Home Minister P. Chidambaram said on Wednesday his use of the term ‘saffron terror’ had served its purpose — that of drawing attention to the relatively new phenomenon.
Many, including some Congressmen had objected to the expression, claiming terror had no religion.
“Perhaps the use of that phrase has brought the message home. So, the purpose in a way has been served,” Chidambaram said at a press conference. Chidambaram used the term while addressing a conference of police chiefs five days ago.
Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh, however, insisted the use of ‘saffron terror' was not warranted. He preferred the alternative expression ‘Hindu fundamentalist terror’.
“Terrorism in the country arises from fundamentalists among both Hindus and Muslims,” he said.
Pointing to an analysis of the semantics relating to terrorism in HT, Chidambaram noted that many others before him had used the term ‘saffron’ to refer to Hindu fundamentalism.