Hindu terrorism, (also known asHindutva terrorism[1] orsaffron terror[2]) refers toterrorist acts carried out on the basis of motivations in broad association withHindu nationalism orHindutva.[3][4]
The phenomenon became a topic of contentious political discourse in the aftermath of the 2007–2008 attacks, which targetedPakistanis andMuslims inIndia, where the accused were members, or alleged members, of Hindu nationalist organisations such asRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) orAbhinav Bharat.[5][6][7][8]
While the perpetrators have consistently justified these acts by their Hindu faith, some writers prefer to use the term "Hindutva terrorism".[citation needed] Writer and activist Subhash Ghatade asserts that "most critics" have avoided describing the term as "Hindu terrorism" and instead talked about "Hindutva terrorism".[3] Political scientistJyotirmaya Sharma argues that "there is no Hindu terrorism" because the perpetrators do not represent the Hindu faith.[14]
According to the journalist and BJP leaderBalbir Punj, the term "Hindu terror" was invented and used by the Congress party in the aftermath of the 2007–2008 incidents in order to denounce the party's political opposition as terrorists.[15] In the 2018 bookHindu Terror: Insider Account of Ministry of Home Affairs, Ramaswamy Venkata Subra Mani, a former officer in the Home Ministry, alleged that theUnited Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had forced Home Ministry officials to manufacture a narrative about the presence of "Hindu terror".[16]
"Saffron terror"
The term "saffron terror" was coined in 2002 by the Indian journalistPraveen Swami after the2002 Gujarat riots,[17][18] and gained popularity in the aftermath of the 2007–2008 attacks which targeted Pakistanis and Muslims and were reportedly instigated by people affiliated with Hindu nationalist organisations like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Abhinav Bharat.[5][6][7] The term comes from the symbolic use of thesaffron colour by many Hindu nationalist organisations.[19][20][21][22]
Several analysts and commentators have said that the term was being used as asmear tactic against the political opponents of Congress in the aftermath of the attacks.[23][6][7] Kanchan Gupta andSwapan Dasgupta have said that investigators of the attacks were using the term "saffron terror" in their statements to the media to promote the agenda of the Congress.[24][25]
Former Home Minister of India and Congress memberP. Chidambaram urged Indians to beware of "saffron terror" during an August 2010 meeting of state police chiefs in New Delhi;[26] his remark met with backlash from politicians and Hindu religious figures.[27][28][29]
Twin blasts shook two coaches of theSamjhauta Express around midnight on 18 February 2007. Sixty-eight people were killed in the ensuing fire and dozens were injured.[30] It was originally linked toAbhinav Bharat, a Hindu fundamentalist group.[31] On 8 January 2011,Swami Aseemanand, apracharak of theRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), made a confession that he had been involved in the bombing of Samjhauta Express[32] - a statement he later said was made under duress.[33][34]
There have also been allegations thatLashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) was responsible for the bombings.[35] The United States and subsequently the United Nations Security Council added Arif Qasmani, a Pakistani national and LeT financier, to their sanction lists, stating that he had facilitated the bombings.[36][37][38][39]
On 20 March 2019, Special NIA court acquitted all four accused. "The NIA Special Court has concluded that the investigating agency has failed to prove the conspiracy charge and ruled that accused deserve a benefit of doubt", NIA Counsel RK Handa said.[40][41]
The Ajmer Dargah blast occurred on 11 October 2007, outside theDargah (shrine) ofSufi saintMoinuddin Chishti inAjmer, Rajasthan, allegedly by theHindutva organisationRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its groups.[42][43][44] On 22 October 2010, five accused perpetrators, of which four said to belong to the RSS, were arrested in connection with the blast.[45][46] Swami Aseemanand, in his confession, implicated the then General SecretaryMohan Bhagwat for ordering the terrorist strike.[47] Bhavesh Patel, another accused in the bombings, has corroborated these statements but later claimed that theHome MinisterSushilkumar Shinde and some other Congress leaders forced him to implicate the RSS leaders.[48]
On 8 March 2017, a specialNational Investigation Agency court in Jaipur found guilty three accused, Bhavesh Patel, Devendra Gupta, and Sunil Joshi (who was murdered in 2007).[49] Both Patel and Gupta were awarded life imprisonments and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively.Swami Aseemanand and 6 other accused were acquitted, giving them the "benefit of doubt".[50]
On 29 September 2008, three bombs exploded in the States ofGujarat andMaharashtra killing 8 persons and injuring 80. During the investigation in Maharashtra, the Hindu extremist groupAbhinav Bharat was found to be responsible for the blasts.[51][Note 2] Three of the arrested persons were identified as SadhviPragya Singh Thakur,[52][53] Shiv Narayan Gopal Singh Kalsanghra and Shyam Bhawarlal Sahu. All three were produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate's court inNashik, which remanded them to custody till 3 November.[54] On 28 October, theShiv Sena, came out in support of the accused saying that the arrests were merely political in nature. Lending credence to this, the party chief,Uddhav Thackeray, pointed out a potentialconflict of interest in political rivalry as theNationalist Congress Party (NCP) controlled the relevant ministry.[55] NIA, National Investigation Agency, has found no evidence against Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and it has recommended the court to drop all charges against her.[56][57] following which the Bombay High Court granted bail to Pragya Thakur on 22 April 2017.[58][59]
The Army officer Prasad Shrikant Purohit was also accused of being involved in the blast.[60] His counsel alleged that he was being falsely framed for political reasons because he has intelligence data of a sensitive nature pertaining to the operations ofStudents Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and Pakistan'sInter-Services Intelligence, which could embarrass some quarters.[61]
Reportedly, the terms "Hindu terror" and "saffron terror" were used to describe this event in mainstream Indian media.[62] In an analysis of the security situation during this period,B. Raman referred to acts of alleged reprisal terrorism by Hindus, criticizing "politicisation andcommunalisation of the investigative process" as leading to a "paralysis of the investigation machinery."[63]
In the aftermath of the attacks,Rajnath Singh, the then president of theBharatiya Janata Party's (BJP), spoke of a "political conspiracy" aimed at the "vilification ofHindu saints and army officers in the name of Hindu terrorism".[64]
The IndianHome SecretaryR. K. Singh said that at least 10 people having close links with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliated organisations were named accused in various acts of terror across India.[69]
According to released documents byWikiLeaks, Congress(I) party's general secretaryRahul Gandhi remarked to US AmbassadorTim Roemer, at a luncheon hosted by Prime Minister of India at his residence in July 2009, that the RSS was a "bigger threat" to India than theLashkar-e-Taiba.[70] At The Annual Conference of Director Generals of Police held in New Delhi on 16 September 2011, a special director of theIntelligence Bureau (IB) reportedly informed the state police chiefs that Hindutva activists have either been suspected or are under investigation in 16 incidents of bomb blasts in the country.[71][72]
^The BJP criticised these statements and filed a complaint with theElection Commission of India, citing it as a violation of theModel Code of Conduct. The Election Commission issued a show-cause notice to Singh on this complaint.[13]
^Material seized during house arrests has shown that the Hindu militants who were responsible for this attack were all members of a new group, Abhinav Bharat, which resorted to violent action to resist the Islamists by emulating them.[51]
^"ARIF QASMANI".United Nations Security Council.Qasmani has worked with LeT to facilitate terrorist attacks, including the July 2006 train bombing in Mumbai, India, and the February 2007 Samjota Express bombing in Panipat, India.
^Samanta, Pranab Dhal (9 January 2011)."Curious case of Qasmani, who US, UN named in bombing".The Indian Express. Retrieved9 March 2013.In return for Qasmani's support, Al-Qaida provided him with operatives to support the July 2006 train bombing in Mumbai, India, and the February 2007 Samjota Express bombing in Panipat, India. Qasmani also facilitated the movement of Al-Qaida personnel out of Afghanistan in 2001", states the UN's narrative summary justifying the action against Qasmani. The US justification is similar.
Andersen, Walter K. (2019).The brotherhood in saffron : the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Hindu revivalism. Noida, Uttar Pradesh: Penguin Random House India Private Limited.ISBN9789353055318.
