Maoists, Taliban and Hypocrites

Why do militants target the innocent? Is it to make a point? They just don’t seem to get it. Besides getting some human rights groups to produce documents, UN-funded organisations to make field trips, and society to get all ballistic because now they have avenues to be heard for their sensitivity, no one cares for these innocents – which is of course a term used for people who had nothing to do with what was happening.

How many days will it take to forget about the Maoist attack in Jhargram on the Howrah-Mumbai train that killed 100 and the Taliban attack on two mosques in Lahore that killed 93 (last figures)? There will be others and it will be back to a new tragedy to feed on.

Watch the hypocrisy.

The hypocrisy of two-line political analysis of “Ask the Maoists to shut the fuck up”, “What is PC planning to do?”, “I hate Mamata (Bannerjee)”. “Oh, I have just filed a report; had a great dinner last night”, “Hey, I have been quoted on this Ahmedi thing. Check this out at tinyurl”. Indeed.

The hypocrisy of those who have often gloated about other killings because it fits in with their views.

The hypocrisy of media people who will say one thing on social networking sites and go on to exploit the same tragedy that they felt “awful about” on their channels and columns.

The hypocrisy of those who bitch about certain commentators and yet wait for their opinions at such times, like predators prowling for vulture meat.

The hypocrisy of newspaper headlines that talk of ‘Neighbours united in grief’. Everyday there are killings not only in strife-ridden areas of Pakistan but also its cities; everyday we are dealing with such deaths in some parts of our country. In some cases there are accusations of one country enabling the destruction in the other. Both have massive troops at the borders. For what? We are not together in grief. If anything, check out how each side reacts to such tragedies if they do not happen on the same day.

Both these acts were specifically targeted. It will make for peripheral international news, but that is not the point. These western countries will not pressurise the local governments to do anything about terror attacks that do not harm them in any way. BBC News has a report titled, "Indian press condemns train attack" and calls this "forthright", as though it is expected to not do so.

Our governments will order enquiries, people will sit on files, evidence will be collected and nothing will happen.

India and Pakistan, for different reasons, cannot control what they have created or neglected.

It is rare for militant organisations to hit at the seats of power. The moment they even threaten any minor minister s/he ends up with Z plus security. If they dare to come anywhere close to a government establishment, as in the case of the Indian Parliament, we do not see any dead ministers. Security guards die. And militants are rounded up with great speed, never mind that some are not militants; they are tried and sentenced, even if their role was indirect.

This gives the government an opportunity to listen to mercy petitions, ministers will be on panel discussions every few months discussing the issue. They will give the message out to the world that they are upholding justice and fairplay.

The papers have been discussing the statistics for Maoists and Kashmir.

Statistics show that only one Naxalite gets killed for every four casualties among civilians and security personnel. Even during the peak of the J&K insurgency, troops used to kill one ultra for every death among civilians and armymen.

That is a revealing figure and only proves the point that we are just not interested in what we see as a civil uprising that does not involve an outside force in any obvious or strategic manner.

For a while there will be some ‘grabs’ on YouTube and the western media will be concerned if every and any act of the Taliban will impact on them. The Maoists don’t. And how much space has been given to the Tamils in Sri Lanka?

Beyond that, no one gives a damn. Let us stop this fake nonsense of calling those who are killed ‘innocents’. Because in doing so we manage to get ourselves a halo. As though we are fighting the darned terrorists ourselves.