Terror in the Temple

The holy city of Varanasi witnessed horrific acts of terror last night which shook not only the city but the entire nation. Holy sites in India have often been made soft targets for extremists and their ultimate goal of fuelling communal tensions have so far failed. A list of past attacks shows that most Hindu sites revered by the Hindus like Akshardham, Ayodhya, Varanasi and others have featured regularly on terror plots. Coupled with soft targets like markets and railway stations like in New Delhi, Mumbai and Varanasi show the coward and merciless nature of the menace. The Varanasi bombings also confirm that the nation's fight against terror has a long way to go before we start calling it a mission accomplished. But, there is also a sense of helplessness that one encounters along with the rage when we see the blood and gore of repeated incidents. When will get rid of terror? Is there an end in sight? I am afraid the answer is a definitive “No“. There are times when I drive and feel the bus next to me might blow up! Does that mean the terrorists are winning? No, but their threat is clear and present.

The other big political question this attack brings to light is that of the law and order situation in UP. Recent months have pointed to the state government encouraging communal tensions and giving a free hand to goons (read ministers) to carry out fatwas, religious tensions, riots and hate crimes. The Mau riots last year had Mukhtar Ansari, a supporter of Mulayam running amok. Recently, the Bush visit had stormy protests organised by various groups which turned violent and ultimately four people lost their lives. Then there was the case of the cabinet minister issuing a Fatwa against the Danish cartoonist and lastly the wife of an AICC member was shot in broad daylight barely metres away from the SSP's office in downtown Lucknow. It is high time that the Government takes view of the situation and either dismiss the Government in UP or take some cencrete steps. Their mere ploy of complaining of the law and order situation and still tacitly supporting the Governemt reeks of hypocrisy. The time is correct to make the state government accountable for a situation in a state where the rule of law seems to have all but disappeared. With criminals in the Government chances of some sanity in terms of the law are fanciful. At a time when the situation in UP has been compared with that Bihar and when the Varanasi attacks do hold the threat of an eruption in communal violence, the Government must act fast or else watch another carnage in the making.