Mumbai attack is a big question

Mumbai attack is a big question
4th December 2010
(This is a response from Mr Farhan Qutab to my lettter of 26th Nov. 2010)

K. B. Kale’s letter on Nov. 26 reminds us of the tragedy that befell Mumbai a couple of years ago.
Whatever we have heard from both sides, i.e. Pakistan and India, it is believed that non-state actors were involved in the incident. Whoever was responsible for the attack and whatever the underlying truth, the fact remains that it was a thoroughly condemnable act.
But Kale has missed out on the most interesting part of the whole episode. Remember when senior congress leaders were all engaged in taunting Pakistan for the Nov. 26 attacks, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Singh Modi, a staunch supporter of Hindu nationalism, hinted at an internal hand in the terror strikes.
“If we single out that one incident [of the Mumbai attacks] and ask any person in this country, even with basic information and knowledge they will say that such a big terror attack on India cannot take place without any internal help from the nation itself.”
This is what Modi told a national meeting of the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Nagpur in early 2009. This was nothing short of bursting the bubble of conviction among the top Indian leaders that the attacks were orchestrated from abroad.
Were those elements “from the nation itself” ever brought to book, well never! Why, nobody knows. It may be that it would have shifted the blame from Pakistan and placed much of the onus on India in sorting out the matter.
The abolition of Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) senior officer Hemant Karkare and two of his colleagues in the Mumbai attacks is also a big question mark. The ATS had interrogated the infamous Col Purohit who had confessed to bombing the Samjhota express, something the Indian government had earlier contributed to Pakistan’s premiere intelligence agency. Reportedly the ones who shot Karkare and his aides were speaking fluent Marathi, just a co-incidence perhaps.
India is no doubt a great democratic nation, the people there unlike any other in the world have the courage to ask questions about their own government and leaders. The people must have asked: Who was the internal hand in the conspiracy behind the Mumbai attack; how come Karkare was the first one to die in the Mumbai attacks?
It is democracy in India that has allowed a person like Arundhati Roy to make utterances such as that Kashmir has “never been an integral part of India” and that India should get out of Kashmir. But questions are 50 percent of democracy, answers make up the other half, so the answers should also see the light of the day. The Mumbai attacks is a big question, Pakistan is not the answer, the answer lies within India.
Farhan Qutab, Islamabad
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Post Comments | Comments (1)
K B Kale, Jakarta | Thu, 16/12/2010 - 12:12pm
At the outset I thank Mr Farhan Qutab for showing his sympathy for the innocents in Mumbai who lost their lives. I am also thankful to him for not raking up Darbar Sahib Issue. Perhaps somebody reminded him of a similar event back home? But we Indians never discuss such issues which are painful to remember.
I am also thankful to Mr Farhan Qutab for writing this as a ‘solo’ letter because earlier he often wrote such letters jointly with Mr Faraz Liaquat, sometime from Jakarta and sometimes from Islamabad. I don’t know who provided ideas and who wrote them down! Or who wrote the first half and who wrote the concluding part!! I have often wondered whether these were written by neither of them but somebody else!
Coming to Mr Narendra Modi’s statement, Mr Modi was referring to our own Faisal Shahzads. The Indians who helped this terrorists’ gang from Pakistan were 'Faisal Shahzad's of India! The very people in Pakistan who can recruit gullible youths to become suicide bombers that are currently playing havoc in Pakistan can unfortunately recruit similar gullible, misguided youths in India too. So there is no element of surprise there. Unfortunately, we do have these Faisals in our country and these 0.1% Faisals spoil the good names of rest of the 99.9% of their own brethren.
Kasab sang like a proverbial canary and admitted every charge leveled against him, but with the help of a lawyer provided by India, he changed his plea. Our lower court tried Kasab and found him guilty. He was given the capital punishment. Our judicial system is fair. So I believe that he must have been found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
But as he was given capital punishment, as per our law, it has to be confirmed by the High Court. So his case is being tried there and is presently sub-judice. Bombay High Court will examine all issues including the question of who shot Late Mr. Karkare! So I prefer to wait till the verdict of the Bombay High Court is out.
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