TERRORISM: LESSONS FROM MUMBAI AND MARAD

K Vijayachandran.

Within a month after the terror attack in Mumbai has come the court judgement on what is known as the Marad massacre of Kerala: This judgement will go down in history as a unique piece of judicial investigation on communal terror in our country. The crime was committed five years ago, in the evening of 2nd of May 2003: Nine fishermen were killed on the Marad seashore, some twenty kilometer from Kozhikod: eight were Hindus and one was a Muslim. It was a premeditated attack by a large Muslim crowd, armed to the teeth with conventional weapons, and launched from the nearby mosque. Sixty three of the 147 accused persons were found guilty and seventy six acquitted by the Judge, Shri Babu Mathew P Joseph.

According to the Judge, the prosecution had failed in proving the charge of conspiracy: Now, he is hearing the plea of the sixty three guilty persons, for deciding on the punishment for their crimes. Close to 300 witnesses were examined, the proceedings of this massive trial reportedly run into 5000 pages of documents, hand written by the judge. Statements filed by the 139 accused persons ran in to 2.7 lakh pages and it took more than four years, for the special judge, to complete the trial, which was well supported by the administrative machinery. The district administration had convened a consensus meet of all political parties, religious and caste organisations, and elected representatives of the people so as to preempt an outbreak of communal tension. The so called Marad massacre was the last in a series of communal strifes in the region. However, the four year long trial by a special court, the judgement, elaborate administrative interventions, and above all consensus among local political leaders have now created an atmosphere of lasting communal peace in the region.

The tens of thousands of pages of trial documentation and factual statements filed in the court are sure to serve as rich material for future scholars doing research on communal terrorism. However, the most conspicuous fact about the outcome of the massive trial was its failure or refusal to tackle the conspiracy part of the armed attack by a few hundred people on a small group of unarmed persons, and the use of the mosque premises for the heinous crime. This only means that, there was a local consensus for using the mosque for launching a criminal conspiracy and at least a part of the clergy was hand in glove with the criminals. The conspiracy could have been easily thwarted by simple grass-root level surveillance and resistance. The large volumes of the trial proceedings and the judgement are sure to reveal valuable information on how communal terror was instigated at grass root level in Marad and how it could be effectively countered in future even in other locations by the initiatives of people and administration at the local level.

Now we have a massacre of much larger dimensions at Mumbai, using sophisticated technologies and advanced weapons: Some ten terrorists could murder nearly two hundred people and injure many more. Initial report was that some twenty terrorists had struck Mumbai on that eventful night of 26/11. Their encounter with the local police, armed forces and the NSG had lasted three nights and two days. Though NSG operations against terrorists were held in-camera, electronic media were celebrating the event by broadcasting alive, the macro views of the operations and global commentaries on the terror attack, for more than three full days. TV channels were competing with each other for convincing the viewers about Pakistan's role in the terror conspiracy. There were plenty of contradictory reports, claims and interpretations on the attack and the three day anti-terror operations. As on now, several questions and doubts remain unanswered, including those around the martyrdom of Karkare and other anti-terror veterans of Maharashtra.

Despite the massive coverage, general public know very little about the details of terror strike on Mumbai, which was instantly compared to the US experience of 11/9 by the visual media. No investigations, enquiries or trials were necessary for them for coming to the conclusion that, terrorists had struck Mumbai with the knowledge and involvement of Pakistan. Then, there were several learned debates and discussions on what constituted state terrorism, non-state actors, statehood, citizenship etc etc, with UK and US Governments rushing in with all sorts of proofs and arguments in support of Pakistani involvement. At some point of time, Indian Government was even advised to go for cross-boarder strikes against the terror camps located within Pakistan, as part of a peace initiative with US support! British and American secret agents were even rushed in for helping India's national security. And then, the Parliament was summoned mainly for passing in a jiffy, the new POTA laws in the name of national security, despite serious objections and concerns raised by the Left about this draconian legislation.

There is no reason to believe that, such draconian laws could have helped us to pre-empt the Mumbai terror or to handle the situation a little more gracefully. The way it was was handled by the State and Central Governments was a disgrace to the country: It was nothing but a tragedy of errors from beginning to end, and a clear case of systemic failure in administration. It has ruthlessly exposed the vulnerability and weak spots of Indian society and Indian State. A detailed public enquiry would have helped the country to learn about the dynamics of terrorism, internal, cross-country as well as their diverse ramifications. It would have helped us to learn about the role of local, national and international players as well as the role of ideology, politics and media, in the promotion of terrorism. The new set of laws, engineered as a response to Mumbai terror, is nothing but old wine in new bottle. As in the past, they will not help to contain terrorism, instead it is sure to breed even more terror: Even the proposed federal coordination, at its full throat, is unlikely to catch up with this.

Precious lives were lost in large number in Mumbai terror, several times more compared to the so called Marad massacre of Kerala. And, every body has his own pet theories on who did it really, and for what purpose? But, we all know, the immediate victims are Indo-Pak relation and the process of peace initiative; India is now getting over-loaded with British and American evidence for Pakistani role in the terror attack on Mumbai. As a result, military and the ISI are targeted to regain their upper hand in Pakistani politics. On the domestic front we have now an anti-terror law that is even more draconian than the earlier POTA, which was withdrawn under popular pressure. The new laws will lead to further alienation of Muslim population and the newly introduced federal policing would substantially compromise on the autonomy of Indian states, which could further weaken the foundations of our Union Republic. The political impact of Mumbai terror on the Indian subcontinent could turn out to be substantial.

India's ruling elites and Hindu chauvinists were itching, all these days, for an open alliance with Bush, Rice & Co, in their global war against Islam, their fundamental strategy for global hegemony. They hardly feel the need for an open enquiry into the total failure of the Indian State at Mumbai and want the people to believe that, India will be safer under US umbrella and a more rigorous POTA Raj designed to contain people's dissent. It is a strange coincidence that, the very same session of Indian Parliament, which was called for seeking a vote of confidence in Government, in the specific context of US nuclear deal, was asked to pass this anti-people legislation, in the name of national security.

30th Dec 2008