By Girish Nikam
Now, now, don’t tell me Hindus can also indulge in terrorism! How bizarre! How can that be possible? This vote bank politics is being taken just too far. You can’t brand nationalists as terrorists. Don’t push Hindus into a corner like this. It will be at your own peril. There is no way that a Sadhvi can be a terrorist. Look at her innocence, look at how petite and helpless she looks. She a terrorist? I just can’t believe it.

The outrage can be seen all around the virtual world. The news websites have hundreds of readers pouring out these kind of statements, and many more outrageous ones, which have been deleted for its vulgar, obscene and provocative contents.

As more and more stories tumble out about the nexus, the connections and the plans of the Sadhvi and her accomplices, which so far spread across three states, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat, the hindutva brigade is getting more and more restive. After having disowned her initially, the BJP whose students’ wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in which she was an active member in MP a decade ago, however, now is in a denial mode. Denial, that any nationalist organisations, obviously meaning RSS’s hydra headed affliates, can indulge in terrorism.

Meanwhile, some of the more vocal ones, have thrown all caution to the winds, like former Editor of the RSS mouthpiece, Tarun Vijay, by declaring that he would like to start a fund to defend the Sadhvi and her alleged accomplices. The same one incidentally was outraged when the Jamia Millia Vice Chancellor, announced legal assistance to the Muslim boys arrested after the Batla House encounter in Delhi, last month.

Well, what is interesting, rather amusing, is that the Sangh Parivar is suddenly on the defensive, and is adopting an age old strategy— offence is the best form of defence. So we see the cyber warriors of the Parivar spewing venom and threatening everything short of a holocaust, if “Hindus are targeted like this”.

They are as quickly jumping to the conclusion that Sadhvi Pragya Thakur and her co-accused are innocent, as they jumped to the conclusion that every Muslim boy arrested or even interrogated is guilty.

But what stands out in this whole surreal drama being enacted is the “my terrorist is better than your terrorist” situation being created. The brave and cosmetic, “law should take its own course”, comments of some BJP leaders notwithstanding, it is obvious that there are a lot of wrinkles appearing overnight on the foreheads of the top leadership. The question they should be asking themselves now is obvious. “Have we created a monster which can devour us?” One suspects it is the Bhindranwale phenomenon which is what one is now witnessing, and that should be a real cause for worry.

It is no secret that this— the so-called Hindus should retaliate—- effort has been in the making right from the time L.K.Advani set out on his Rath Yatra and ignited the baser instincts of the Hindus. This is what created many a Sadhvi Pragyas.

The blood curdling slogans, the venom spewing speeches, had to come home to roost sometime. And now to be outraged and act innocent and say that Hindus can never do it or blame everything on a pseudo-secular conspiracy is the height of denial.

In fact even as these leaders of the BJP indulge in this game of denial, those they had systematically and gleefully prepared all these last nearly two decades, are happily celebrating. “Though I do not believe that a Sadhvi is behind the blasts, I appreciate whoever did so”, a comment on one of the news websites says. Another, a lady, writes, “Hindus will retaliate in future too”. “If somebody can organise for the legal aid to Sadhvi, there are crores of people waiting to help. You can ask in this site itself. Salutations”, writes another. While one more proudly declares, “If she has really done it, I am also proud of her efforts” and adds venomously, “But she should have bombed NDTV or CNN IBN factories. They are fronts of Jihadis and missionaries”.

The poison therefore which was injected during all those early years of developing a political space by bringing religion onto their agenda, has spread far too deeply. It also stimulated many, many of them who got intoxicated with the heady mix of religion and politics, to start the many Jagran Manchs, Durga Vahinis and the myriad other outfits whose primary task was to keep spreading the poison of divisive politics, in the name of fighting for the Hindu cause.

The BJP and the Sangh Parivar can now gloat over the success of their experiment, as more and Sadhvis and their accomplices are arrested for performing the “highly nationalistic task” of protecting the majority Hindus! They can take to the streets and declare that those who are behind these arrests are anti-hindu and try to consolidate their vote bank. They can spew venom on the pseudo-secularists for appeasing the jihadis and the Christian converters.

It may just even actually consolidate their vote bank. They may just even manage to return to power in Delhi and in more States. But what they also should remember is that the hunger and thirst for blood of the minorities, which they have unleashed in the name of protecting the Hindus, is insatiable. That hunger and thirst will not be satiated with the BJP acquiring power. It will not be sated with seeing L.K.Advani realizing his long held dream. And it will not even be satisfied with sending Afzal to the gallows. Or by razing down more churches and raping many more nuns.

So it is not that anyone should be happy— be it the victimized Muslims, terrorized Christians, the secular masses and certainly not the hindutva proponents— with the exposure of “Hindu terrorism”. It is not a time to say “I told you so”. It is a time for deep collective introspection. It is a time for everyone to take a vow that we will all work unitedly to de-toxify our minds and cleanse our thoughts. Are we upto the task? If we are not, these unleashed monsters will devour us all.