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In the wake of the various acts of
terror and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur’s motor cycle being traced,
it became clear that the investigating agencies are acting on the
wrong thesis that ‘all terrorists are Muslims’. A Pandora’s box
opened and the link of ex-ABVP activist, Pragya Thakur, Swami
Dayanand Pandey, retired Major Upadhayay, Lt Col Prasad Shrikant
Purohit and Swami Aseemanand came to surface, Role of two
organizations inspired by the ideology of ‘Hindu nation’, Abhinav
Bharat and Santana Sanstha also came to light. The investigations
led by Hemant Karkare, by the Rajasthan ATS and National
Investigation Agency (NIA) made it clear that there is a deeper
nexus of elements like Purohit &Co., those who have been part of
terror groups or have been supporting them in various ways. The
confessions of Swami Aseemanand, named many more activists
belonging to RSS combine, who are currently cooling their heels in
jails and are facing investigations for acts of terror.
Lt. Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit came to be identified as one of
the major player in the whole episode. He is the core person of
extremist Hindutva group Abhinav Bharat. He was arrested on 5th
November 2008 by Maharashtra ATS for his role in Malegaon blast.
It was the investigation of Malegaon blast, particularly under the
leadership of Hemant Karkare, which unearthed the whole terror
network, which later on came to be termed as Saffron terror by
P.Chidmabaram, the Union Home minister. For Purohit and other army
officers, the army instituted a court of inquiry.
During the inquiry what Col Purohit said is very revealing.
Purohit claimed that he was part of the network as an infiltrator
and was keeping his superiors in the loop, keeping them informed.
He claims that he infiltrated the terror network to keep a tab on
the same. But his statement leaves a lot of questions unanswered.
The major question is if he was doing all this for army, why did
army hand him over to Anti Terrorism Squad?
The whole investigation seems to be mired in mystery and lots of
facts need a further probe. Tehelka had also published
investigative reports naming several ex-military men from the
Bhosala Military School and their involvement in the Malegaon and
other blasts, which was later confirmed by the ATS. The
involvement of other army officers needs to be brought to surface
as the whole matter seems to be much serious than just a case of
few officers keeping a tab of these terrorist groups.
The blasts taking place in front of mosques and similar places
where Muslims congregate for prayers, at the time when they are
leaving the congregation was a clear indication of involvement of
‘other’ groups than the usual suspects, in which many a Muslim
youth had been arrested and later released due to lack of any
evidence whatsoever.
In the light of many a military officers role in these acts, it
did not therefore, come as a surprise that Mohan Bhagwat, RSS
Chief used the platinum jubilee celebrations of the Bhosala
Military school (BMS) say that “military schools run under the
aegis of Hindutva institutions are the need of the hour,”.
Looking at the key role played by Bhosala Military School, which
is run by a group of people whose sympathies with the RSS is no
secret, one fails to understand why the chief bosses of the school
were not investigated for their role in the acts of terror? Very
few people even know that BMS is one of those rare schools who
impart training on service pattern to the students along with
regular courses which is aimed at encouraging and preparing them
for entry into National Defense Academy (NDA), Indian Military
Academy (IMA) etc and other defense services.
Bhosala Military School has a long history. It was set up by Dr.
B.S. Munje, the mentor of RSS Sarsanghclak, Dr. K.B. Hedgewar. Dr.
Munje was inspired by Benito Mussolini’s fascist methods and
believed that one who controls army rules the country. His statue
in the Nagpur, where RSS was founded, has this phrase written on
the plaque. With this perspective in mind this school was set up
to act as a feeder for Indian army. The school was set up with the
assistance of British and it supplied officers to the British
army. Its training is meant to supply officers for Indian army.
Now it emerges from different confessions and statements that the
groups involved in terror had deeper connection with this school.
What ideology it teaches and what it aims is very clear from some
of the statements of the accused.
The phenomenon of Hindutva terror allegedly revolves around the
likes of Lt. Col Purohit and Swami Aseemanand of RSS to name the
two central characters. After Swami Aseemanand’s confession the
total picture and their agenda becomes clear. Aseemanand had said
that 'bomb is the answer to bomb'. He also wanted to pave the way
for the goal of Hindu nation through such terror outfits and their
goal was larger than just a blast here and a blast there, they
aimed at Hindu nation. Purohit in his statements during
interrogation has said that their effort was to fight the Indian
Constitution for (Hindu) Nation, “We will fight the Constitution
to fight for our nation.” The RSS propaganda that Hindu religion
is in danger and it needs to be defended was also stated by
Purohit. He also says “many things are wrong in the country and
need to be rectified. Hindu religion is in danger. It is our duty
to defend Hinduism.” And finally “We have to establish this
country in accordance with the Vedic procedures; we want the
Sanatan Dharma, the Vedic Dharma.”
The la affair Purohit is getting murkier and murkier. The agenda
of Hindu nation, the role of Bhosala military school and other
army officers in the whole chain of command cannot be accepted at
the face value. It needs a deeper probe and investigation of the
whole terror network and the role of army officers, as it is clear
that Col Purohit’s statement that he was keeping other army
officers in the loop for an operation which was not the part of
the army intelligence work, is a matter of worry. The role played
by Bhosla Military School also needs to be probed. The ideology
which such people are harboring to fight Indian Constitution to
build Hindu nation is a clear danger to our Constitution, the
democratic values and the plural character of the country. How
does one save the values of India’s Constitution, the values of
India’s freedom movement?
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