Until a few years ago, there had been an underlying, and unstated, national consensus on such threats, which had kept political opportunism within limits.  Even during the eighties, when terrorism emanating from the Punjab threatened to tear the country apart, the extent of political opportunism was limited to opposition parties pointing out, quite accurately, that the Congress government in Delhi had flirted with Bhindranwale during his early days.  But beyond that, there was not such severe disagreement about how to tackle it.

The breakdown of this consensus has polarised Indian politics.  Today, positions have hardened to such an extent that respected commentators have said ‘there is no common ground’ between the BJP and the Congress to thrash out a consensus on terrorism.  In this era of coalitions, the problem also extends beyond these two largest national parties and requires the involvement of other parties to arrive at a consensus.  But between one set of parties to whom acting against terror groups with Islamic connections is anathema, and another whose nationalist stance is diluted by allegations of prejudice —and by their discomfiture with even a hint that some terrorists may not be Islamic — India’s polity remains fractured.  This has meant that every act of terrorism has led to predictable, knee-jerk reactions by political entities.

In this gloomy scenario, there is one ray of hope:  India’s rising middle class has at last been aroused.  This section of our population, now numbering in the hundreds of millions, has now forcefully expressed its disgust at politicians of every hue.  This is quite a turnaround from the apathy for which they are known. For unlike the middle classes in longer-established, western democracies — where they play an active and vital role in politics — our middle class usually doesn’t even bother to vote.

... contd.