| Submit your comments on this article |
| India-Pakistan |
| Thackeray calls for Hindu suicide bombers to target Muslims |
| 2008-06-20 |
| A radical right-wing Indian politician, Bal Thackeray, called on Hindus to form suicide bomber squads and attack Muslim neighbourhoods to combat Islamic terrorism - a threat promptly condemned by political friends and foes alike. Thackeray, a Hindu extremist linked to past waves of mob violence in the western state of Maharashtra, has long advocated attacks against Muslims. “Islamic terrorism is on the rise. To combat this, Hindu terrorism must be created of similar strength,” Thackeray wrote in an editorial published Wednesday in Saamna, the newspaper of his Shiv Sena party. The editorial was unsigned, but his party said Thackerary wrote it. “Hindu suicide squads must be built,” he wrote. “Only then will Hindus survive.” The Shiv Sena - which means Shiva’s Army - is among the most extreme of India’s Hindu political parties and held power in Mumbai from 1995 to 2000. Traditionally, the party’s main aim has been to keep people who are not from Maharashtra out of the state and to stem the spread of Islam. Thackeray said he was “happy” that Hindus were behind a recent theatre attack, but displeased that innocent Hindus were injured - and that the bomb itself was so weak. “Instead of planting faulty bombs, they should have planted a stronger bomb in these mini-Pakistans,” he said. Thackeray’s editorial came ahead of Shiv Sena’s 42nd anniversary on Thursday. It was promptly condemned by politicians from across the political spectrum, including India’s leading Hindu nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has long-standing ties with Shiv Sena. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 I see a a huge blue elephant with flowers and 3 tons of plastic explosives. Naw... maybe not. |
| Posted by: George Smiley 2008-06-20 14:47 |
| #1 Thackeray said he was “happy” that Hindus were behind a recent theatre attack, Actually they were Sikh, members of a terror cell funded by the ISI. The media seems to be desperate for some equivalent of the Islamic terror groups so that they can show that Islam is not a problem. The Shiv Sena is a poor choice. It is nothing but a local chauvanistic group dedicated to maintaining power in their little part of Maharasthra state. Petty politicians and their thugs. Its extreme acts are nothing but mob incitement and the occasional vandalism of Valentine's day displays. Thackeray's boys are more interested in chasing away Hindus from Bihar (so that they can control rents in the local slum areas) than in blowing themselves, or anything, up. |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-06-20 06:56 |