Malegoan: Exploding myths

Malegoan: Exploding myths

Investigations into the Malegaon incident have brought to fore some ugly facts about Hindu right’s involvement in terrorism. Inam ul Rehman tries to dig out some pertinent themes related to the debate of terrorism and communal stereotyping Surprising exposure that Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, along with Shamlal Sahu and Shivnarayan Singh, all hailing from Madhya Pradesh, are involved in Malegaon blasts has shaken the majority community of India. Whenever, there is a bomb blast in India, fingers are raised towards Muslims. That Hindus can be involved in such acts was unthinkable. Since such acts were, and are, always interpreted as anti-national, Hindu involvement was automatically ruled out. This had become a part of Indian popular psyche. It was a forgone conclusion that acts of terror were anti Hindu and anti India, both at once. This mindset was strengthened by the state apparatus of India, Indian opinion makers and reporters, and the political propaganda machine. Whenever a bomb exploded in India the usual suspects, Muslims, were made the target of investigating, law enforcing, and security agencies. The first question that would come to mind on all such occasions was this: is India trying to create Hindu India and Muslim India. Is the state itself laying the foundations of another partition? The way Muslims are isolated from the larger Indian society, is state hell bent to divide India again on communal lines? As the Indian news channels, newspapers, intellectuals and political analysts started to dissect the bombing incidents, all the rest fades out, as if India is confronted with only one problem; anti-national activities undertaken by Muslim terrorists. As some people began to talk of Hindu terror, the rightwing BJP took strong exception to it. On October 27, BJP asked, "Why such people are being called "Hindu" terrorists when members of the minority community involved in blasts have not been called "Muslim terrorists" at any point or by anyone." "The nation requires a much more seasoned and nationalistic approach to such critical issues. The nation needs to ponder a larger question. Should we condemn an entire religion or way of life for the indiscretions or misguided actions of but a few?" said the rightwing BJP on October 30 (TOI). Even Shiv Sena Supremo, Bal Thackeray lashed out at pro-Hindutva elements for 'disowning' Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Lieutenant-Colonel Srikant Prasad Purohit, and asked the legal community to come forward and defend the trio. 'The entire Hindu community should support the Sadhvi, retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay and Samir Kulkarni who are being framed by the Anti-Terrorist Squad,' says an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece Saamna. VHP leader Pravin Togadia charged the Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) with fabricating evidence against the Sadhvi. He would rather like to consider all this a fiction. But the basic argument made by Mr. Togadia was: "No Hindu can be a terrorist." Speaking to TV channel Times Now, former deputy prime minister of India L K Advani said, "We don't defend her. She was with ABVP sometime back, nothing now. If the government has any proof against any one...against ABVP or any Sangh Parivar outfit, if there is proof, he/she should be punished." Now read what the Bajrang Dal chief, Prakash Sharma says: ‘And we train our youth to shoot and fight because physical prowess creates self-confidence. It is because of the Bajrang Dal's determination that 50,000 Bajrangis went for the yatra despite the odds’. (Tehelka Nov 08) There is no denying the fact that Hindu terror is a reality. But there are larger themes hidden in this. There is an immediate political motive and that is if you want to divert the attention from the internal problems create a ghost problem. And these bombs serve two important ends; teach Muslims a 'lesson' and keep the fragmented India together. After all India is a land of caste ridden and fragmented societies and a land with forced unions. A superficial look at India will tell that it is Hindu majority state whereas if one scratches little deeper it can easily be grasped that Hindu society is divided into rigid caste system, where upper caste Hindus still hold sway and the inferior castes are targeted in many crude and subtle ways. There is growing poverty among the lower castes, about 40 crore population of India lives below the poverty line, and not to forget those farmers who commit suicides on daily basis in south India. Shining India turns pale when some scribe from the fourth estate of India inadvertently write or poses questions to the politicians about poverty, suicides, caste and honour deaths. Politicians want the populace of India to live in a make-believe world where India is an emerging super power, where India is going upwards in economic and military prowess. In the popular mind India is united by two things: Bollywood and hatred against Muslim. And this India has released that hatred against Muslims and making them suspect in all anti national activities, is bound to help unite India. Police, bureaucracy, and the political system of India know well that Muslims are as unproblematic to India as Hindus, yet framing them as traitors is an unwritten code of conduct. Think India without Muslims and there will be civil war. Caste ridden Hindu society will fight amongst itself. Temples will become scenes of confrontation; non vegetarians will fight it out with vegetarians and suddenly the myth of united India will vanish. India was never a united country. It was always ravaged with internecine wars, only the hatred against Muslims holds it together. Whatever has come to fore after the Mallegaon blast must serve as an eye opener for all the people in India. All the propaganda carried out against Muslims must be now rejected. The reality behind creating ghost enemies should get exposed and people should start questioning politicians for creating stereotypes that make any particular community vulnerable, insecure and a soft target security agencies. Feedback at inamulrehman@gmail.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Comments Write comment

Ha, Ha, Ha! Inam ul Rehman says, "In the popular mind India is united by two things: Bollywood and hatred against Muslim." Not true at all. Bollywood is not required to unite India. Moreover, every state has its own cinema. Actually, it would be truer to have said cricket unites India. But the real force that unites India is Hinduism and its culture of live and let live. Islam does not have this culture and therefore partition of India occurred. Another partition is sought in Muslim majority Kashmir. Still, Hindus don't hate Muslims. If there exists any hatred for Muslims, it is not because of their religion, but because of the terrorist activities that are engaged in by some Muslims with ample support from Pakistan.

http://www.risingkashmir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8499&Itemid=53

Malegaon Blast was planned to wipe out SIMI: Lt Col Purohit

Zeenews Bureau Bangalore, Nov 14:

In a sensational revelation the arrested Army officer Lt Col Srikant Purohit on Friday reportedly confessed before the ATS that the Malegaon blast was planned to wipe out SIMI that had been carrying out so many terrorist activities in the country. He also tearfully admitted to his active role in many of the unsolved blast cases in the country. Purohit said that he had been instigated by the Sadhvi and Dayanand to carry out the blasts.
As per the ATS, it was Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Dayanad Pandey who prepared the blueprint as how to carry out the blast. To misled the cops, they adopted SIMI’s tactics, the Lt Col said. The revelations were reportedly made during his Narco test - which is, however, not admissible as evidence in court. The Malegaon blast accused also added that Pandey was also involved in 2006 Nanded blast in which two Bajrang Dal activist were allegedly killed during making bombs. He further divulged that the Ajmer blast was carried out by none other than the self-proclaimed religious leader Dayanad Pandey. He has also, reportedly, trained 500 persons on terror tactics, though the exact nature of training not revealed. The location for the terror training used to be an ashram near Ahmedabad. His revelation comes at a time when the central intelligence agencies are swooping down on elements that are thought to be the faces of Hindu terror.
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In order to get to the roots of Islamic terrorism, a counter terrorism policy was evolved by the Government of India. This policy was reported in the papers too about two years ago. Col Purohit is no doubt a part of this officially sanctioned operation and Hindu nationalists were only, naturally, very willing to take part. Therefore Sadhvi Pragna, the Swami and others must be immediately released and honoured for their patriotism. -K.Venugopal - Mumbai

http://www.zeenews.com/nation/2008-11-15/483480news.html

Swami under scanner, defends himself

11/12/2008 5:54:23 AM
In the latest in the Malegaon blast probe, Swami Avdeshanand, who has come under the Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) scanner, has said that he has nothing to do with the alleged mastermind in the case -- Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur.Swami Avdeshanand is the spiritual guru to Sadhvi Pragya Singh, who became a disciple of Swamiji in 2006 during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad. Swami Avdeshanand is the head of the influential Juna Akhada. However, the Swami has refuted reports of him being in close contact with Sadhvi Pragya. He says he has lakhs of followers and Sadhvi was just one of them. He said that he has met Pragya barely once or twice. Speaking exclusively to TIMES NOW Swami Avdeshanand said, "Pragya's family had come to the Kumbh Mela so that she could get diksha. I am an Acharya which means that I can give diksha to everybody, which is why I gave diksha to Pragya - thinking that her parents wanted her to receive it." "I gave her diksha, the same way which I give other Sanyasis. But after that I have met her only once or twice when she came to meet me. I never saw her after that. She told me that she was going to Jabalpur and some other places. After that I never met her again," added the spiritual leader.VHP to launch agitation on Sadhvi issueCriticising Anti-terrorist Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra Police for conducting repeated narco tests on Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, the VHP yesterday said it will launch an agitation on the issue."Police should explain whether it has ever conducted such type of repeated narco tests of any arrested terrorist?" VHP secretary Vinayak Deshpande asked."I ask the Union Government why capital punishment of Afzal Guru, key accused in attack on Parliament House, is delayed on one pretext of another?"He alleged that the ATS was determined to give a new brand of "Hindu terrorism" to defame the majority community. Deshpande told reporters that up to November 16, peaceful protests would be organised in every district of the country and if "ATS continues to harass Sadhvi Pragya" then an intensive agitation would be launched. (With inputs from Agencies)


Your report says Swami Avdeshanand has said that he has nothing to do with Sadhvi Pragnya. This is faulty reporting as Swamiji has not at all said he has nothing to do with the Sadhvi. How could he have nothing to do with her, as he has conceded that she is his disciple? That she has only met him sparsely after her initiation is natural, as she is not a resident of his ashram nor does she travel with his entourage. Having being initiated, it is normal for disciples to again meet their guru only at crucial periods of their advancement in spirituality. So by bad (or connived) reporting, the reporter has sought to give the impression that the Sadhvi is guilty and everybody wants to wash their hands off her.

http://www.timesnow.tv/NewsDtls.aspx?NewsID=20751

The Malegaon Conspiracy

By Mustafa Khan

In the name of fighting terrorism some have hijacked the world opinion against Islam the firing squad that executed Imam Samudra, Amrozi Nurhasyim and Ali Ghufron (Mukhlas) on November 8, 2008 should leave no doubt in any mind that Muslims do not support terrorism. The terrorists had appealed that they be executed in Ramzan, in September. They had dreamed to go to heaven for creating a South East Asian caliphate. The government and the court viewed it differently. The three accused had carried out 2002 bombing of a picnic resort in Hindu majority Bali, Indonesia, that left 202 dead. The overwhelming majority of the Muslim population of Indonesia had shown understanding with the government and has supported it. There has been no protest in the streets or crowd gathering anywhere celebrating any martyrdom.
However the scene at the session court of Nasik, India, on November 3, is antipodal. It indicates how Indonesia could become India in world economy while India will have to remain where it is in its fight against terrorism.
Malegaon has been prominently in the news for quite sometimes. There is a fairly large segment of Muslim population residing in the eastern part. The notoriety of the town as a communally sensitive flash spot is the least desirable of its attributes for the local people but not for outsiders. Currently it is a stage chosen to launch a Sadhvi into a cult figure of strident Hindutva with its rugged determination to turn India into a Hindu rashtra where Vedic culture would be the ruling passion of the people. History will show whether the face of Pragyasingh Thakur will in its turn launch a thousand phalanxes of the saffron brigades that would carry the day despite what the international community and the minorities along with people free from the extreme belief within the country would react to. Of course the constitution of the country and the laws of the land have always been taken for a ride ala 1992. As much of the confession extracted by the ATS is the confession of a band of thugs it is difficult to prove and is also time consuming we can adopt this creative mode of narration to engage the mind in the meanwhile.
The premonition about the orchestrated order to come into existence is based on how things are transpiring in and around Malegaon. On September 29 the Sadhvi rode pinion in her flowing Hindu robe as Major Ramesh Upadhya drove LML Freedom into the heart of the enemy territory and a jeep filled with the other accused followed. As it would turn out to be their knight in shining armour was no other than a Lt Col of the Indian army, Prasad Srikant Purohit. Their pincer thrust by motorbike and jeep at Bhiku chowk demoralized their enemies for they rose against their own fellow Indians in uniform and tried to seize the outpost at the chowk.
It is understandable in the light of the observation of WH Sleeman in his book Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official about thuggery in the nineteenth century. "It is a common practice with Thana­dars all over the country to connive at the resi­dence within their jurisdiction of gangs of rob­bers, on the condition that they shall not rob within those limits, and shall give them a share of what they bring back from their distant expeditions".
The sea of crowd in saffron headwear and flags and pinions surging in Nasik on November 3, 2008 reminds you of the fall of the wall of Berlin, history was made on that day. Since then the Sadhvi has left far behind the BJP priministerial candidate in her trail of glory. His ferocity for fighting terror has depleted and he seems to be lost in ifs and buts. Her saffron turban makes her look like Swami Vivekanand resurrected to lead the Hindus infected by unmentionable un- parliamentarian adjectives Bal Thackeray ascribes to them. Is his Marathi virility far superior to that of the people in the other states of the union?
Devlali camp in the vicinity of Nasik is the right military terrain to train the new recruits of Abhinav Bharat and mine the deadly RDX for the real attack on the fort of the enemy at Malegaon. As the conspiracy deepens Purohit not only provided 4 weapons to the other accused but also distributed cash. From where did he get arms, ammunition and cash? Who could be so generous and why? As the thugs of Chambal and Morena belt had codes and signals evolved to meet emergency, Purohit and the Sadhvi too had learnt the same along with the other accomplices. Purohit had said on the mobile "singh has sung." There is no mistake of grammar of the verb infinitive sing and past participle sung. It means what it means that Ram Narayan Sigh has detonated the bomb at Bhiku chowk. "The cat is out of the basket" is another code of Purohit that shows how he successfully did his works of military intelligence and adapted them for terrorism. He had also arranged meeting between Pragya, Upadhyay and several others in Anand ashram at Faridabad, in Bhonsla military school of Nasik and had transferred funds from various accounts to Abhinav Bharat accounts and indulged in Hawala transactions.


Nowhere in the world are there so many different organizations subsumed to a paternal organization like we have in India. Ku Klux Klan was and is just one. The RSS and its numerous known and unknown organizations and also the ever-changing affiliates, Bajrang Dal, Hanuman Dal etc, are ever assuming new identity with time. All this involves very huge amount of money. RSS keeps no accounts and therefore there is no audit, it is not even registered. Lt Col Purohit deposited huge amounts of money to the accounts of Abhivau Bharat and transferred money to the other accused. Sameer Kulkarni received regular monthly payment of five thousand rupees. Where does the money come from? Around the time the Sadhvi appeared in court after Bal Thackeray announced total support to her the chief minister of Maharashtra, Deshmukh, also addressed audience in Nasik where he said that the Marathi speaking natives of the state do not do the jobs that the people of UP and Bihar do. He grumbled that Marathi speaking natives prefer comfortable jobs in offices from 11 to 5.The mammoth crowd that Shiv Sena and Abhinau Bharat mustered at the court in Nasik on November 3 cannot have been of office goers unless they had taken mass casual leave. Mobilizing them also requires transport and huge sums of money. It is inevitable that terrorism requires supply of cash. Another feature is that like the conspiracy to kill Mahatma Gandhi involved almost entirely Maharashtrians, in Malegaon conspiracy also mostly Maharashtrians are involved, or at least the most crucial ones. Simultaneously it is remarkable that Shiv Sena, a regional party which is in the forefront in providing legal assistance to defend the alleged terrorists. Shiv sena and Ahinau Bharat are essentially Marathi in nature and prone to violence.They had burst crackers on large scale outside the court precisely at the time when the judge in the courtroom announced order of transfer of the Sadhvi from police to judicial custody (remarkable, for the Muslims accused in 2006 Malegaon bombing are still languishing in police custody). Such a close coordination smacks of military precision. It is for nothing that critics are saying that the RSS has infiltrated the Indian army. What has the country come to!

Hindu terrorism in Malegaon is a reaction to the many Muslim terrorist activities all over India for many years now. If the secular UPA government of India had taken a tough stand on Islamic terrorism, there would have been no Hindu backlash. At least now let us hope that strong measures are taken against Islamic terrorism - to begin with, the hanging of Afzal Mohammad.
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Malegaon blast: Cops set to arrest serving Lt-Col

Malegaon blast: Cops set to arrest serving Lt-Col

5 Nov 2008, 0120 hrs IST, TNN

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Mumbai's anti-terrorism squad on Tuesday looked set to take custody of Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit, the founding member of Abhinav Bharat, the right-wing radical Hindu radical outfit whose members allegedly carried out the bomb attack in Malegaon on September 29. This would be the first case of a serving army officer being taken into police custody in connection with such charges. The Mumbai ATS approached the army authorities on Tuesday for Purohit's custody after the interrogation of members of Abhinav Bharat detained in connection with the Malegaon blast pointed to his key role in founding the Pune-based organization as well as in finding recruits for it from among right-wing Hindu outfits. Although there is nothing yet to confirm the officer's complicity in the Malegaon attack—which, police allege, was designed as a retaliatory act for the spate of bomb blasts engineered by jehadi terrorists in cities across the country, police claim to have established links between Purohit and Major (retd) Ramesh Upadhyay, a suspect in the blast case, in the form of at least five SMSes sent by the Lt-Col after the Malegaon blast. In one such SMS, Purohit instructed Upadhyay to change his mobile number. The ATS have submitted all the five SMSes in the Nashik court. These SMSes, said the source, were handed over to the military top officials who allowed the ATS to ''interact'' with Purohit in connection with the Malegaon bomb blast. Purohit, said the police, had also attended one of the meetings conducted by the arrested accused in Nashik prior to the blast. Army sources in New Delhi confirmed the development saying that the formalities regarding the handing over of Purohit were expected to be over soon.

Purohit, whose family is from Pune, is with the Intelligence Corps. He was doing a course in Arabic at the Army Education Corps College in Pachmarhi when army authorities, at the instance of the ATS, relocated him to Mumbai to 'facilitate' the investigation into the Malegaon blast.

Purohit came into contact with Upadhyay when he was posted at Nashik as a liaison unit officer. His role required him to interact with organisations, including ex-servicemen in the region. However, the probe by the ATS has, according to sources, shown that he used the Nashik stint to fraternise with the extremists in various right-wing Hindu outfits and to draw them into the Abhinav Bharat fold.

The Malegaon probe has also shown that Sunil Joshi, to whom Sadhvi Pragya had given her LML Freedom motorcycle that was subsequently used in the Malegaon blast, was killed by suspected SIMI activists at Devas in Madhya Pradesh in December last year. The vehicle subsequently passed on to Ramji, who used it to trigger the attack in the weavers' town last month.

Lt-Col was at meet held by Malegaon accused

Army sources in New Delhi confirmed the arrest of Lieutenant-Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit, founding member of Abhinav Bharat. Purohit, said the police, had also attended one of the meetings conducted by the arrested accused in Nashik prior to the blast.


Sadhvi Pragnya's motorcycle was sold to Sunil Joshi, who was killed by SIMI. Under what circumstances was he killed? How has the charge of his killing come upon SIMI? How did Sunil Joshi's the motorcycle get into the hands of Ramji? Did SIMI use the motorcycle in its plot to incriminate Hindus in Malegaon blast? The circumstances of Sunil Joshi's killing holds the key to the conspiracy.

Uma Bharati slaps party leader, says she has the right

Chhindwara, Nov 05:

Bhartiya Janashakti Party (BJS) president Uma Bharti on Wednesday slapped her party`s district general secretary Anil Rai, believed to be close to BJS` breakaway faction, in full public view near the government circuit house here. Party sources said Bharti got infuriated when Rai was supposedly disturbing a meeting between Bharti and several persons by repeatedly calling them over their mobile phones. Rai, who is a supporter of BJS breakaway faction led by Prahlad Patel, was asking people to come out of the meeting and that annoyed Bharati, sources said. Bharti asked Rai to get down from his car and slapped him twice in front of people and party workers. However, Bharti later told a press conference that Rai was like her brother and she had a right to "love or hit him". "Rai was violating the model code of conduct and therefore, invited my wrath," she said. However, Bharti refused to disclose how Rai was violating the model code of conduct. Rai, who was also present at the press conference, said Bharti was like his elder sister and she had the right to "beat him or love him". Bharti also paid a visit to Rai`s residence after the incident. Bureau Report

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Her downfall is because of her indiscipline. - K.Venugopal - Mumbai

Well what if another party member slaps her out of "Love"....I wud luv to see how she wud react to it...no matter wat she has no right to slap anyone.... - Selina Bhatt - Mumbai

Malegaon blast: Lt Col Purohit arrested

Mumbai, Nov 05:

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Wednesday arrested Lieutenant Colonel Srikant Purohit in connection with the September 29 Malegaon blast, an ATS official said. Purohit was interrogated two days back by the ATS in connection with the blasts in the powerloom town of Malegaon and was arrested today, Additional Commissioner of Police (ATS) Parambir Singh said. Singh, however, refused to reveal Purohit`s role in the blasts. The Army officer, who came under the scanner for his alleged role in the blasts, was stationed at the Army Education Corps Training College and Centre at Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh and was picked up by the ATS for questioning last week. Purohit will be produced before the Nashik court later today.
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Arrested such a senior serving officer on grounds of terrorism? The charges better stick, otherwise the repercussions can be profound. - K.Venugopal - Mumbai

IS PURELY THE ACT OF UPA GOVT TO CORNOR MINORITY VOTES THAT IS SO CALLED SECULAR MUSLIM VOTES. THEY ARE DOING DIVIDE AND RULE POLICY IN NORTHERN STATES FOR ELECTIONS. IT IS VERY CLEAR THAT SADHVI KULKARNI PUROHIT ARE THE PEOPLE WILL NOT HARM OTHERS. IT IS PURELY ELECTION STUNT - Ashok Agarwal - Delhi

AFTER ZABUA,MP case Another attempts to Divert the mind of the whole indian citizens from ISLAMIST TERRORISM which is now reached upto dangerous level around the world. By equating SADHVI JI AND OTHER RESPECTABLE PERSONAL THET ARE trying to shed bloddy terrorist with a soft corner from UPA Govt.(Indian Govt. !!!!)They are fail to protect the countrymen specially majority community from Terrorist act by Minority(Muslim) Terrorists.This happens only in India. - Ramanan - Kochi