Author: P R Ramesh
Publication: Economic Times
Dated: August 8, 2007
Introduction: The power elite and liberals
organised a massive civic reception for Islamist leader Madani in Thiruvananthapuram.
The latest self-serving display of hypocrisy is understandable as Kerala's
politicians don't mind somersaults if they fetch votes. Being on the right
side of hardline opinion will only imperil the security of the citizen
Islamist leader Abdul Nasser Madani is the
latest cause celebre of the Left, the Congress and the civil liberty alarmists.
A hardline leader, who still faces around 20 cases in Kerala that include
spreading communal hatred, was recently exonerated by a special court of the
charges of his involvement in the Coimbatore blasts case. The Tamil Nadu government,
which appoints the prosecutor, was under pressure from the Kerala government
to ensure his release. In a rare show of bipartisan unity, the Congress and
the Left had got together to pass a unanimous resolution in the Kerala Assembly
demanding parole for Madani. They got soothing news from Coimbatore last week
when the special court acquitted the fiery Islamist for lack of evidence regarding
his involvement in the bombings that killed 58 people.
The power elite and the liberals promptly
organised a massive civic reception for Madani in Thiruvananthapuram. While
liberals launched into an exercise at guilt-tripping for the "excesses
committed by the State", politicians promised limitless healthcare support
and police protection for the Islamist. The political leadership hectored
the audience on the need for unity and harmony in the company of Madani. He
told the meeting that his politics flowed out of his religion and that his
politics would be radically different from the "mainstream" IUML.
Incidentally, it was a government headed by
the Communists, who organised the celebrations in Thiruvananthapuram, that
handed over Madani to the Tamil Nadu police after the Coimbatore blasts. The
LDF had claimed that he was the biggest threat to communal harmony in Kerala.
The Congress-led government headed by A K Antony that came to power subsequently
endorsed the previous government's stand that Madani and his men have bloodstained
resume. The then chief minister had said that letting him out on parole could
lead to communal disturbances in the state.
The latest self-serving display of hypocrisy
is understandable as Kerala's political class doesn't mind somersaults if
they help swell their electoral kitty. Association with thugs does not really
worry them. Instances are many. CM Achuthanadan himself has recently admitted
that list of endorsers of his party leadership reads like a who's who of hoodlums.
But the trend is worrying as it comes at a
time when the state is having to brace itself for the arrival of arson-setting
and bomb-strapped men. Intelligence agencies have been warning the state that
Kerala's coastline has become important destination for pushing equipment
and resources for terror groups operating in Kerala and neighbouring Tamil
Nadu.
A wink here and a nod there by the state's
politicians have ensured that there is no hindrance to the mobilisation based
on transnational grievances. The biggest audience for the manufactured outrage
over the Danish cartoon on the Prophet, protests against India's engagement
with the US and solidarity for Saddam Hussain were provided by the northern
districts of Kerala.
Kerala was in news recently for its spotty
record on fighting terror-financing when the high court directed the state
government to take immediate measures to track the source of Rs 4 million
hawala funds that landed in Kondotty village of Kerala. State home minister
Kodiyeri Balakrishnan was forced to admit in the Assembly that illegal transfer
of money to the state by agents abroad is a Rs 100-million-a-year business.
The minister also told the Assembly that investigations into some of the cases
showed that people involved in this illegal trade had links with antinational
forces. The state intelligence set up is also suspecting a portion of these
funds sustaining the radical Islamic outfit NDF.
Predictably, the fatwa-issuing NDF - its recent
"protest" movements were against school uniforms and singing of
the national anthem - has been denying charges against the outfit. The all-round
backing for Madani saw the NDF coming out to seek the same lenient treatment
for its activists lodged in different jails for their involvement in the Marad
carnage. There was no uproar. No outrage.
Kerala's bizarre politically-correct leadership,
however, seems unconcerned over the threat that this coddling poses to its
people. With the two sides of the political aisle vying with each other for
a larger share of the minority vote - the Muslim vote alone accounts for 20%
- the competition to appease hotheads is certain to intensify in the coming
months.
But this cynical game has not been attracting
any adverse attention in the mainstream media or the intelligentsia of the
state. Perfectly understandable. This compassionate crowd has a pathological
distaste for accepting the reality. And they barbecue anyone who questions
their make-believe world or identifies the enemy.
In these troubled times, policies of the government
should not be framed to please this crowd. It's time to admit that the state's
secular fabric is under severe stress. Attempts to be on the right side of
hardline opinion will only imperil the security of the citizen.
