BOMBAY: India appears to be paving the way for raising the issue of bomb blasts at Bombay last week in the U.N. Security Council or some such international forum.

To divert attention from indigenous problems, the Indian foreign affairs ministry has been trying to cash in on the world abhorrence against terrorism and has been projecting the bomb blasts as the outcome of an international conspiracy 10 destabilize India. This line is being sold particularly to the western countries which face economic problems and vie India as a great, untapped market. Much is being made of the messages of sympathy received from heads of Germany, U.S.A. and certain other western countries.

Meanwhile, Indian security agencies continue to be in dark about the actual perpetrators of the bombings, Contradictory Statements are emanating from leading officials dealing with the enquiries. So much so the Indian home minister S.B, Chavan openly criticized the Bombay police chief for making statements on the bomb issue to “interfere” with the smooth Progress of the enquiries. Incidentally the police chief.

Amarjit Singh Samra had claimed in a Statement last week that the conspiracy was hatched at Karachi in Pakistan, The Indian media played down the charge but by mistake the government media allowed the news to be broadcast. An indication of the absence of any meaningful lead is provided by frantic enquiries by Indian security agencies in Punjab to find the alleged Sikh link with the Bombay blasts. Many close relations of militants were summoned to police stations to find out the telephonic contacts they had maintained with their relations abroad on the days and bombs blasted. International Human Rights Organization general secretary Mohinder Singh Grewal was called by the Central Bureau of Investigation to find out certain telephone calls he had received.

Muslim leader Syed Abdullah Bukhari alleged that numerous Muslim youths had been picked up and tortured in an effort to find out who were behind the Bombay blasts.

Several leading analysts in India have questioned Indian government’s argument that the Bombay blasts were the result of an international conspiracy; Kuldip Nayar said that the fact should be admitted that Muslims had been alienated from the Indian government in the wake of demolition of the masjid at Ayodhya and anti-Muslim riots in its aftermath. It was well known that Muslim youths were fast taking to the gun to avenge the humiliation of the community collectively by the Indian Hindu fundamentalists.

Patwant Singh said that India must stop Muslim-baiting to defuse the growing alienation of the Muslim population. He suggested that the blasts had a great deal to do with the incidents at Ayodhya and anti-Muslim riots. Foreign interests seek to fish in troubled but India must first cool down these waters, argues Kuldip Nayar.

Article extracted from this publication >>    March 26, 1993