This has reference to “A decade after 9/11, Indian jihad still thrives” (Edit page, Sept. 10). Apart from dealing with terrorism at the political and administrative levels, there is a strong need to deal with it at the societal and individual levels. We have to make a conscious effort to bring into the mainstream disgruntled middle class and lower middle class Muslims who are forced to live in ghettos because of the ‘housing apartheid' and are discriminated against in jobs. We have to muffle the voices within our families and our circles of friends that justify the alienation and discrimination.
Deepty Sen,New Delhi
There will always be groups that express their perceived anguish against society by violent means. The only way to prevent this type of terrorism is to have a competent and well-trained police force. If people see that perpetrators of crimes such as the Godhra violence and the demolition of the Babri Masjid are quickly brought to justice, it is less likely that Machiavellian politicians will be able to instigate pogroms such as Gujarat 2002.
Capt. R.G. Sivananda,Chennai
Is what Muhammad Ali Jinnah said, that Hindus and Muslims cannot coexist, true? No, our Constitution guarantees the safety of all people. The problem arises from our failure to strengthen secularism despite a strong constitutional base.
V. Ravichandran,Nellai
Communal violence does not always take place in poverty-stricken rural areas, but when all our primary needs are met and fundamentalist thoughts take over our minds. In a polytheist state, skirmishes between communities can be avoided only by creating awareness, accommodating all beliefs, and creating deterrents such as mobilising the police forces and bringing the perpetrators to justice.
N. Jayaprasad,Coimbatore
The article is a good analysis of the historical processes that created violent organisations such as TIM and SIMI. The writer is right in his assessment that communal violence and our “inability to hold honest national conversation” about it are “a key cause of the persistence of the jihadist movement.”
A. Faizur Rahman,Chennai
Fundamentalists, both Hindu and Muslim, have recruited educated young Indians to carry out heinous crimes, building up communal tension. Such practices that rob an average Indian's right to peaceful living should be curbed. Improvement in security and police reforms alone will not solve India's problems, even if it has effectively prevented terrorist attacks in the United States.
Mohammad Imtiyaj Khan,Mysore
Mr. Swami has chosen to ignore the Pakistan-sponsored ‘jihad' in Kashmir since the 1990s. Most terror attacks across India can be traced to Pakistan directly or via Kashmir. Also, after the brutal killings of Partition, communal mistrust was inevitable. But, instead of reconciliation, a policy of appeasement was pursued for electoral gains, causing the chasm to widen.
Lalit Ambardar,New Delhi
The article rightly points out that though India has embraced technological modernity, its culture is yet to secularise. No useful purpose will be served by tracing the origins of the discord between the majority and the minority. What is important is to forgive and forget. The Indian state should try to ameliorate the conditions of Muslims by treating them as socially and educationally backward while Muslims, on their part, should try to modernise the regressive sections of their society.
B.M. Baliga,Bangalore
While all sections of society must be integrated with the national mainstream, thereby reinforcing our secular credentials, the role of religion needs a check. Religion is meant to streamline our thoughts and deeds. But fanaticism and extremism that stems from religion make a man run amuck.
R. Ramanathan,Coimbatore
