Hindus, Muslims divided over India's new anti-terrorism law

Apr 9, 2002

By BETH DUFF-BROWN,

AHMADABAD, India - A tough new anti-terrorism law is dividing Indians, with many Hindus saying it is needed after a series of deadly attacks, while enraged Muslims fear the measure will be used selectively against them.

 The legislation, adopted by Parliament two weeks ago, gives authorities sweeping powers to detain suspects for three months without charges and try anyone suspected of giving money, shelter or other support to terrorists. The law allows for the death penalty.

 K.K. Shastri, a 97-year-old sage of India's Hindu nationalist movement, believes the law is needed to prevent "those terrorists coming from the outside" � a reference to Islamic holy warriors from neighboring Pakistan trying to seize Indian Kashmir (news - web sites).

 Since Sept. 11, some Indians have come to believe that Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s al-Qaida network and Afghanistan (news - web sites)'s defeated Taliban have set their sights on the disputed Himalayan province, where Islamic insurgents are fighting to separate the region or merge it with Muslim Pakistan.

 "The al-Qaida, the Taliban, they're all working in coordination with each other and people here have become agents of those groups to carry out activities here in India," said Shastri, president of Gujarat state's World Hindu Council.

 Supporters also say the need for the Prevention of Terrorism Law was made evident by a Dec. 13 assault on India's Parliament that left 14 people dead. New Delhi blames the attack on Muslim militants backed by Pakistan's spy agency, a charge Islamabad denies.

 Opponents contend the law will curtail civil rights and fear India's Hindu nationalist-led government will use it selectively against Muslims and political rivals. Hindus comprise 80 percent of India's 1 billion-plus population.

 Hindu-Muslim relations are already tense after six weeks of sectarian clashes in western Gujarat state which have left more than 820 people, mostly Muslims, dead. The violence began Feb. 27 after Muslims set fire to a train carrying Hindus returning from a pilgrimage. Fifty-eight people were killed in the attack, and Hindus went on a retaliatory rampage.

 Shastri says he does not believe the law should be used against those Hindus accused of burning Muslims alive during the revenge attacks. Some have argued that the burnings are a form of terrorism and many Muslims believe they are sponsored by the state's Hindu nationalist government.

 More than 1,000 Muslim-owned businesses have been destroyed. Fliers circulating in Ahmadabad, the commercial capital of this relatively prosperous state, have called on Hindus to boycott Muslim establishments in an effort to "break their backbones."

 "Then it will be difficult for them to live in any corner of this country," the flier says.

 Muslims in Gujarat say the flier was circulated by the VHP, the most powerful Hindu nationalist group in the country. They worry the anti-terrorism law will compound discrimination against Muslims and other religious minorities.

 "It's part of the (Hindu) supremacy movement," said Father Cedric Prakash, a Jesuit priest and human rights activist in Ahmadabad. "We have sufficient laws to fight against terrorism in this country. This one is Draconian, it's barbaric and it's unnecessary."

 Munir Sheikh is a state insurance worker helping to coordinate relief efforts for the 10,500 Muslims left homeless by the violence in Ahmadabad. The Prevention of Terrorism law, he said, is just another way for Indian politicians to target religious minorities.

 "There are no outside terrorists in India, it's just the fascist groups such as the VHP saying this," said Sheikh.

 "The Muslims of this country won't allow any outsiders to come in and terrorize India. We love this country and would give our lives for it," he said.

 India's Home Ministry said that of the 69 people detained so far under the anti-terrorism law, 51 were Muslims from Kashmir, India's only predominantly Muslim state.

 One of the most prominent arrests under the law was Yasin Malik, leader of the former militant group, Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front. His arrest last week ignited protests and strikes in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu-Kashmir.

 "It was enacted to put separatist leaders in jails so that India can carry on its imperialist designs in Kashmir," said Abdul Ghani Bhat, another Kashmiri separatist leader.

India and Pakistan have fought two wars over Kashmir.