Mumbai and Srinagar bombings: state terrorists denounce non-state terrorists

Every new day brings with it another expression of capitalism's barbarity. Its principal victims are always and everywhere the working and exploited population. The attack on the World Trade Center, the London bombings, bombings in a packed commuter train in Madrid, the bombings in Beslan, Bali, Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt, Delhi, Benares, Bangladesh etc. are all among the most appalling and heart rending crimes against humanity. The latest bombings in the overcrowded trains of Mumbai in the peak hours of the return of the working class people from the work places are nothing but new additions to this series of the horrific acts. People were returning home after hard day’s toil. But the terrorist bombs stood in the way and suddenly and mercilessly threw many of  them into the jaws of death. Words are quite insufficient to fully express the intensity of indignation these totally irrational, insane murders are bound to arouse in any sensible person.

Blasts numbering seven occurred one after another on 11th July 2006 between 6 pm and 6-30 pm in the suburban trains. According to a report in The Statesman of 13th July, at least 190 persons have been killed and 625 persons have been injured, a lot of them very seriously. The death figure in some other widely circulated dailies is about 200. General public thinks the death figure may exceed four hundred.

This city, the financial capital of the Indian bourgeoisie, had already been the target of terrorist attack on March 12th 1993 leading to the death and serious injuries of hundreds of innocent working class people. Then also there were series of powerful explosions, 13 in number, in the most crowded parts of the city. 

Another terrorist attack took place in the morning hours of the same day in the city of Sreenagar, the capital of the state of Jammu and Kashmir which is called the heaven on earth for its exquisite scenic beauty of natural surroundings. Terrorists are said to have lobbed a powerful grenade in a bus carrying tourists from various parts of India. This grenade attack led to the death of eight tourists and serious injury to many others. This was followed by another terrorist attack again on tourist vehicles the following day  leading also to a few deaths and serious injuries to many. This particular place of natural attraction has been the scene of innumerable state and non state terrorist activities for quite a long time in the past. General masses of the working class and exploited people have been sandwiched between these two terrorists fighting against each other for political supremacy. The killing and wounding of innocent people have become almost a daily affair here.

Response of the Indian bourgeoisie and its political leadership

The Indian bourgeoisie and its political leadership and parties of the left and right seems to be more concerned about scoring a point over its immediate imperialist rival i.e. the Pakistani bourgeoisie and its state and humiliating it in the “international community.” It seems to be much less concerned about the dead, the wounded and their families. This is quite befitting the capitalist character particularly in this phase of decomposition of the decadent capitalist system. It seems as if the height of cruelty, the enormous number of the dead and the wounded has become an important piece of political capital with which to batter and corner the Pakistani bourgeoisie. They have a predetermined set formula and use it whenever such heinous terrorist crime is committed. The most important elements of this simple formula is Laskar-e-Taiba, Jais-e-Mahammad and the mentor, trainer, supplier and abettor of all them, the state of Pakistan, its ISI (Inter Services Intelligence). Now the formula is being enriched with new elements such as the local links of Al Qaeda. Thus in spite of the investigation still remaining incomplete and inconclusive, so far as the latest revelations are concerned the Indian prime minister and other political leaders of the left and right of capital are pointing the accusing finger at those most important elements of that framework. But all of those organizations have condemned the bombings in the most unambiguous terms.

The Indian prime minister and the government have reacted in a very precipitous manner. They have cancelled the foreign secretary level talk which was to be held in this very month. They have also cancelled the trip of a parliamentary delegation to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference to be held in Pakistan very soon. They are openly and aggressively accusing the Pakistani state and government. The “war on terror”, particularly on cross border terrorism, has for some time been the predominant means of the Indian bourgeoisie in putting pressure on its Pakistani imperialist rival.

Response of the Pakistani bourgeoisie

The President, Prime Minister, Home Minister and other political leaders of the Pakistani bourgeoisie have condemned the bombings in the most unambiguous terms. According to the Daily Times of 15th July,06 Khurshid Mehamood Kasuri, the Foreign Minister of Pakistan has “unequivocally condemned” the recent Mumbai blasts and he added that Pakistan was destined to play a critical role for world peace and security due to its geo-strategic location. According to the same Mr. Kasuri, ‘Those who are against the peace process and do not wish it well are behind these bombings’. In a report in The Frontier Post of 15th July,06 Pakistan has spurned the unsubstantiated Indian allegations and has called for the peace process to continue. The Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam has asserted that “Terrorism is a phenomenon which affects almost every country of the world. Surely this affects every country of south Asia”. Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary, Riaz Mahammad Khan has said that “Pakistan does not allow its territory to be used against any country. This is our firm policy and commitment.” According to General Musharraf “any stalling of the peace process (…) because of terrorist attacks would be tantamount to playing in the hands of the terrorists”. These protestations of good faith on the part of the Pakistani ruling class are cynical, self-serving, and manifestly untrue. Nonetheless, the political leaders of the ruling combine in Pakistan seem to be laying more stress on the continuation of the peace process. This emphasis on peace and continuation of the peace process is now most likely  one of the principal political diplomatic means of the Pakistani bourgeoisie in pursuing its imperialist conflict with the Indian bourgeoisie.

Who then are the perpetrators?

Every capitalist state and government excels in lying and tries their best to hide the truth. Every capitalist government, be it Indian, Pakistani or any other else makes a show of being an ardent proponent of the war against terrorism but each of them resorts to terrorism to advance the cause of their conflicting imperialist interests. Each blames the other of assisting and abetting terrorism. The Indian government likes to find out the hand of ISI in every terrorist activities in its territory but is completely silent about the subversive activities committed by its RAW (Research and Analysis Wing which may be called the Indian counter part of the ISI) in the enemy territory one of whose most important parts is Pakistan. In fact RAW has been created for countering the activities of the foreign intelligence agencies in India and for carrying out subversive i.e. terrorist activities in the enemy land. Similarly the Pakistani government sees the hand of RAW in the terrorist activities taking place in various parts of Pakistan but is silent about the terrorist activities of its ISI. So from the statements and assertions of the government leaders of both Pakistan and India it is difficult to assert correctly who the perpetrators in reality are.

So we have to focus on the assessment of which of the contending parties derives the maximum political and diplomatic gain from this ghastly act of barbarism. The G-8 conference was to take place on 16th July, 06 in St. Petersburg and the Indian prime minister was invited to that conference. The bombings took place on 11th July. This has provided the Indian bourgeoisie with a very powerful political weapon to batter, corner and humiliate the Pakistani bourgeoisie, its immediate neighbor and imperialist rival in the ‘international community’ by fully utilizing the opportunity of addressing that conference of the most powerful imperialist states of the world. Moreover the US government has recently announced that it will provide the Pakistani state with 36 F-16 fighter aircraft of the most advanced variety and the Indian government has expressed its disapproval of and dissatisfaction with this decision of the US bourgeoisie. This latest terrorist activity is sure to be fully utilized by the Indian bourgeoisie to put pressure on the US government.

For sometime before the bombings conflicts among the political parties of the ruling UPA clique were being more openly and challengingly expressed on various important political economic issues like privatisation, price hike, a more pronounced tilt towards the US bourgeoisie in international imperialist relations etc. There was every possibility of the recent humiliating failure of the Agni (the latest version of the intermediate range missile) and Insat (Indian communication satellites) launches adding to the internal conflict and opposition. The political parties of the left of capital had also planned some political mass actions against the government. All these have been significantly subdued after the Mumbai blasts. Moreover some political leaders and top police officers have asserted that some other political leaders have various connections with the underworld and terrorists. Thus we can quite confidently assert that the Indian state has derived the maximum political diplomatic gain from this barbarous mass murder of innocent persons. So there is every possibility that even if it had no direct hand in this barbarous act it has allowed it to take place in the same way as the US imperialists used the 11th September attack on the World Trade Center and the attack on the Pearl Harbor in the Second World War to advance its predetermined imperialist strategy and interest.

Focus should be not on who but on why

The bourgeoisie all over the world try their best to focus our attention on who the terrorists are or wherefrom they come and function. With this logic they carry on their imperialist war against each other which is represented as war against terrorism whose principal inventor, strongest and most vocal proponent is the US imperialist bourgeoisie. It is carrying out this war against terrorism since the 11th September attack. But terrorism has not lessened to any extent. On the contrary it has increased and become more widespread and extremely barbarous with the passage of time.

Terrorism is the inevitable product of the material conditions of capitalism and class struggle in this phase of decomposition of the decadent world capitalist system. In this condition of the decadence of the system every capitalist state, big or small, strong or weak, developed or developing is bound to be imperialist for its survival as a national fraction of capital. The world market is inadequate for the full fledged development of all fractions of capital. So every country is bound to make all efforts to ensure its own survival at the cost of that of others. This cannot but exacerbate the imperialist conflict of  each and every nation state against all others.

In such an international situation terrorism has become a very important means of secret war of each capitalist state against other.

The phase of decomposition which was definitively asserted  by the collapse of the Soviet imperialist bloc in 1989 has given a further qualitative push to the tendency of every man for himself and each against all and has thus led to chaotic situation in international relations. This led to the collapse of the western block also and the absence of any bloc discipline which the bloc leaders could impose. The former allies of the US imperialist began to be its powerful imperialist competitors and have been trying every possible means to weaken the global authority and hegemony of the US bourgeoisie. Thus the sole goal of the global strategy of the US bourgeoisie today is to preserve this hegemony and that of other big powers is to further weaken this. In this imperialist tug of war the authority of the US has been weakened in the past few years. Consequently the tendency of every man for himself has got a further push and impetus leading to further worsening of the chaotic situation in the international relations. Thus there is every possibility that terrorism will be given a further boost everywhere in the world and particularly in the sub continent. The forces of terrorism are thus most likely to be further unleashed by the capitalist states of Pakistan, Bangladesh and India against each other.

This particular situation of decomposition of the decadent world capitalist system has also led to the intensification of all social conflicts and those  among the various factions of the national capital. These intensifying internal conflicts are being more and more expressed through armed struggles and terrorist activities against the state. There are lots of Maoist and other terrorist organizations carrying out dreadful terrorist activities leading in many cases to mass murder of innocent persons. Such home grown terrorist groups and organizations are increasing in number and being strengthened politically, militarily and numerically. The prevailing situation of capitalism and class struggle is bound to add to their strength and capacity for murderous, barbarous activities. There is every possibility that these home grown terrorist organizations will be linked with, supported and utilized by other rival imperialist powers to advance their own imperialist cause. So there will be no respite from the scourge of terrorism so long as the decadent capitalist system is allowed to survive.

State terrorism 

State is the most organized, most powerful and legalized terrorist. It possesses all the means of terror. In the phase of decomposition of the decadent capitalist system every state will be compelled to resort more and more to terrorist methods in order to preserve the capitalist order. Every state is bound to bog down more and more into the ‘bureaucratic military morass’ and expose more and more the reality of the dictatorship of capital tearing asunder the democratic mask. Working class and toiling masses of people will be more and more sandwiched between the state and non state terrorists. The state terrorists are terrorizing the working class in order to be successful in increasing the attacks on the living and working conditions. The working class movements are being brutally repressed by the armed forces of the state in all parts of the world. These are also being suppressed by various economic and judicial measures. The strikes of the Hero Honda workers were mercilessly repressed by the police. The recent movement of the new generation of workers in France had also to confront the repressive machinery of the State terrorist. The New York transport workers had to face the economic and judicial repression of the state terrorist. The capitalist state everywhere will be compelled more and more to use its repressive and terrorist teeth against the working class.

War of one terror against another terror

The state and non state terrorists are fighting against each other for capturing or preserving the capitalist state power. Both are trying to present themselves as the best friends of the working class  and exploited masses of people and asking the working class to rally behind them in their war for either keeping intact the right and power of increasing exploitation and repression of the working class and toiling masses of people or for achieving that right and power. The so called war on terror is nothing but  another name for imperialist conflict and the war of one terror against another terror. Both aim to make the working class meekly submit to increasing exploitation and attacks on the living and working conditions. Both are equally imperialist, barbarous, killer, reactionary and repressive. The working class can and should never take any side in this permanent imperialist war and war between two terrorists.

Working class and exploited masses are the principal victims

In any terrorist attack or war on terror the  working class and the toiling masses of people are the principal victims. They are killed and injured in their hundreds and thousands in all these forms of decadent capitalism's permanent imperialist war. This was the case in the World Trade Center, the London tube, the Madrid trains. This has been the case in the terrorist bombings in Delhi, Benares and Bangladesh. This is the case in the terrorist bombings in various parts of Pakistan and India and Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Mumbai bombings present the same barbarous reality of decadence. Same is the case in the imperialist war in Iraq, Afganistan, Sudan, Israel, Lebanon etc.

Class struggle is the only way out

Further continuance of the existence of the decadent capitalist system in its phase of decomposition means more uncertainty of life and livelihood, more attacks on the living and working conditions of the working class, more unemployment, imperialist war and terrorism. This means also more barbarity, poverty, misery, pollution and destruction of nature. So the overthrow of the capitalist system is the only solution. No other class but only the working class is capable of carrying out this great historic task. This can only be done by starting class struggles against the increasing attacks of capital, extension and unification of these struggles in all sectors regionally and internationally and ceaseless politicization of these struggles. So the working class has to disdainfully reject the call for national unity against the war on terror and start and intensify its class struggle. Herein lies the only way out.