The blast inside a car that had stopped at a signal near the Red Fort in Delhi has shattered a relatively long period of calm from such mischief in India’s capital city: the last bomb blast in Delhi had taken place 13 years ago. At least 13 people have lost their lives in this incident — the toll may go up. The prime minister has pointed to a “conspiracy” while the Union defence minister has pledged to bring the culprits to justice. The police in Jammu and Kashmir suspect that a terror module — its tentacles are transnational and also spread across states — may have been responsible for the explosion. This assumes importance in light of the fact that the J&K police had arrested two doctors from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh with alleged links to terrorist organisations, including the Jaish-e-Mohammed. A third man, also a doctor, who had gone missing after these arrests, could, the police believe, be the likely bomber. As the investigation proceeds, a clearer picture is likely to emerge in the days to come.
Whatever the conclusion of the investigation, some ominous signs seem to be emerging. Principal among these is that the malaise of such criminality, no matter what the verdict is in the Delhi bomb blast case, has not been eradicated. In fact, it appears to be shape-shifting. The emergence of what are being called ‘white collar’ militant operations within security and administrative circles points to this transformation. Apart from the traditional militant, terrorism and radicalisation, security officials claim, are now attracting academics, scholars, and students. Convictions of such elements or independent, unbiased assessments of their involvement have been scarce. But if there is evidence behind such claims, the security agencies and the law must thwart their evil designs. In fact, there is a case for New Delhi to present proof of the sustained and changing face of such threats to the world given the penchant of some international actors to be selective in their denouncement of terror. But the Centre must also be mindful of an additional responsibility. The attempts to conflate such attacks with India’s principal minority community by the government’s cheerleading ecosystem lead the nation towards the very trap that has been laid by the votaries of evil. An India divided along sectarian lines will continue to be a target of such attacks. The entire nation must fight this spectre together to win this war.