Hindu Vivek Kendra
A RESOURCE CENTER FOR THE PROMOTION OF HINDUTVA
   
 
 
«« Back
HVK Archives: Terrorism is against the tenets of all religions

Terrorism is against the tenets of all religions - The Times of India

Inder Sawhney ()
19 July 1997

Title: 'Terrorism is against the tenets of all religions' - Interview -
Kanwar Pal Singh Gill
Author: Inder Sawhney
Publication: The Times of India
Date: July 19, 1997

The eventual victim of Islamic fundamentalism will be Pakistan itself.

Former director-general of Punjab police Kanwar Pal Singh Gill is credited
with wiping out terrorism in Punjab. In fact it is his crusade against
terrorism which has made him a controversial figure, particularly with the
human rights activists. Recently, following the suicide by A S Sandhu, who
had been in charge of the anti-terrorist operations in Tarn Taran, he came
out strongly against the "persecution" of those police officers who had
played a prominent role in combating terrorism in Punjab.

Mr Gill is now writing a book on his experiences infighting terrorism in
Punjab. He is also undertaking lecture assignments, apart from reviewing
books, contributing articles to newspapers on subjects ranging from
terrorism to Urdu poetry.

Mr Gill discussed with Inder Sawhney various aspects of global terrorism,
its link with Punjab terrorism and the threat it poses to India and some
Asian countries. Excerpts:

Q: Would you say that India is under threat from global terrorism?

A: There is no coordinated movement which can be correctly spoken of as
global terrorism. But terrorism is certainly becoming a global problem.
One aspect of this manifestation is what can be called "transnational
terrorism", and this is a threat to the territorial integrity, not only of
India, but of other Asian countries as well. There is a school that
believes that such movements can be used for the balkanisation of India.
While these elements are not entirely responsible for the events here,
their role is visible in the insurgencies in Kashmir, Assam, Nagaland,
Tripura and Manipur.

Was there a 'foreign hand' in the terrorism in Punjab? If so, which were
the agencies involved?

There was definitely an international dimension to terrorism in Punjab.
Apart from funding support and ideological direction that the movement
received from the Sikhs settled abroad, two covert agencies, Pakistan Inter
Services Intelligence (ISI) and America's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
were certainly involved.

To give an example, some three million Kalashnikov rifles were channelised
by the CIA to the ISI, supposedly for use in Afghanistan. The diversion of
some of these into Punjab took terrorism there onto an entirely different
plane. These weapons are still with the ISI who are looking for users -
though they are finding none in Punjab today. However, their diversion to
Kashmir and to various insurgent groups in the Northeast is a persistent
threat to peace and stability.

How did terrorism originate in Punjab? Where the sources inside the country
or from outside?

The initial impetus to terrorism in Punjab came from within, though some of
its so-called "ideologues" may have been expatriate Indians. But it
acquired an international character soon after. Certainly, after Operation
Blue Star in 1984, a large number of youngsters were encouraged to cross
over to Pakistan where they were given shelter, training and arms.
Expatriate Sikhs and some foreign intelligence agencies also began to route
financial and material assistance to the terrorists, and also generated
supportive propaganda in the international media and recruited influential
backers to build up opinion in favour of the movement.

Do you think that the real objective of terrorists in Punjab was to create
Khalistan? Is there a parallel between the Zionist terrorism which created
Israel and the Punjab terrorism?

There is no parallel between the creation of Israel and the demand for
Khalistan. Israel was created as a result of world-wide persecution of the
Jews. Khalistan, however, remained the slogan of a small cabal who wanted
to exploit the religious sentiments of the Sikhs to capture political power
for themselves. At no point of time did the so-called ideologues of
Khalistan attempt a clear geographical demarcation of their imaginary
state, or a concretisation of their ideology to bring it onto a plane where
it could be represented rationally.

Has there been any link between Khalistan terrorists and the LTTE?

At one point of time an attempt was made to achieve a working arrangement
in which different terrorist groups could render assistance to each other.
But it did not work since some groups such as the LTTE, were highly
disciplined and motivated, while others, like the Punjab terrorists were
loosely organised, extremely undisciplined, and with no clear chain of
command. Even the ULFA had more inner discipline than the Punjab terrorists.

Is ISI, in your opinion, involved in Islamic terrorism in Sinkiang province
of China? If so, how is it that China is providing strategic support to
Pakistan against India?

Pakistan has become one of the main centres for the "export" of "Islamic
terrorism" with a devastating impact on Afghanistan and is creating
problems in the Muslim areas of the countries that lie on its periphery.
However, the idea of "Islamic terrorism" is a misnomer and doomed to
failure. The theory on which the creation of Pakistan is based is
manifestly false. Islamic fundamentalism does not have a very wide base
within Pakistan itself. Pakistan is using this concept to prey upon
political instability within neighbouring countries to exploit communal-and
not religious-sentiments to fulfil its geographical ambitions.

While this will have a certain negative impact on these neighbouring
countries, its eventual victim will be Pakistan itself. 1 think it is
important to understand that terrorism militates against the basic
principles of all religions, and eventually its perpetrators would he
exposed in the eyes of those whose sentiments they exploit.

What are the new trends in global terrorism?

There have been no radical shifts in the pattern of transnational
terrorism, except for the introduction of more sophisticated weapons,
including a range of lethal chemical agents, for instance in Japan. The
danger of terrorists gaining access to low-grade nuclear weapons
technologies is also very real.

There have been reports of the theft and illegal transfer of nuclear
technologies and materials among countries. However, given the fragmentary
nature of terrorist movements around the world, the possibility of the use
of such nuclear devices by "rogue states" is higher than that of their use
by individual terrorist groups.

Why are so many religious groups taking to terrorism?

Quite a few movements are exploiting the idea of religion. Islamic
terrorism is being spoken of as a global phenomenon. We have seen the rise
and containment of the Sikh terrorism in Punjab. A number of minor groups
in Europe, the United States and Canada have also adopted a militant posture.

The only people who benefit, albeit temporarily, from all this are those
whose livelihood effectively depends on the exploitation of religious
institutions and sentiments. In the subcontinental context, such efforts
are doomed to failure, irrespective of the postures adopted by the national
governments in the region. Eventually elements of common history and
cultural continuity that exist in the region will prevail upon the people,
and national governments, despite the efforts of those who seek to exploit
religious differences, will be forced to adopt attitudes and policies that
the majority of their people dictate.


Back                          Top

«« Back
 
 
 
  Search Articles
 
  Special Annoucements