This is an archived blog post from The Acorn.
Six terrorists were shot dead by Indian security forces after a two-hour gunfight at the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi complex at Ayodhya, in India’s Uttar Pradesh state.
The choice of the site indicates an attempt to re-ignite communal passions and destabilise the domestic situation in India. Reports indicate that the terrorists belonged to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba — if this is confirmed, it points to yet another attempt by the jihadi organisations to open up new fronts in India. Coming during a time when the BJP is attempting to reinvent itself, the attack is a brazen attempt to keep alive the communal divide that is the bane of India’s politics. If it is L K Advani’s desire to re-position the BJP as a mainstream centre-right political party, he would do well to avoid fanning the flames. His call for nationwide public protests is not only dangerous in its own right, it will play right into the hands of the terrorists.
India’s mainstream media has been more than careful, even reluctant, to report on the identities of the terrorists. That is a responsible thing to do, but only until the facts are clearer. But a misplaced sense of political correctness should not prevent the media from reporting the facts as they are. The identities of the terrorists, their antecedents and their agenda must be uncovered and dispassionately reported.
Update:
(India’s Home Secretary Vinod Kumar) Duggal parried all questions as to which militant group was involved in the incident. “We are checking and we will come out with all the facts after the inquiry is over,” he said, adding “all we can share, as of now, was that they were not locals.”
He also parried a question about the religious identity of the militants as well. [PTI]
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