28 Jul, 2015
Terrorism’s saffron fault line – DAWN.COM
Saffron now carries the indelible imprint of BJP’s aggressive brand of religious-political chauvinism, particularly in the wake of the 2002 communal carnage in Gujarat when sword-wielding killers sported saffron headbands, stoles and pennants. It has thus become the default term for anything to do with Hindu supremacist politics and actions although the BJP has vigorously denounced this usage, especially in relation to terrorism.
In 2010, Congress Home Minister P. Chidambaram described the series of blasts set off by fanatical Hindu outfits in Malegaon, Ajmer Sharif, at Hyderabad’s Mecca Masjid and on the Samjhauta Express as “saffron terror”. Initially, investigators had assumed these blasts were the handiwork of jihadists and had arrested several Muslim men until the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) headed by a conscientious officer named Hemant Karkare stumbled, rather fortuitously, on the truth.
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