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MEMRI Daily – South Asia Studies Project: November 26, 2010 MEMRI | MEMRI TV | THE MEMRI BLOG | MEMRI ECONOMIC BLOG | JIHAD AND TERRORISM THREAT MONITOR TURKISH MEDIA PROJECT | IRAN BLOG | THE MIDDLE EAST CULTURE BLOG| THE URDU-PASHTU MEDIA BLOG

The following is research published recently from MEMRI’s Special Dispatch Series. Following are reports from the South Asia Studies Project, visit the South Asia Studies Project at http://www.memri.org/subject/en/840.htm daily. Visit the Urdu-Pashtu Media Blog at http://www.thememriblog.org/urdupashtu. Inquiry and Analysis No. 647—India/South Asia Studies Project Discussing the Phenomenon of 'Hindu Terrorism' in India By: Tufail Ahmad* On November 10, 2010, Mohan Bhagwat, the chief of the Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS, or the National Volunteer Organization), criticized the centrist Indian government for unleashing a campaign alleging the involvement of "Hindu terrorists" in several bomb blasts in predominantly Muslim towns in recent years. He said that neither Hindus nor the RSS had ever been "synonymous with terrorism." The RSS was established in the 1920s as a patriotic organization, against British rule and Muslim separatism in India. Over the past decades, it has emerged as the mother of almost all Hindu nationalist organizations, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is the country's main right-wing opposition; Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP or World Hindu Council); Bajrang Dal; Shiv Sena; Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) (All India Students Council), which is the student wing of BJP; Hindu Jagran Manch; Shri Ram Sene; etc. These Hindu organizations are collectively known as Sangh Privar, i.e. the RSS family. India's federal Minister for Women, Renuka Chowdhury, has described an attack on a pub by the Shri Ram Sene as an attempt to "Talibanize" India. The RSS chief's statement against equating terrorism with Hindus follows the arrests of several RSS-linked individuals for their role in a number of bomb blasts at the holy places of Indian Muslims. Currently, a huge controversy is raging in India over whether these individuals should be called "Hindu terrorists," while the Indian media is using the term "Hindu terrorist" to describe those arrested in connection with attacks on Muslim shrines and mosques, which were initially blamed on Indian Islamic terrorists. Internationally and in India, there is a contentious debate over whether terrorism should be identified by religious affiliation, e.g. as Islamic or Hindu terrorists. However, not all terrorists are described by religious identity, whether Hindu, Muslim or Christian. In Pakistan, Muslims fighting for independence of Baluchistan province are known as Baluchi nationalist militants – but the Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters are described as Islamic terrorists because they are fighting for the enforcement of Islamic Shari'a. In Sri Lanka, fighters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are not called Hindu terrorists. In Northern Ireland, Protestant or Catholic groups were not considered to be Christian terrorists, because they were not fighting to establish a Christian state. In India itself, not all militants are described as Hindu terrorists. For example, leftist rebels are described as Maoist militants, or simply leftist rebels. However, Indian Muslim militants are dubbed Islamic terrorists, as they are fighting for an elusive Islamic victory. Be all that as it may, the use of the term "Hindu terrorism" has rattled the RSS, BJP and other Hindu organizations in India, as all of them view themselves as true nationalists. To read in full, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4781.htm. Special Dispatch No. 3395—South Asia Studies Project/Afghanistan Haji Mohammad Mohaqqiq, Leader of Hizb Wahdat-e-Islami, Says Afghan President Hamid Karzai has Turned into a ‘Soft Kind of Dictator’ On September 13, 2010, a Pakistani website posted a recent television interview with Haji Mohammad Mohaqqiq, the leader of Hizb Wahdat-e-Islami (the Islamic Unity Party). In the interview, Mohaqqiq spoke about a range of Afghan issues, including his support to President Hamid Karzai during the August 2009 elections. The interview was telecast as part of the Jirga program, hosted by prominent Pakistani television anchor Saleem Safi on Pakistan’s main television channel Geo News. In the interview, which was telecast with Urdu voice over, Mohaqqiq criticized the Karzai government for having a cabinet with only Pashtuns serving in the important minister positions. Mohaqqiq’s Hizb Wahdat-e-Islami, a Shi’ite party, mainly represents the Hazara tribe of Afghanistan. The Hazara leader stressed that the main reason U.S. troops are in Afghanistan is because the Taliban and other militants pose a threat to the world. He urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to unite to confront the threat of extremism in both countries. To read in full, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4785.htm. Special Dispatch No. 3394—South Asia Studies Project/Afghanistan/Taliban/Jihad & Terrorism Studies The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Vows to Continue the Battle in Afghanistan, Says: 'The NATO Decision to Start Withdrawal of Military Forces from Afghanistan in 2014 is an Irrational Decision' During the November 19-20, 2010, conference on Afghanistan in Lisbon, Portugal, heads of the governments of 28 NATO member states approved a NATO plan to hand over security responsibilities to Afghan National Army by the end of 2014. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban's shadow government in Afghanistan) issued two statements, one written before the Lisbon conference but published on November 20, and the other written after the Lisbon conference and published on November 21. The statements were published on the official Taliban website. In the November 20 statement, the Taliban noted that the U.S has chosen Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban, as the key battleground "both for its sentimental and strategic importance." However, the Taliban statement posits that the U.S. troops have not been able to achieve any success in this battleground region, while "the battle for Kandahar has settled steadily in the Mujahideen's favor." In the November 21 statement, the Taliban said that the NATO plan to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by 2014 is irrational "because until then, various untoward and tragic events and battles will take place as a result of this meaningless, imposed, and un-winning war." The Taliban statement also warned that the West will not be able to establish a stable government in Kabul, observing: "In the past nine years, the invaders could not establish any system of governance in Kabul; and they will never be able to do so in future." To read in full, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4784.htm. Special Dispatch No. 3392—South Asia Studies Project/Afghanistan/Taliban Pakistani Journalist Rejects Media Reports of Peace Talks with the Taliban, Says: 'Sections of the Media, Particularly in the U.S., Faithfully Reported the Claims About the Nonexistent Talks Without Bothering to Check the Facts' In a recent article titled 'Talking With the Enemy," senior Pakistani journalist Rahimullah Yusufzai argued that the U.S. media reports about peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government are incorrect, and observed that the Western media reports about the so-called talks are part of a psychological campaign launched by the U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan "to create confusion in the ranks of the Taliban." However, he added, the Taliban too have discussed some ideas regarding their position vis-à-vis that of the Afghan government, and a seven-point wish list has been prepared by the Taliban in this regard. Yusufzai is a senior Pakistani journalist and has covered Taliban-related developments in the Pakistani tribal region for several decades. He is currently Resident Editor of the Pakistani daily The News in Peshawar. To read in full, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4782.htm.