The grisly murder of a tailor in Rajasthan’s Udaipur earlier this year has now been linked to radical elements and organisations in Pakistan. A charge sheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against 11 people includes the two killers who brandished the murder weapons on camera and gloated about the gruesome crime, and two Karachi-based suspects the investigators have linked to an Islamic organisation in Pakistan. The federal agency said that the first Pakistani suspect egged on the two
The grisly murder of a tailor in Rajasthan’s Udaipur earlier this year has now been linked to radical elements and organisations in Pakistan. A charge sheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against 11 people includes the two killers who brandished the murder weapons on camera and gloated about the gruesome crime, and two Karachi-based suspects the investigators have linked to an Islamic organisation in Pakistan. The federal agency said that the first Pakistani suspect egged on the two alleged murderers to do “something spectacular”, this newspaper reported on Friday. The second suspect played an active part in the conspiracy, and together, the duo radicalised the two Indian Muslim men with hate-filled audio and video clips and inflammatory texts, the investigators added.
The daylight murder of the tailor — who allegedly backed some controversial statements made by a now-suspended Bharatiya Janata Party spokespe-rson on Prophet Mohammed — was reprehensible for its barbarism and cruelty that struck a blow at the edifice of a plural society. If the charge sheet is indeed proven correct, it portends a grave threat to India’s multicultural and tolerant ethos because it means that nefarious actors from across the border are trying to radicalise impressionable minds, using misleading literature with the aim of stoking communal passions and destabilising Indian society. It supplies further proof that India’s western neighb-our is actively engaged in waging an asymmetric war that needs to be countered not just on the battlefield or multilateral forums but also in the cognitive domain. That the two Karachi-based men were able to exploit a vulnerable moment and use the context of the unfortunate comments made on Prophet Mohammed to goad people into committing a crime should put law enforcement agencies on alert.
This is not the first time such links have been drawn to radicalisation cells in Pakistan. But Islamabad is poised at a delicate moment. The federal government led by Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif appears besieged with waning popularity; a renegade challenger in former PM Imran Khan appears popular and formidable in his ability to mobilise support on the streets; a new army chief, in General Asim Munir, is busy in managing the fallout of the end of the ceasefire with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan; and the political leadership is likely playing to the domestic galleries by publicly hardening its position on India, a fact made clear by Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s uncivil comments directed at PM Narendra Modi last week. This churn poses a risk to the stability of the region, especially because it may encourage some actors to disturb social cohesion for malicious reasons.
This conspiracy and dogma need to be fought at multiple levels. Of course, the government and its various arms will secure India’s borders, track the roots of radicalisation and crack down on elements bent on stoking strife. But it is also a moment for India to rediscover its core values of mutual respect, tolerance, diversity and dignity, and affirm them for every citizen regardless of where they come from or who they pray to. In weeding out fringe elements who stir majoritarian sentiments and weaken our multicultural fabric, India will emerge stronger.
One Subscription.
Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines
to 100 year archives.
Archives
HT App & Website