Zero Tolerance to Terrorism

In the wake of the Jaipur bomb blasts, we are seeing the same sickening drama all over again. Sample this gem from our honourable Home Minister Shivraj Patil: "Their aim (to create communal disturbances) has been thwarted. The people of Jaipur have not allowed their nefarious design to succeed." Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh have also made similar statements. This is not new. They sing this same tune after every terrorist attack.

This government seems to believe – and want us to believe – that the sole aim of the terrorists is to incite communal riots. So as long as there are no communal riots after a terrorist attack, everything is fine and we have won. It doesn't matter how many bombs go off or how many Indians are killed. All that matters is that there should be no communal riots. How convenient. How sickening.

Pranab Mukherjee's call for "zero tolerance to terrorism" looks like a stupid joke in this context. All this is testing the patience of Indians. By God's grace (and the good sense of Indians) there have been no communal riots after a terrorist attack till now. With one exception: Godhra. God forbid there should be another Gujarat 2002. But that is exactly what is going to happen if things continue like this.

Here's a suggestion to Sonia-Manmohan-Shivraj. Why not assume that the aim of the terrorists is not to cause communal riots, but just to kill Indians? Period. Because that's what they are doing (and they are doing it very well). With this change in attitude, the picture should look a little differently to Sonia-Manmohan-Shivraj. Every time a bomb goes off, we lose. Every time a bullet is fired, we lose. Every time an Indian is killed, or even hurt, we lose. This is what is meant by zero tolerance to terrorism, Pranabji. This is the mindset needed to win the war on terror.

But the UPA is not interested in trivial things like winning the war on terror and protecting the life of the "aam aadmi". They are worried about more important things like the elections. I repeat: there is a limit to the patience (and good sense) of Indians. If the current state of affairs continues, we will see an eruption that will make the Gujarat riots look like a picnic. No Indian wants that. Let us pray that our rulers come to their senses – before it is too late.