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Geopolitics of the Mumbai Attacks

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On the 26th November the world watched as the mass murder of people was taking place in the Indian city of Mumbai. A group of gunmen carried out what was described as a very sophisticated operation with Indian commando's struggling to cope and failing to contain the attack.

On the surface the attack does not seem that sophisticated due to the type of weapons used and the operations size and scope. However, multiple methods of approaching the city and excellent operational security and discipline in the final phases of the operation, enabled the last remaining attackers to hold out in the Taj Mahal hotel for several days.

The blame for the attacks was placed squarely on Pakistan by the Indian government. As of yet no evidence has been provided apart from the alleged confessions of the one of the captured gunmen, Ajmal Amir Kasab, who, it is said, admitted to being a member of Lashkar-e-Taiba and received training in Pakistan.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to the region in response to the attacks has resulted in many leaks to the media, which has only fuelled the flames of mistrust. Rice's trip took place amid a rash of leaks in the Indian and US media blaming the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba for masterminding the Mumbai attacks. An unnamed Indian official stated in the Wall Street Journal that India had identified Yusuf Muzammil of Lashkar-e-Taiba as the man who orchestrated the plan. The Indian press over the week after the bombings reported that India had "proof" that Pakistan's ISI was involved in the Mumbai attacks. Significantly, the New York Times cited an unnamed former US Defence Department official as saying that: "American intelligence agencies had determined that former officers from Pakistan's Army and its powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency helped to train the Mumbai attackers".

No evidence has been made public to confirm any such accusations. Several articles have cast doubt on even the basic claims made about the detained gunman. The Times in London noted that Pakistani officials had been unable to trace Kasab to the village of Faridkot in Punjab-a fact widely cited by Indian police-and pointed out that there were in fact three villages with that name in the province.

India continues to allege that Pakistan was directly involved in the bombings. In New Delhi on the 3rd December, Condoleezza Rice publicly backed India's demands on Pakistan for tough measures against the alleged perpetrators of the atrocity. The following day, after meeting with President Zardari in Islamabad, she declared that Pakistan was "very focussed and committed" to fighting terrorism, but reinforced the message that the Pakistani government had to provide "unequivocal assistance" to India.

Hence the bombings are being blamed on Pakistan and pressure is being placed upon Pakistan to root out such perpetuators, without a shred of evidence being presented.

India's Domestic Woes

With general elections in early 2009 an important aspect of the bombings that has been deliberately missed is the role of right wing Hindu groups who have already been implicated in other bombings in India that resulted in violence against Muslims.

The BJP which is a coalition of Hindu parties has previously used violence such as the Gujarat massacre and the Godhra issue for electoral politics. With National elections in May 2009 Chief Hemant Karkare of the Anti-Terror task force (ATS) had already exposed links between right wing Hindu groups and the Malegoan and Samjauta express blasts, something which was designed in a manner to pin blame on Muslims. The chief had exposed the involvement of the mode of operations of various radical Hindu groups, despite severe political pressure. He was also in the middle of an investigation which would have exposed the secret links between the Indian military and Hindu terror groups.  His investigation resulted in uncovering the involvement of three Indian military intelligence officers in terrorist acts that were blamed on Muslim groups. In the very first hours of the Mumbai attack, the unknown attackers were able to achieve a singular feat: the targeted murder of Hemant Karkare,

Right wing Hindu groups began an aggressive advertisement campaign across India urging a scared population to rise against the government. Two days after the attacks, front-page advertisements appeared in several newspapers in Delhi showing blood splattered against a black background and the slogan "Brutal Terror Strikes At Will" in bold capital letters. The ads signed off with a simple message: "Fight Terror. Vote B.J.P." There were also advertisements that were cast as an appeal from Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the prime minister in the last BJP led coalition government. They cited the loss of lives in Mumbai and concluded, "We must elect a government that can fight terror tooth and nail."

The right wing Hindu groups who make up the coalition in the BJP want to see India emerge as a superpower closely allied with the United States. They are excited about American plans for India as a regional policeman and have no problem in confronting Pakistan to achieve this status. They think time is slipping and they don't want a hesitant political leadership in their way. Already the instability in the wake of the Mumbai attacks is being exploited to start a war with Pakistan. The fact that this will also help the US military facing a tough time in Afghanistan appears to be more than just a coincidence.

This is why public opinion in India is shifting from stunned to furious. India's government led by the Congress party is politically weak and nearing the end of its life span. It lacks the political power to ignore the attack, even if it were inclined to do so. If it ignored the attack, it would fall, and a more intensely nationalist government would take its place.

The position of the Congress party was further hampered by a US official who told the Associated Press that the Indian authorities had been told of an apparent plot to launch an attack on Mumbai from the sea. The leaking of such information by the US at such a crucial time for the Congress led government has played directly into BJP hands.

Pakistan

The US and India for some time have accused Pakistan's Inter-State Intelligence (ISI) apparatus and elements within the army of supporting, training and maintaining Jihadi groups throughout the region. In order to understand this claim and the subsequent actions Pakistan is continually being pressurised to undertake, the reality of Jihadi groups and the role they have played in the region needs to be understood.

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 was not viewed as an isolated event of limited geographical importance but had to be contested by the US who viewed it as a potential threat to the Persian Gulf region. Operation Cyclone was the code name for the United States CIA programme to arm the Afghan mujahideen. The US also initiated programs for training Jihadi groups in techniques such as car bombings and assassinations and in engaging in cross-border raids into the USSR. The so called support for Islamisation was seen as necessary and a useful tool to drive out the Soviet Union. In this way the US through Pakistan and the ISI trained and funded many Jihadi groups.

The US eventually stopped all funding after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989 and essentially left Pakistan to pick up the mess. The cooperation between the Pakistani army, Mujahideen and the ISI meant relations ran deep and this continued until 9/11. After the events of 9/11 the Jihadi groups, the training camps and Pakistan's support to the Taliban were seen as counter to US interests. As a result when Musharraf sided with the US in the war on terror the supply line that fed the network of Jihadi groups ceased.

It should be remembered that the Taliban and all the mujahideen groups could not exist without the support Pakistan provided them. They were never independent and therefore could never become self-sufficient. For the US the Islamisation programme has essentially outlived its use and was now threatening US interests. Therefore after 9/11, in cahoots with General Musharraf, the US has worked to actively reverse this process. However, the US is finding that many elements within the army and especially within the ISI are refusing to end their support to the Mujahideen. The US is also in similar vain looking to reverse the Islamic revolution which it secretly backed in Iran in 1979 as it has outlived its use but is finding similar problems as conservatives exist across the military, intelligence services and judiciary.

It is for these reasons Pakistan is continually blamed for having radical elements amongst its ranks. Musharraf was given over $10 billion dollars to purge his army and carry out military action along the Durand line against targets chosen by US intelligence. Although Musharraf complied, on many occasions due to pressure from elements within the army, deals were made with tribal leaders to not support the Taliban and other Jihadi groups. However after 5 years the US has found this strategy has failed and the Taliban have returned even stronger.

It is for this reason the bombings in Mumbai have been used to pressurize Pakistan to remove the radical (Islamic) elements within the military apparatus as well as the ISI. Pakistan is also being accused of having training camps (which the US funded during the Soviet invasion) which need to be bombed, so that the US and NATO can win the war in Afghanistan.

Without Pakistan's cooperation the US would be in a real predicament since it would be unable to gain full grip on the region.

Regional Geopolitics

President elect Barack Obama has made it very clear that the real war is not in Iraq but along the Durand line in the sub-continent. Pakistan is right in the middle of this geopolitical struggle. However the problem is not actually Afghanistan, but central Asia. Afghanistan became a problem because the US has failed after five years to dominate Afghanistan.

US interests in the region, centre around containing China and attempting to deal with a resurgent Russia who is adamant on bringing back under its fold all the nations that formed the USSR. The US in the mid-1990's viewed India as key to containing China and as a result the US through many multinationals and defence deals worked to develop India as a counter weight to China. The biggest problem the US-India axis faced was the huge financial burden India had in maintaining troops in Kashmir. Hence the key for the US in the region is solving the Kashmir dispute, which will then allow India to police the region. However Islamic elements within the Pakistan army continue to frustrate such a plan.

All this clearly shows that the region will only grow in importance, and Pakistan holds the key for US hegemony in the region.

If all such issues are taken in to account any of the following scenario's are possible:

  1. The position of the Congress Party has weakened considerably with the Mumbai bombings. Radical elements from the right have successfully created public opinion against the Congress led government in regards security failures and inaction. Congress will have to undertake some action if it wants to win the general election in 2009. India may push forces forward all along the Indo-Pakistani frontier, move its nuclear forces to an alert level, and may even bomb some targets in order to appease domestic public opinion.
  1. Given the nature of the situation India could attack short distances into Pakistan and even carry out air strikes deep in Pakistan. However this would be fraught with danger due to the response Pakistan could give.
  1. India may move to a near-war posture, but will use this to make demands of Pakistan, such as passing intelligence and dismantling Jihadi training camps. However the problem with this outcome is that it may be seen as insufficient action by the Indian public.
  1. For the US any type of confrontation between India and Pakistan means Pakistani forces would be shifted from the Durand line to the border with India, which in essence would give the Taliban a field day as the noose that was attempting to tighten it would have disappeared.
  1. The US in all cases will have to heed to Indian demands to increase the military presence against Pakistan to a near war situation. This places the US in a considerable dilemma since its forces will have to defend themselves on their own. However, more importantly a stray bullet, missile or tank on the Indian Pakistan border could kick-start a war.
  1. Both the US and India will up the ante against radical elements within the Pakistani establishment. The US will pressurise the Pakistan government to dismantle the Jihadi training camps, bomb those who support them and purge the army and ISI. This to some extents will create a problem in Pakistan as Zardari's civilian government is weak and unable to impose itself on the military. Zardari's initial decision of sending the head of the ISI caused him much embarrassment. Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha sent a lower ranking officer, which for the US and India will continue to be used as a basis to prove that radical elements actually run the country.
  1. In the long term this may very well mean the US will extend bombing well into Pakistan and do the job the Pakistani army refuses to do. However this will lead to a direct confrontation with Pakistan and its army, and the current US situation in the region is very weak to carry out such operations.

A Resurgent Pakistan

Islamabad has been unable to control radical Pakistani Islamic groups. India in the past did not want war with Pakistan as it felt it had more important issues to deal with domestically. New Delhi therefore accepted Islamabad's assurances that Pakistan would do its best to curb terror attacks, and after suitable posturing, allowed tensions originating from Islamist attacks to pass. However this will in all cases not happen after the Mumbai bombings.

For Pakistan it will have a much more aggressive India and the US who is not only bribing Pakistan with aid to kill its own people, but is very quickly running out of patience with Pakistan's performance.

Pakistan finds itself at the centre of a geopolitical conflict that will only get more complex as the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks unfold. Pakistan has done nothing to shape the geopolitics that is unfolding in front of its very eyes. The civilian government of Zardari is out if its league and has reduced itself to being America's proxy. The Radical (Islamic) elements within Pakistan understand US intentions well and are attempting to defend Pakistan against US hegemony. However they have found resistance from secular elements within the establishment.

Pakistan actually has no choice but to restructure the nation so it can better deal with the geopolitics that is being played out. However weak anyone considers Pakistan it actually has all the ingredients that will allow it to industrialise rapidly and take its destiny into its own hands. This can be seen as:

  1. Pakistan has actually sustained America's war in Afghanistan by supplying it essential fuel. According to expert data, almost 80% of the fuel used by the American war machine in Afghanistan is currently being supplied by Pakistani refineries.
  • 2. Pakistan has immense varieties of minerals and natural resources. Baluchistan province is a mineral rich area having substantial mineral, oil and gas reserves which have not been exploited to their full capacity or fully explored.
  • 3. Any developing nation needs large reserves of energy resources as industrialisation would not be possible without them. Whilst countries like Japan and Germany were forced into territorial expansion and colonialism due to their small energy resources, Pakistan has no such problem. Pakistan has no shortage of coal and gas. Pakistan has been blessed with the world's largest untapped coal reserves, whilst its operational coal reserves are the 4th largest in the world. The Thar coal field in Sindh is the world's largest coal field. Thar coal is one of the world's largest lignite deposits discovered spread over more than 9,000 sqkm. It comprises around 175 billion tonnes of coal which is the equivalent of 618 billion barrels of crude oil. This would meet country's fuel requirements for centuries.
  1. Pakistan has managed to achieve virtual self sufficiency in submarine development, tanks, aircraft overhaul, bullets, arms, trainer aircraft, combat aircraft, frigates and navy ships. The Pakistan Aeronautical Complex facility is the world's third largest assembly plant assembling and manufacturing aircrafts. 
  1. Pakistan has managed to establish the foundations of a manufacturing sector and military industry. All it would need to do is expand its capacity. It has already managed to develop nuclear weapons, its own drones, a tactical ballistic missile programme and a basic space programme. With the political will, only achievable today with a sincere Islamic leadership, Pakistan could very easily become a global player.

Pakistan needs to restructure the economy as well as the nation in order to deal with its problems and challenges. The current scenario, if allowed to continue, will lead to the inevitable fragmentation of Pakistan. However unlike Iraq, Pakistan has all the ingredients it needs to change. All it needs is the political will to do so. Pakistan must take its destiny into its own hands and become the Khilafah, which the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم promised would return. So we ask the people of Pakistan, in their capacity as Muslims who belong to this noble Ummah, to work with Hizb ut-Tahrir and rise up against these rulers and systems and replace them with the Khilafah ruling system.

وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُم فِي الْأَرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِي ارْتَضَى لَهُمْ وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُم مِّن بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْنًا يَعْبُدُونَنِي لَا يُشْرِكُونَ بِي شَيْئًا وَمَن كَفَرَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ

"Allah has promised, to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land, inheritance (of power), as He granted it to those before them; that He will establish in authority their religion - the one which He has chosen for them; and that He will change (their state), after the fear in which they (lived), to one of security and peace: 'They will worship Me (alone) and not associate aught with Me. 'If any do reject Faith after this, they are rebellious and wicked." [Surah Nur 24:55]

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Avneesh Gupta said:

Dear Indians (among above

I studied in a Muslim School and offered prayers to Allah in my daily morning prayers. I also studied in a RSS school where i learnt shlokas. In both the places, I was told that I am an Indian first and should lay down my life for the sake of united and prosperous India, not for Hinduism, Islam. I do not understand why many of you are closing their eyes and going by the words propogated by Pakistani writers, just because they are muslims. It is just like keeping your eyes wide shut while things were all transparent and were/are happening real in front of your eyes. We, the Indians have our other basic issues of development, poverty, unemployment which need to be addressed first, rather than becoming a victim of Religious fanaticism and wasting time in debating over topis which will only lead to further enhancing orthodoxy in our country. We are an Indian first before being a Muslim, Sikh, Christian or a Hindu.

Avneesh Gupta

www.avneeshgupta.com
 
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January 07, 2009
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Mohamed Riaz said:

The US involvement in these events and their motives are indismissable. My thoughts -
1. The prime targets these attacks could have well been the ATS chief and other senior police officers who were gaining immense insight into the Hindutva motivated militant groups carrying out attacks on innocent civilians in a manner that the blame will be squarely on the muslims. The rest of it was drama to make-fit the AlQaeda protocol of targetting western/israeli targets.
2. The involvement of Hindutva motivated militants is a possibility - though remote. However they definitely seem to be seen as beneficiaries of the mumbai events. The wife of ATS chief Hemant Karkare refused the monetary gesture of Narendra Modi, chief minister of Gujarat and whose hindutva alliance is not a secret! (refer http://www.rediff.com/news/200...htm?zcc=rl)
3. The other beneficiary is US - as evident by the direct involvement in directing Pakistan to respond. In case if it was the ISI who carried out, as alleged - it may be noted that the ISI have carried the plans of US in the last many decades despite contrary to the interests of Muslims themselves in Pakistan.
4. Hence it appears that US and Hindutva BJP have stood out as the main beneficiaries of this act - regardless of who were used as tools in the attacks.
 
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December 13, 2008
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ajaz khan said:

Praiseworthy write up and I wish let Khilafah be at the fore fronts in putting the real facts on the scene


 
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December 13, 2008
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Zeital said:

Nice analysis. It is worth reading these articles by Andrew G. Marshal and Michel Chossudovsky

India's 9/11. Who was Behind the Mumbai Attacks? Washington is Fostering Political Divisions between India and Pakistan

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=11217
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=11313

Zbigniew Brzezinski wanted to entice the Soviet Union into a long costly war which would ruin its economy. The Soviet Union fell into the so called ‘bear trap’ and ultimately paid the price. The aggressive policies of President Reagan forced the Soviet Union into an arms race which took a huge economic toll.

Zbigniew Brzezinski was really following a policy which the British used against the Tsarist Russian Empire in the Nineteenth Century which spanned from the Balkans to the Far East. With the dissolution of the U.S.S.R, the U.S.A became preeminent, and Britain could not play the any advantages from Cold War rivalry.

The U.S.A actually wanted stability in Afghanistan, which the Taliban could provide if they united the country. The Taliban were aided in power via the I.S.I, which was supported by western intelligence such as the C.I.A. The Taliban even had a delegation sent to the U.S to discuss lucrative contracts for pipelines linking Central Asia to the Indian Ocean.

However, the U.S.A had abandoned the agreement between Khrushchev and Kennedy and sought to shape the world accordingly. This gathered momentum during the 1970’s, and creating a series of conflicts around the Soviet Union in the 1980’s raised security concerns for the U.S.S.R. The Soviet Union wanted to focus on internal development and its own sphere of influence. When Pakistan served its purpose (supplier to groups fighting Soviet occupation in the 1980’s) America’s geopolitical plan moved to engaging China and containing the Russian Federation. The U.S.A has also sought to sideline Europe (which is an economic giant but has limited political influence outside their sphere). Britain ‘reinvented’ its role and seeks to gain what is left over from U.S colonialism in Central Asia, Arabia, and Africa (Congo, Sudan, West Africa). Britain also seeks to undermine Europe, and sometimes plays rival power blocks against each other. This Britain has been practicing since the 1600’s.

Former Russian President Vladimir Putin also wanted to support the Coalition in terms of intelligence for the occupation of Afghanistan. However, the U.S.A does not want to share sovereignty with any potential rival (especially Russia and China). India under the B.J.P would see many ‘benefits’ of an alliance with the U.S.A, as this would mean India leading the subcontinent region against China. All India’s B.J.P sees are short term benefits. This could cost India in the long run (after all remember the Dutch and English East India Companies).

Salaams

Zaid
 
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December 11, 2008
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Mudasar Rana said:

Such is the beyghairati of the leaders of the muslim world that now even the cow urine drinking people are threatening muslims whilst our leaders attack their own. Has anybody dared ask these idiots how 12 men held 1000 indian commandos for 3 days at bay? Is one years training so good in kashmir that fully trained career comando's are powerless? India's own people have been arrested and their anti terror chief has been assasinated who was in charge of investigating hindu links to previous bombings that again was initially blamed on muslims and pakistan. its time the muslim media found their manhood and told the world the truth. Modern Warfare is conducted in the airwaves and our compliant media has behaved like eunuchs in towing the western lies. A muslim would never go to a bar and get drunk before going on a mass murder spree?
 
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December 09, 2008
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Towfiq said:

a very beautiful analysis of a complex political game.the informations given would be vry useful for dawah.i pray that KHILAFAH comes quickly so that we can stop this game.
 
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December 09, 2008
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ahamed said:

mashallah excellent work brothers

this article should nock on every muslim's door in india and pakistan
may allah shower his mercy upon us and establish us in authority. ameen
 
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December 09, 2008
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MOHAMMED NASEER said:

Mashallah very good insight, the seven points you mentioned are accurate but there is another scenario as well which I believe is extremely important to take into consideration.

Both the US and India are not keen on starting an all out war with Pakistan, it could be bad for both their healths. The US wants Pakistan to implode from within that is why both the US intelligence and Indian RAW with Americas permission base in Afghanistan are involved in subversive activity including supplying weapons and bundles of crisp dollar bank notes to nefarious elements within Pakistan and this could all come to a head in a year or so when IMF's austerity measures create a public back lash against the central government, and with the army weakened consumed by the civil strife that results - it is then that both America and India can come out of their Undeclared war position and adopt an openly hostile position towards a fragmented Pakistan. Basically a repeat of East/West Pakistan scenario when India took side with a disgruntled population and a leadership willing to entertain it's enemies enemy.


 
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December 09, 2008
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Abdullah said:

check infowars.com It is becoming quite apparent that the Mumbai attacks was in fact
a false flag operation.
 
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December 09, 2008
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Abdul Aziz said:

Assalam,

In addition from what can be seen it is the tightening grip of imperialist state of US over a section of the Congress Party. The appointment of P.Chidambaram as Home minister is a quick and good gamble. Its well know that PM Manmohan Singh and Chidambaram are stooges of US in the congress party. The loosers are only the people not just muslims. Its good that the sincere madrasa's are coming out against these deadly acts, but shame that these very people were silent when Muslims are been slaughtered, butchered, raped and their resources pilfered. I see a phenomenon where the Ulema are starting to protect the lives of all except that of Muslims and Kafir colonialist leaders along with scholar for dollars are giving khutbas about ISLAM to Muslims. This is a dangerous cocktail mix for the ummah.

May Allah(SWT) show us light after this darkness.

Wassalam
 
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December 08, 2008
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S. Ali said:

Assalamualikum
An excellent and a thorough analysis of the situation mashallah, this will be very useful for us Muslim of India giveing us an alternative to what the media is playing here. It's about time that the Muslim of India stood up for themselves and needs to stop being apologitic under the current scenario. We (Muslim of India) have suffered so much atrocities in the hands of these Hindu terrorists but no one asked the normal Hindu on the street or their priests to stand up and defend their religion and denounce Hindu terrorism, then why are we being asked to do so, by the media, by the general public, why this double standard??!!

Your sister from Bangalore
 
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December 08, 2008
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