09-09-2006, 02:27 AM
<b>Malegaon Blasts - What are the implications ?</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Multiple blasts in Malegaon in Maharashtra have killed 37 people. Nearly 200 people have been injured in the blasts. Most of those injured are children. The injured have been taken to different hospitals, including Farhan Hospital, Ali Akbar Hospital, the Rural Hospital of Malegaon and Medicare Hospital. Also, around 125 injured people have been admitted at Wadia Hospital. Reports also state that minors have been killed in the stampede after the blasts. There are conflicting reports on the number of blasts. Two of the bombs were planted on cycles, while the third was put in a bouquet outside the masjid. The local police have added that the first two blasts took place at Bada Kabristan, which was followed by one at Mushaberat Chowk.
The blasts have taken place after Friday prayers on the Muslim religious day of Shab-e-barat, a festival where the local Muslim community visits cemeteries to offer prayers for the dead. Malegaon with a 75% muslim population has a history of communal violence. Malegaon has also been in the news recently in the run up to the Terrorist attack on Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Headquarters in Nagpur. On May 10, 2006, 30 kg of RDX was found in Ellora near Aurangabad. A few days later, a small quantity of RDX was recovered in Malegaon from a local doctor's residence and a small amount of RDX was also recovered from Nashik district.
Today's events in Malegaon raise many questions. First being the choice of a known communal hotspot in interior Maharashtra. The second being the location and timing of the blasts during Friday prayers and more specifically on a religious day when an unusually large number of people congregated in the mosques. The third being the general environment in the Nashik district in the months leading upto the blasts. The blasts come on a day when police in neighboring Andhra Pradesh seized around 600 rocket missiles in Mahbubnagar allegedly on their way to Naxalites. <b>Clearly the Manmohan Singh Government's hands off approach to internal security is not working.</b>
Coming back to Malegaon and its implications. The first and foremost is the message that needs to go across to all those in the media, the political spectrum and leaders within the Muslim Community that Terrorism does not distinguish between Hindu or Muslim. We are all united in the resolve to fight and win against terrorism. The second implication of the blasts in Malegaon is who did it ? Conspiracy theories are bound to be floated on whether it was a Pakistan sponsored Islamo Fascist attempt to destablizing India and polarizing religious relations or if it was a local extremist inspired act to settle old communal scores or if it was local politics exploiting the free flow of arms and explosives to advance some local vested interests. <b>In the left of center politico-correct internal security environment it is highly unlikely we will ever learn the true underpinnings of the 35 deaths in Malegaon. The communally charged history of Malegaon and the terrorist trails leading into it on the one hand and the 75% muslim population on the other will most likely fuel either conspiracy theory at the expense of the truth.</b>
<b>The politics of Malegaon provides an interesting insight into the town. Until the last assembly election Malegaon was not represented by any of the mainstream parties of Maharashtra be it the BJP or Congress or Shiv Sena (not much chance of that) or the NCP. It was represented by one NIHAL AHMED MOHAMED USMAN of the Janta Party and then subsequently Janata dal from 1978 to 1999. This is the same MLA who had lead a rally in protest of the Babri Masjid Demolition back in the 90s which triggered violent communal riots in the city. The last 2 elections saw the Congress nominee SHAIKH RASHID SHAIKH SHAFI defeating him by quite a convincing margin. While investigation agencies sought through the aftermath of the blasts in Malegaon, the local political angle must be scrutinized thoroughly to rule out any foul play. </b>
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The blasts have taken place after Friday prayers on the Muslim religious day of Shab-e-barat, a festival where the local Muslim community visits cemeteries to offer prayers for the dead. Malegaon with a 75% muslim population has a history of communal violence. Malegaon has also been in the news recently in the run up to the Terrorist attack on Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Headquarters in Nagpur. On May 10, 2006, 30 kg of RDX was found in Ellora near Aurangabad. A few days later, a small quantity of RDX was recovered in Malegaon from a local doctor's residence and a small amount of RDX was also recovered from Nashik district.
Today's events in Malegaon raise many questions. First being the choice of a known communal hotspot in interior Maharashtra. The second being the location and timing of the blasts during Friday prayers and more specifically on a religious day when an unusually large number of people congregated in the mosques. The third being the general environment in the Nashik district in the months leading upto the blasts. The blasts come on a day when police in neighboring Andhra Pradesh seized around 600 rocket missiles in Mahbubnagar allegedly on their way to Naxalites. <b>Clearly the Manmohan Singh Government's hands off approach to internal security is not working.</b>
Coming back to Malegaon and its implications. The first and foremost is the message that needs to go across to all those in the media, the political spectrum and leaders within the Muslim Community that Terrorism does not distinguish between Hindu or Muslim. We are all united in the resolve to fight and win against terrorism. The second implication of the blasts in Malegaon is who did it ? Conspiracy theories are bound to be floated on whether it was a Pakistan sponsored Islamo Fascist attempt to destablizing India and polarizing religious relations or if it was a local extremist inspired act to settle old communal scores or if it was local politics exploiting the free flow of arms and explosives to advance some local vested interests. <b>In the left of center politico-correct internal security environment it is highly unlikely we will ever learn the true underpinnings of the 35 deaths in Malegaon. The communally charged history of Malegaon and the terrorist trails leading into it on the one hand and the 75% muslim population on the other will most likely fuel either conspiracy theory at the expense of the truth.</b>
<b>The politics of Malegaon provides an interesting insight into the town. Until the last assembly election Malegaon was not represented by any of the mainstream parties of Maharashtra be it the BJP or Congress or Shiv Sena (not much chance of that) or the NCP. It was represented by one NIHAL AHMED MOHAMED USMAN of the Janta Party and then subsequently Janata dal from 1978 to 1999. This is the same MLA who had lead a rally in protest of the Babri Masjid Demolition back in the 90s which triggered violent communal riots in the city. The last 2 elections saw the Congress nominee SHAIKH RASHID SHAIKH SHAFI defeating him by quite a convincing margin. While investigation agencies sought through the aftermath of the blasts in Malegaon, the local political angle must be scrutinized thoroughly to rule out any foul play. </b>
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