On 19th November 2022, a blast took place in an autorickshaw running on the streets of Mangaluru in Karnataka. The explosion in the vehicle in the coastal city of Karnataka took place under a mysterious situation. However, within 24 hours of the blast, the Director General of Police (DGP) Karnataka tweeted to confirm that this blast was an act of terror and a series of revelations appeared in the subsequent investigations.
One of the most important chapters of these findings is that the accused culprit in this case – Mohammed Shariq – had links with Islamist terror outfits and that he was posing to be a Hindu before executing the attack, so that, in case he dies in the attack, his identity is mistaken to be a Hindu thereby rendering the attack an act of the so-called Hindu Terror.
This modus operandi shares remarkable similarities with the one deployed at the time of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. As it marks 14 years of the terror attacks in Mumbai, it is time to recall how attempts to raise the ‘Hindu Terror’ bogey are still going on in the country that historically has been the biggest victim of and fighter against the Islamic Jihad. Let us have a look at how Islamic terrorists carry Hindu symbols as a tool of deception.
The Mangaluru Blast
On Saturday, November 19, an auto-rickshaw exploded in Mangaluru, Karnataka’s coastal town, under mysterious circumstances. The passenger in the auto-rickshaw was carrying a pressure cooker, and police found that there was an improvised explosive device (IED) inside the cooker which exploded. The passenger was the key suspect in this case and was hospitalized as he survived 40% burn injuries. The suspect was identified by Karnataka police on November 20, 2022. The suspect’s name was revealed to be Mohammed Shariq, who had previously been detained under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). But, what was revealed before his actual identity was proof of the attempt at deception.
Mohammed Shariq carried symbols and proofs of Hindu identity
On November 21, it was reported that the accused Mohammed Shariq had used fake identity cards to rent a room in Mysore. The suspect was paying Rs 1,800 per month for a single room, according to the house owner M Mohan Kumar from Mysore. He presented a copy of the rental agreement, which showed the suspect’s name as Premraj, S/o Sri Maruthi, and his address as Hubballi.
In a media interaction, Premraj said, “My name is Premraj. I am a resident of Hubballi. I got a call from PSI Hubballi who inquired about my lost Aadhar card. They asked me where I was presently staying.”
Besides, Mohammed Shariq also used a photograph of Adiyogi as a display picture on his WhatsApp profile. All these steps taken by the Islamic terrorist were essentially aimed at creating an illusion about his identity. He was posing to be a ‘Hindu’ as he went to execute the terrorist act. Similar tactics were used by the terrorists involved in the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai. Ajmal Kasab – the only terrorist caught alive – revealed during interrogation how the Pakistani terrorists were given fake Hindu identities.
The 26/11 Mumbai attacks
On 26th November 2008, ten Pakistani terrorists reached Mumbai from the sea route. They attacked various places in southern parts of Mumbai including Nariman house, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Leopold Cafe, and grand hotels like Taj Palace and Trident. Besides opening fire in public and brutally killing scores, they also placed a bomb inside a taxi that blasted into the suburban area of Mumbai. The attacks claimed 166 lives including foreign nationals. Ajmal Kasab was caught alive by the Mumbai police from a vehicle on Marine Drive while all 9 of his other accomplices were neutralized by the forces in an action that lasted for more than 60 hours.
The Pakistani terrorists also carried Hindu symbols of identity
Former Mumbai Commissioner of Police Rakesh Maria in his tell-all book ‘Let Me Say It Now’ has revealed that 26/11 Mumbai terror attack terrorist Ajmal Kasab had an ID with a Hindu name on it. The ID found on Kasab had his name as “Samir Chaudhary”. Maria was on control room duty on the day 10 Pakistani terrorists wreaked havoc in Mumbai.
Maria reveals how he unravelled the plot ISI and Lashkar-e-Toiba had hatched against India during the interrogation. All ten terrorists were made to seem like they were disgruntled Hindus who were against India because of ‘atrocities’ against Muslims. All ten terrorists were given saffron or red thread to be tied around their wrists. Identity cards with Hindu names with Indian addresses were placed in their pockets as the ISI and Lashkar wanted all the ten terrorists to die in the attack. Catching Kasab alive was the biggest breakthrough for Mumbai Police. Had he not been caught alive, the whole world would have been led to believe that this was a Hindu terror attack.
Because of this, guarding Kasab and ensuring his safety was more challenging to make sure he stays alive till the end of the trial. Earlier it was reported that the 26/11 terrorists even carried fake student ID cards from Arunoday College in Hyderabad. Maria reveals that Kasab was made to believe that Muslims are not allowed to offer namaz in India and that mosques are locked up. He thought that the azaan he heard in his prison cell was a figment of his imagination. Maria then got police officials to take Kasab to a nearby mosque in a police vehicle to show that Indian Muslims are indeed allowed to offer namaz, contrary to what he was made to believe.
Congress soon came up with the ‘Hindu Terror’ theory
In 2010, months after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, along with filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and others launched a book which claimed that the Mumbai terror attacks were an RSS conspiracy. While the world was holding Pakistan responsible for 26/11, then Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh and a close aide of Rahul Gandhi, had released the book “26/11 RSS Ki Saazish?” (26/11 – RSS Conspiracy?). The book was authored by Aziz Burney, Editor-in-Chief of the Urdu Sahara newspaper.
Further, Singh had alleged that Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare had called him two hours before the 26/11 attack in Mumbai to say that his life was blighted by constant threats from those opposed to the ATS probe into the 2008 Malegaon blast in which Hindu extremists were accused. Thus, Singh exonerated Pakistan and decided to push the blame for the 26/11 attack on RSS and Hindu extremists.
Similar attempts after 14 years
The Mangaluru blast occurred 14 years after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. The modus operandi of the Islamic terrorists has not only been the same but has become more audacious given the fact that Mohammed Shaqir not only carried an Aadhar card of a Hindu but also went on to avail a rented room using the same. The Forensic Science Laboratory Division (FSL) team arrived at Shariq’s rented residence in Mysore on Sunday, 20th November 2022, as the inquiry into the Mangaluru bomb case proceeded. The squad seized explosive-making ingredients from Shariq’s home.
Gelatin powder, circuit boards, tiny bolts, batteries, mobile phones, wood power, aluminium multimeters, cables, mixing jars, pressure cookers, and other components required to build explosives were found by the FSL team. One mobile phone, two fake Aadhaar cards, one fake pan card, and one FINO debit card were also discovered by the forensic experts. The accused is alleged to have been assembling explosive devices at his home. All this was being done by an Islamist who pretended to be a Hindu. In this way, Islamic terrorists continue similar attempts of deception even after 14 years of the Mumbai terror attacks.
The Al Taqiyya connection
An Islamic terrorist posing to be a Hindu is essentially an outcome of a Jihadi practice called Al Taqiyya. Al-Taqiyya, or simply Taqiyya, is a term from the Quran, the holy book of Islam. It is derived from the verb “Ittaqu,” which means to lie, mislead, manipulate and create illusions for an ‘enemy of Islam’ when being persecuted. Except, in today’s day and age, it has been used by Islamists and their apologists to deceive ‘kafirs’ (non-believers of Islam) into believing they are a well-wisher only to stab them in the back (figuratively) or behead them (literally).
So, be it Ajmal Kasab or Mohammed Shariq, posing to be a Hindu is a way to mislead the masses. If the terrorist dies during the attack, the Hindu symbols carried by him ultimately help to establish the so-called ‘Hindu Terror’ theory. This not only shields Islam from being perceived as a religion of terrorism but also bolsters the opinion that a ‘Hindu’ can also be a terrorist, thus empowering the popular secular liberal narrative ‘Terrorism has no religion’.
Who will buy the theory of ‘Hindu Terror’ in the New India?
With the Indian people electing the Narendra Modi government for the second consecutive term, it is an established fact that the majority of the people in the country are not going to buy the theory of ‘Hindu Terror’ anytime in the future. The 2047 vision documents of banned organizations like PFI have exposed the detailed planning of the Islamists aiming for ‘Gazwa-e-Hind’. The Hindu Terror theory was primarily weaved around the Malegaon bomb blast case. Many witnesses, in this case, have changed their stand and turned hostile. There are no other cases in the country where Hindus are arrested for executing an act of terrorism.
The narrative of Hindu Terror has miserably failed and this has been proved over a period of time. Even terrorists have found new means. The accused in the Mangaluru case, for instance, had received funds from middle east countries through cryptocurrencies. However, attempts at demeaning Hinduism are something terrorists are firmly stuck to. The Mangaluru incident proves that no matter how much time changes, some Jihadi fundamentals like Taqiyya will always be a part of their conspiracies irrespective of the outcome.
