Three ‘I’s are regarded as the founts of terrorism: ideology, infrastructure and state ineptitude. Of these the first ‘I’ of ideology is regarded as fundamental to its spread. Kashmir is the leitmotif for terrorism in the subcontinent, which is supplanted by related factors of disunity. The turn of events after the Samjhauta Express tragedy in Panipat, viewed against the backdrop of Mumbai and Malegaon indicates that this raison d’etre for waging war by a thousand cuts against the Indian state has perceptibly evaporated. The creation of a Hindu-Muslim divide was the aim of the Mumbai/Malegaon perpetrators. They miserably failed to achieve this. The virulent rhetoric that followed these attacks, as well as violent disagreement to the Havana proposal for a joint Indo-Pakistan counter-terrorism mechanism perhaps created a perception among the ideologues of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa — one of the main perpetrators of violence against India — that subverting the peace process could be a useful alternative. However, by staying away from mutual recriminations and continuing with the peace process, the

Panipat tragedy has been deftly converted into a strategic opportunity.

Terrorism has consistently ‘derailed’ the peace process in the past. The Samjhauta Express has been a beacon of detente in Indo-Pakistan amity. Unlike many Indian trains it does not run to its full capacity, yet it is an extremely popular mode of travel for common people. The target was thus carefully selected to create ripples of discontent on both sides of the border. Fortunately this was assiduously avoided.

Havana seems to have marked a new phase. Apart from a few acrimonious voices, the Pakistani hierarchy is demonstrating greater keenness to resolve Kashmir on mutually agreeable terms. By targeting the Samjhauta Express, the strategic message sent out by militants to both Pervez Musharraf and Manmohan Singh is that a compromise not on their terms would not be acceptable. By firmly spurning the call for recrimination, the first ‘I’ of ideology has been reasonably suborned.

... contd.