RVS Mani, a former Under-Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) authored a book called Hindu Terror which was released earlier this year. This book is a vivid account of how the then Congress led UPA government tried its best to propagate the myth of Hindu terror and tarnish the image of Hindus. The book through documents and details reconstructs how the then home minister P Chidambaram literally manufactured the ‘Hindu terror’. RVS Mani also claims in his book that NIA which was created after P Chidambaram took over as the union home minister was all about introducing the non-existent concept of Hindu terror. Further, it is claimed that there was an attempt to portray even the 26/11 Mumbai attacks as the work of the so-called Hindu terror despite substantial evidence of Pakistan-based terror outfit executing the massacre. It must not be forgotten that Congress leader Digvijay Singh, had also suggested the role of Hindu terror behind the 26/11 terror strikes.
However, the book only details attempts in the top power corridors to concoct the myth of Hindu terror and to defame the Hindus for political gains. The tales of torture and anguish of those who were implicated for the fake Hindu terror narrative are relegated to the background.
Recently, Sadhvi Pragya, one of the fake ‘Hindu terror’ narrative victims has given a heart wrenching account of the extent of torture that she had to go through. Responding to questions put up by Rajat Sharma on India TV’s Aap ki Adalat she stated that she was tortured by Maharashtra ATS officials for 24 days on a trot. In an extremely saddening account of what she had to go through, wheelchair bound Sadhvi Pragya revealed, “I was brutally beaten by male officers with a broad expeller belt, day and night for 24 days in custody. My arms and legs were swollen, which were then immersed in salty warm water, and the beatings resumed.” She also stated that filthy abuses were hurled at her by the male officers and all attempts were made to extract a confession from her. She also revealed that she was not allowed to sleep while she was incarcerated in an attempt to weaken her mentally and forcing a confession from her.
Another victim of the fake Hindu terror propaganda has been Lt. Col. Purohit. In December 2013, he wrote a 24-page letter to the NHRC in which the Malegaon blast accused shared his ordeal. Lt Col Purohit claimed that he was beaten and threatened to own up to a crime he never committed. In the letter he alleged that he was illegally detained and also alleged that he was tortured by some ATS and Army officers following his arrest in the case. In total, he named six officers for the torture in the letter. Last year, Lt. Col. Purohit finally got some relief as he was granted bail by the Supreme Court. Earlier, his bail plea had been dismissed by the Bombay High Court. He had to languish in jail for nine years after he was accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts. A special MCOCA court had earlier ruled that the ATS had wrongly applied this Act against Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur and nine others. Apart from this, even Retd. Brigadier Raj Kumar who was the nodal officer of the army in the Malegaon blast case had stated that the UPA wanted to hasten the prove and that Lt. Col. was wrongly implicated in the Malegaon case. This clearly raises the apprehension of fake propaganda and malice on the part of the then UPA government.
The ordeal of the above mentioned victims shows that the Congress can employ the most horrifying of methods to stay in power. The fake Hindu terror narrative was not merely a political narrative but malice and torture in order to extract confessions was shamelessly used to pursue this narrative. This unmasks the true face of the Congress which can stoop to any level for maintaining its electoral arithmetic.
