun to lose some of his swagger and arrogance. We catch glimpses of a young man so typical of those we see in the sub-continent, fascinated by Amitabh Bachhan films and who fancies himself as a hero. It is perhaps this human spark that has kept Ajmal alive when the more hardened of his ilk would swallow a cyanide pill rather than face capture.

As the media tells us about the human face of this terrorist, my thoughts turn to the society that nurtured him. What is one to think of Pakistan’s failure to provide its youth with positive directions, access to skills and a knowledge base that would help them to live meaningful lives? Why did their communities allow mercenaries, masked as men of religion and god, to access their children and brainwash them into the jihad cult?

Meanwhile, are we in India any better off? Do we really believe that hanging terrorists without a trial (because our criminal justice system is imperfect) or arming ourselves with more draconian laws and modern weaponry will make India a safer place? Do we not display our own barbarism every time we question the patriotism of India’s Muslims and attack our minorities? How can we ordinary citizens respond to this situation? Shouldn’t we stop and consider our own unique role? In my mind, this introspection has proven wholly inadequate, and yet represents our only source of real hope. Does the land of Gandhi have nothing more to offer the world as a solution to this situation?

And has our electronic media learned anything from the mistakes made during its coverage of the last terrorist attack? Just a few days ago the Indian government released guidelines for media coverage of terrorist attacks, and yet a Hindi television news channel flouted these norms to grab its latest scoop by broadcasting leaked footage of Ajmal's interrogation by American FBI agents.

With Ajmal’s case now awaiting trial, direct display of his testimony when he has no defense lawyer to guide or protect him, is surely sub judice (under judgment) and prejudicial to the trial. Apart from the impact it could have on public opinion, it could very well pose a grave threat to his safety.

Describing Mumbai’s response in the weeks after the terrorist strike, filmmaker Anand Patwardhan writes, “Terror is a self-fulfilling prophecy. It thrives on reaction, polarization, militarization and thirst for revenge.”

The first victims of this ever-hardening stance are our own neglected and marginalized minorities in rural, tribal and peripheral India. Denied access to justice and blotted out by the media, these alienated sections have turned to violence when they had no other recourse. Without any attempt to listen to their grievances or respect their right to have a dissenting viewpoint and initiate dialogue – an approach that would have won hearts and minds - India has sought to equate them with anti-nationals and terrorists.

Like Kashmir on the western flank, the north-east border states have been engulfed in insurgency and a fratricidal guerilla war since India’s independence. Many of these conflicts are the freedom struggles of small nationalities who believe they have a historical right to determine their own destiny and who have bravely held on to their convictions despite being stamped upon by the might of India. Others have erupted in turmoil and violence because of their neglect by New Delhi, by the loss of their economic, political and cultural identity.

Ordinary people and civil society groups in the north-east, particularly in Nagaland, have often spoken of the need to go beyond New Delhi and reach out to ordinary people in the rest of India. They believe that when there is widespread pressure created by a sensitized Indian public opinion, only then can political solutions begin to emerge. According to my friends who have worked in the region, this plea also comes from the people of Kashmir.

A network of women journalists and writers across India has already mobilized in response to the initiative of young Manipuri women journalists. Early next year, they will attend a meeting in Imphal, Manipur, a state adjoining Burma, where the writ of India simply holds no sway. Its people have lived with urban guerilla warfare for more than a decade and insecurity, extortion, kidnapping and violent death is a daily part of their lives. For most of the visiting journalists, it will be their first visit to this sensitive border area long ignored by mainstream Indian media. It will be an expensive journey and most will spend money from their own pockets because of their deep sense of conviction and desire to learn from the local people.

I hope it will be the first of many such efforts, where we systematically endeavor to include these sections of society, knowing that they in turn have much to teach us about what is important in life. Irrespective of what political solutions evolve for the north-east or Kashmir, we will always remain neighbors and that is a good enough starting point for dialogue. It is through such initiatives that we come back to Gandhi’s dream of an India whose strength lies in its service to its weaker and marginalized populations.

In the present cacophony emanating from Mumbai, thankfully there are some quiet and thoughtful voices calling for ordinary Indians to consider our own minority and marginalized communities. Can we, the privileged Indians - who have skills, education, and a voice - play some role in creating the platforms for dialogue to address common concerns? India is a house divided by caste, class, race, religion and politics, which has made us all vulnerable to attack. Can we create social support systems to deal with their genuine and long suppressed grievances? Will we help our youth find an alternative to violence?




Photograph by flickr user zedvox used under Creative Commons licenses.



About the Author
Rupa Chinai is an independent journalist based in Mumbai, India. She has been writing on health and development issues for the past 25 years and her work has appeared in some of India's leading English language daily newspapers and websites as well as foreign publications. Her basic education was obtained in Mumbai and opportunities for further studies and exposure came through prestigious awards such as a journalism fellowship from the Harvard School of Public Health in the US, amongst others. She is co-author of a book on rural women's health issues and is currently engaged in writing a book on northeast India, based on 20 years of travel and work in that region.



Tags:India Kashmir Mumbai Opinion Pakistan Peace Terrorism War