Is India reaping a harvest of hatred sown by Indians? We have seen it all before-a Sri Lankan perspective

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To see what is happening in India today is to look in the rear view mirror of what we did wrong in Sri Lanka. When we suffered terrorist attacks, we blamed it on foreign interference, namely India. India does the same today: the Prime Minister in a televised message blamed a "group based outside the country". Both countries have failed to realize that the root of the problem is not outside our shores; the problem lies within. Messages from the Indian public are scrolled continuously on NDTV, most of them blaming the government for inadequate security and calling for a severe crackdown on terrorism (as if they weren't already trying all this time). Not one message asked the question: "what drove these Indians to do this to other Indians?"
In the interests of combating terrorism, it won't be long before anti-terrorist squads ask Indians with Muslim names questions like: what are you doing out so late? Do you have a legitimate reason for walking near that hotel? How can you prove that you live in this city? If you're not from here, what reason do you have for being in this city? It won't be long before Indian Muslims are arrested simply for being Muslims, and asked to prove that they are not terrorists. As for the public, the great majority will applaud these actions. They'll say it is unfortunate, but it is necessary. We know this because we have seen it all before.
One of the police officers killed by the terrorists in Mumbai was an 'encounter specialist.' This is a euphemism for government assassins who shoot dead alleged gangsters and terrorists without bothering to collect evidence. Our equivalent would be the ubiquitous white vans that make 'suspected terrorists' mysteriously disappear and keeps adding to the tally of bodies that wash ashore or turn up in ditches. How does the public know they really are terrorists? We know, and that's all that matters-who needs evidence anyway? In India these 'encounter specialists' are glorified by the media and cinema as heroes. Murderer equals hero. Isn't that the same logic used by terrorists?
So here's a word of advice from a Sri Lankan to our big neighbour. Don't go down the path we have taken. Don't be tempted to sacrifice the freedom of another for your own safety. Be smarter than us. Look within and find the disease that is causing this fever called terrorism. For now, your terrorists seem to be ad hoc groups of lethal young men. With every attack in your country a new terrorist group with a new label takes credit. That's how it starts. The day will come when a determined and motivated leader manages to coalesce the many fingers of extremism into a hard-hitting fist, with an ideology as compelling as it is evil. When that happens, you will pay a price in blood and sorrow for generations to come. We know this because we have seen it all before.

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