Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Terrorism debate

The labelling of a community or country as terrorist in the context of the failed terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow, as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has pointed out, should be avoided. The acts of terror indulged in by a few white collar Indian Islamist radicals in Glasgow, perhaps to send a message across the world that they are unhappy with the happenings in Iraq, cannot be blamed on an entire community. At the same time, if Muslim leaders do not work towards curbing such tendencies among the young, a time will come when the whole community will be isolated.

Abhinandan Prasad,

Patna Isn’t it time for us to respond to the situation instead of making solemn appeals? Isn’t it time for Islamic leaders to ask why their religion is frequently misinterpreted by some of its followers? The community should recognise the problem and take initiatives to find the solution. The Glasgow incident has affected not only the Indians living in the U.K., but also thousands of Indians who aspire to go there for higher studies.

E. Barath,

Chennai True, most of the terrorist acts are perpetrated by young, misguided, hardcore members of a particular community. But it is also true that the majority belonging to the same community is law-abiding and is in no way responsible for the acts of the few. To tar an entire community with the same brush, therefore, is not only wrong but inhuman. The best ways of tackling terrorism are to strengthen and modernise our police forces and adhere strictly to the principle of secularism.

Baikadi Suryanarayana Rao,

Bangalore The editorial “Hard questions from Glasgow” (July 6) makes a number of interesting and valid points. However, the observation that India should look hard at its own, flawed record in nourishing and defending secularism is unacceptable. Assuming that the car-bomb attackers were motivated by the happenings in Iraq, no amount of secular perfection on India’s part would have had any impact on their thought and action.

Krishnan Pillaipakkamnatt,

New York No doubt democracy and secularism are effective deterrents to terrorism. But the right knowledge of our own religion and other religions is even more important. Why should an Indian sacrifice his prosperous life in the name of religion? All secular governments should evolve ways of imparting modern education along with religious education. Only then will we be able to foil the attempts of religion-based extremist organisations from brainwashing our youth.

Nirbhay Kumar Sharma,

New Delhi Terrorism is to be condemned vehemently as it is a menace against humanity. But if one takes a look at the countries targeted for terror attacks, one can see a pattern. The Islamist terrorists target only the U.S. and its supporters. I worked in Jordan for a while and I have personally seen the plight of Palestinians who have been driven away from their homes. Their homes are just 50-100 km away from where they live but they cannot go there. The Glasgow incident is the result of such skewed policies of the west. Terrorism cannot be eliminated unless the world shows compassion for the sufferers.

N. Ramakrishnan ,

Richards Bay, South Africa It is imperative that the government takes necessary steps to make moral instruction an essential part of school curriculum. Youngsters should be made aware of the need to be tolerant towards others. Our secularist society will receive a fatal blow if we offer the scope for others to call us a terrorist nation.

J. Prasanth Kumar,

Hyderabad It is time our politicians dispensed with vote bank politics. We should also stop arguing that socio economic reasons result in the young taking to militancy and terrorism.

Pammal K. Hariharan,

Chennai The educated the world over should realise that their involvement in criminal activities jeopardises the prospects of millions belonging to their fraternity. They make not only their families but their entire community vulnerable. There is no harm in being religious but fanaticism is harmful.

V. Shujaath Ahmed,

Chennai When we violate the law of the country that hosts us, we let down our nation. The involvement of some of our countrymen in the terrorist bids in Glasgow and London is indeed unfortunate.

C.S. Rao & Mahalakshmi Challa,

Visakhapatnam The need of the hour is reorientation of basic religious education in Islamic institutions. The initiative for this should come from the Muslim clergy and intelligentsia.

K.P.G. Menon,

Ottapalam Kafeel Ahmed, Sabeel Ahmed and Mohammed Haneef, arrested for their alleged involvement in the failed bombings, are professionals who belong to the affluent section and have been enjoying the best our society can offer. Yet they chose the path of radicalism. Muslim intellectuals should make their youth realise that obscurantist dogmas of the by-gone eras are no longer valid. Until such time as Osama bin Laden ceases to be the role model for the young, they cannot be veered away from misguided missions of destruction.

V. Venkatasubramanian,

Mumbai This refers to the lament of Zakia Ahmed, mother of Sabeel and Kafeel, “Mujhe pata nahin kisne mere bachon ko gumrah kiya hai” (July 6). It is not only brilliant Kafeel and Sabeel w ho have been led astray. Thousands of Muslim youth and children are being led astray. Who is doing this and why do some youngsters embrace terrorism? The sooner we tackle the question, the better.

S. Ramanath Bose,

Kadayanallur Hereafter, the Indian authorities should stop blaming Pakistan for every terrorist attack in India. If a similar bid (as in Glasgow) had taken place in India, our investigating agencies would have blamed Pakistan as it is the simple way out. It is police inefficiency, political intervention in the judicial process and rampant corruption at all levels that enable the terrorists to achieve their goals.

If we continue to find scapegoats, India will be declared a breeding centre for global terrorists one day.

S. Prakash,

Mutharasanallur

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Terrorism debate

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