'Would you worship Bhagwa terrorist?': Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand says 'don't link terrorism with colour'; questions failure to find Malegaon blast culprits

Time of India

a day ago

Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand
NEW DELHI: The debate over the use of the term 'Saffron Terror', that resumed after the July 31 verdict in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, has refused to die down. Commenting on the term, Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati Maharaj said that colour should not be linked with terrorism.
He said those who associate a colour with terrorism are supporting terrorism.
The Shankaracharya said, "A terrorist is a terrorist...What does colour mean with the word terrorism? Terrorism is terrorism, and a zero-tolerance policy should be adopted against it... The Malegaon blast happened, but you could not find the person who committed it...Those who look for colours in terrorism are supporters of terrorism."
The term 'Bhagwa Aatank' or 'saffron terrorism' was first used after the 2002 Gujarat riots, as per a report by the news agency ANI. It was later used again after the 2008 Malegaon blasts. Some political leaders and parties used the term in their statements. The term was also mentioned by then home minister P Chidambaram in an official meeting with police officials. Congress leader Digvijay Singh also used the term in reference to the blasts.
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The Hindu pontiff also raised questions as to why the government is still unable to catch the culprits of the Malegaon blast case. "We do not wish to comment on the court's proceedings; whatever was done in court, we believe, must have been correct. If these people were found innocent in the court's view, then it is right they were acquitted. But the bigger problem is that the blast did not happen on its own — someone must have done it.
Who was it? Where is the Government of India, the state government failing, that someone comes, carries out a blast, and leaves, and despite having vast resources and plenty of time, we are still unable to catch the culprit? This is a big slap on our capability that we cannot apprehend the guilty," he said.
On July 31, a special NIA court in Mumbai acquitted all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. The court said that the prosecution could not prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.
The court also directed the Maharashtra government to pay Rs 2 lakh compensation to the families of the people who died in the blast, and Rs 50,000 to those who were injured.
The seven accused were former MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhankar Dhar Dwivedi (also known as Shankaracharya), and Sameer Kulkarni.
"All bail bonds of the accused are cancelled and sureties are discharged," the court said.
The court examined 323 witnesses from the prosecution and eight from the defence before giving the verdict. All seven were acquitted of charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Arms Act, and other related charges.
The blast occurred on September 29, 2008, near a mosque in Bhikku Chowk area of Malegaon. An explosive device placed on a motorcycle went off, killing six people and injuring 95 others.
Initially, 11 people were named as accused, but charges were framed against seven.
The lawyer representing the victims' families has said that he will challenge the acquittal in the high court.
Earlier, on the eve of the judgment in the Malegaon blast case, Union home minister Amit Shah had said in Parliament that no Hindu can ever be a terrorist. "I am proud to say, no Hindu can ever be a terrorist," Shah had said in Rajya Sabha.
Meanwhile, after the NIA court judgment, former Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan also spoke on the matter last week and said that he does not support the use of the term "saffron terror." "Don't use the term 'Saffron terrorism'. If you want to describe such acts, use 'Hindu fundamentalist' or 'Hindu terrorism' instead."