Author: R. Madhavan Nair
Publication: The Hindu
Date: May 8, 2003
URL: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2003/05/08/stories/2003050802760500.htm
The mayhem in Marad has made it
imperative for the UDF Government to come out with confidence-building
measures to remove the fear and anxiety generated by the attack by religious
extremists in which nine persons were brutally killed.
The residents in Marad are shell-shocked
by the communal carnage, the first of its kind in the State. The shock
waves generated by the tragedy have not been confined to Marad and its
neighbourhood. The Chief Minister's party men here admit publicly that
the Marad massacre is an embarrassment to the Government.
It is true the Chief Minister, A.K.
Antony, has been quick to launch a damage control exercise. He rushed to
the scene of the massacre in a touching display of care and concern to
those in distress. And he also ordered a judicial probe into the ghastly
tragedy.
All these measures, however, cannot
wash away the stains of one major lapse on the part of the Antony Government:
its failure to strengthen security to prevent the recurrence of communal
flare-ups in Marad after the riots which spewed death and destruction there
in 2002.
The riots that broke out in 2002
had triggered a public outcry and the Government and cultural activists
were vocal in their condemnation of the incidents. But the Government failed
in its primary responsibility -- to vigorously pursue the cases against
the accused and bring those guilty to book.
The police action against the accused
in the 2002 riots failed to make any progress and when the gruesome murders
of May 2 happened, all the accused who should have been in jail if the
cases against them were pursued vigorously were at large. Clearly, there
was lack of a political will to take stern action against the perpetrators
of violence last year. Many suspect there were people in the high echelons
of power who did not want it to happen. Ruthless action against the miscreants
would have acted as a deterrent to those who engineered the bloodbath in
Marad.
That is why the second edition of
the Marad violence has become an embarrassment to Mr. Antony and his Government.
His own party men have been thrown into a state of shock by the incident.
Some of them have admitted that the event would damage the image of the
Government which has already taken a beating because of the police firing
on Adivasis in Muthanga on February 19.
The murders on May 2 have put on
the Government the heavy responsibility of devising an effective strategy
to crush attempts by religious fundamentalists to transplant into the State's
secular soil the brand of terrorism they practice in Jammu and Kashmir.
Now is the time for the Government to get tough and put down the trouble-makers
ruthlessly, even if it has to pay a heavy political price for such measures.
A communal volcano: Marad has been
a smoking communal volcano that could burst any time, after the first riots.
But when it happened on May 2, all concerned, including Government agencies,
were caught unaware.
Even though nearly one week has
gone by since the massacre took place, residents in the fishermen-dominated
region are still in a state of shock. Muslim families have fled, fearing
retaliatory attacks.
Those visiting Marad cannot miss
the strong sense of betrayal that the local people are seized with because
of the Government failure to provide them sufficient security. The communal
divide has certainly deepened.
Rebuilding of damaged houses, replacement
of houses destroyed in arson and similar welfare and relief measures undertaken
with public contributions have not healed the painful wounds inflicted
in the psyche of the victims of last year's riots. Even though there were
claims that communal amity was restored in Marad, there were enough signals
from there pointing to the strong possibility of more flare- ups
The gruesome event was undoubtedly
a sequel to the riots in 2002 in which five persons, three of them belonging
to a minority community, were slain and a large number of houses burnt
down in the communal conflagration.
The police are looking into reports
according to which the murders were to avenge the death of Aboobacker,
an NDF, supporters, who was among those killed in the 2002 riots.
Few doubt that the May 2 mayhem
was the doing of religious fanatics and executed with meticulous planning.
The miscreants caught everyone by surprise and escaped after mowing down
nine persons (five had died on the spot). Eight victims were from a single
community and the other victim who died, is believed to have been slain
by mistake by the assailants.
The incident is apt to sully the
reputation of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) also since nearly 25
persons arrested so far are its party men who are also suspected to have
strong links with the militant National Development Front (NDF).
The police are in possession of
evidence which they suspect points to the involvement of a prominent IUML
leader, indicating that the League's reputation as a moderating influence
among radical elements in the Muslim community is at stake.
Marad being an IUML stronghold,
few doubt the killings on May 2 could have taken place without the knowledge
of League supporters.
Police suspect the NDF's involvement
in the Marad murders since the injuries on the victims bore a striking
similarity with those found on the body of a CPI(M) worker, Binu, who was
killed in broad daylight in the communally sensitive Nadapuram region.
Known NDF activists have been booked for the Binu murder.
What is alarming, as pointed out
by the Union Minister of State for Home, I.D. Swami, during his visit to
Marad, was the seizure of arms and bombs fashioned out of Pepsi and other
soft-drink cans from the Marad Juma Masjid. A good number of the accused
in the case were arrested from the mosque the next day. Police interrogation
is also reported to have revealed that the murderous attacks were planned
in the mosque itself.
All these point to the urgent need
for a cleansing operation by political parties, including the IUML, to
eliminate from their ranks religious militants who have been using their
political party as a cover for their sinister activities. The IUML has
been promising such actions ever since the PDP and the NDF emerged on the
scene and started attracting from its ranks a large number of youth with
their militant slogans. The Marad incidents point to the need for the IUML
to step up its anti-militancy drive.
