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Tag: Terrorist Attack

Uri Attack: Enough Condemnation Seen- It’s High Time Now

Posted on by Ritwik Naidu

The people of Kashmir, at Uri, witnessed a sad demise on the morning of 18th September, when four heavily armed terrorists attacked the India Army base near the LoC at the town of Uri. Dropping down right after the attack were Home minister Rajnath Singh and Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar to look over the situation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and members of his cabinet vehemently condemned the attack.

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Picture Credits:  Deccan chronicle

The government was shocked by this mayhem because last week at the UNHRC summit at Geneva India clearly mentioned about Pakistan’s clear Human Rights Violation and “Cross Border Infiltration” which wouldn’t be tolerated at any level or stature. Given this it was clear that any further attack or Violation by Pakistan will be  responded head-on and won’t end at Verbal negotiation.

It’s been two days since the attack and the only way India responded to the attack is the comment by Manohar Parrikar stating that lives of the 17 jawans will ‘not go in vain’ and by the DGMO Lt. Ranbir Singh saying that “India will respond at the time, place of our choice.” This calls for clear acid test for the proposition government by observing the current situation.

Let’s look back into the past 3 years back on March, 2013. “One year before the Prime Minister’s election” on 3rd March in Srinagar,J&K where 5 CRPF personnel were brutally killed and three months after that on June 2013 at the Indian Army convoy at Srinagar where eight Jawans were killed while their travelling from Leh.

This marked a huge Loophole in the then Proposition Government(UPA led by Congress) where BJP accused the Congress party leaders of handling the crisis in a way which was intolerable and not acceptable. This marked a positive attitude on the side of BJP where it admonished Congress of it duties.

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And so the nation(Government) stands today looking and observing the despicable acts which ruins the credentials and integrity of our people. This is such a lame situation where it comes down to asking the government that ‘Are they really concerned about the injustice done to our soldiers Or  is it just about arguing over the issue whether who does justice to our own people?’

And what does ‘bringing justice’ actually means? Or everyone just wants to Outfox the other in the least legitimate way. Is it really so difficult to judge and react to such underlying actions in a justifiable way? Will it always be about political destabilization over justice for real heroes?

Story of Dhaka Attack – Try not to cry!

Posted on by Soheib Ahsan

‘I am afraid and not sure whether I will be able to come out alive. They are killing everyone here’ – the last words of a daughter to her father before she was killed by terrorists in Dhaka.

Sanjiv Jain was excited about the coming week. His son had just returned from college in Canada and his daughter would also be returning soon from Bangladesh from an Internship. With his wife and kids he would go to Firozabad where he would meet his brothers and they would have a lovely happy family reunion. Sanjiv’s plan fell apart after a phone call from his daughter.

Tarishi Jain, an undergraduate economics student at the University of California. She was a recipient of an internship with a Bangladesh bank through the Institute for South Asia studies at her university in California. On the night of Sunday, she called her father to tell him that she was hiding in Holey Artisan bakery’s washroom with her friends to hide from some heavily armed terrorists. ‘I am afraid and not sure whether I will be able to come out alive. They are killing everyone here’. Those were her last words to her father before her death. After the phone conversation with his daughter, Sanjiv gathered with dozens of anxious family and friends inside Gulshan café to know how the incident would end. By the time the terrorists were neutralized, 20 people including Tarishi were dead.

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Image source : financialexpress.com

Bangladesh home minister Asaduzzaman Khan said the attackers belonged to homegrown outfits like JMB (Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh). Pakistan’s ISI has a strong connection with the JMB, their aim being to derail the current government. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the killing of the hostages. The army managed to kill six attackers and captured the last one alive. The attackers were aged between 20-28 years and were well educated and came from rich families. All of them were students and communicated at the crime scene in Bengali and English. Three of the five attackers have been identified by former classmates.

The gunmen did a religion check of the captives by asking them to recite Quranic verses and tortured the ones who could not. Most of the killed were found with their throats slit. The hostages who were killed included Tarishi Jain, 9 Italians, 7 Japanese, an American of Bangladeshi origin and two Bangldeshis. Among the rescued were Indian, Sri Lankan and Japanese nationals. Around 30 people were injured.

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Image source : indianexpress.com

The incident has left the entire country and many others in a state of apprehension and sorrow. Many families lost their loved ones because they were not Muslim. Murder committed in the name of a religion that forbids killing of innocents and teaches its followers to respect every religion be it their own or any other. We live in a world where religion is used to justify brutal and unnecessary violence. What is the point of religion if it preaches violence over peace?  Our hearts go out for the victims of the siege and to their families. May the survivors have a speedy recovery.

Let us all remember that no religion preaches murder and terrorism is a disease that every religion must fight against as one. Let there be no more of Dhaka like attacks anywhere.