Sep

25

Why is the government funding terrorist defense?

September 25, 2008 posted by indiatime |

After admitting that 3 of its students have been nabbed by the Indian police on suspicions of being members of Indian Mujahiddeen, The Jamia Milia University, an autonomous albeit government-funded institution, has reiterated that it will pay for the defense of those accused in the Delhi bomb blasts.

I wonder what’s going on here. Last month, some members of the central cabinet come out supporting the terrorist organization SIMI. Now, after the police have exposed the terrorist cell or module that has been active in multiple terrorist attacks across the nation, this government-funded university feels that it must support the students accused of being murderous terrorists. And in spite of all this coddling going on and around, there is a universal feeling in the minority communities that they are being persecuted. Who’s telling the truth?

The university and its academicians maintain that the police and the investigative agencies, have historically, botched investigations, and have been shown to catch or target wrong suspects. That is not entirely untrue. So even if that argument is assumed to be valid, for a public university to take a political stand in a case involving alleged terror masterminds accused of killing hundreds of innocent civilians from all religions, is, I think, a little disingenuous, hypocritical and plain wrong.

I’m sure there are dozens of other non-profit organizations and agencies that will surely come forward to ensure that the accused criminals get adequate defense. But what’s a university doing on this front? What is the primary purpose this university has been getting funding from the government? How can the university disburse its funds for such activities? Why can it not award a few more scholarships to those who need them for real education?

This is setting such a dangerous precedent. Imagine every publicly funded educational institute starting to divert their funds for criminal defenses of students or faculty who may or may not be guilty in whatever cases they are accused of. That would lead to criminals enrolling in academic institutes en masse, knowing that any criminal activity they perpetrate will be supported, funded and defended by the educational institutes via its government-funded kitty. And what if a case drags for years or decades? Imagine a university locking itself into supporting criminal defenses for someone for 10 or 20 years.

Let me ask this question. If the accused criminals are found guilty, can the university faculty then be prosecuted for having aided and abetted terrorists? If the accused are indeed found to have murdered hundreds of innocent Indians, can those cabinet ministers who aided and abetted and supported those organizations be prosecuted for treason? If the accused terrorists are indeed found to be those who spilt innocent blood for their own radical ideologies, can the university that supported them, then be shut down for good? If the answer to all those questions is a resounding yes, then go ahead and do whatever.

It’s one thing for the justice system to provide legal counsel and defense for those who cannot afford it. It’s entirely another thing for educational institutes, public funded or otherwise, to indulge in this kind of political posturing. Nobody disputes the need for more diligence, better judgement, more transparency and better oversight from investigative agencies. But if institutions of higher learning start behaving like madrassas, then this nation will be doomed as never before.


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9 Comments so far

  1. Vinoy on September 25, 2008 1:41 pm

    Thank you Indiatime for the piece.Musirul Hasan, the Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Milia Islamia also made certain observations which ought to be taken note of:
    “Does a father abandon his child in times
    crisis?”
    “We owe no explanation to anyone except
    ourselves and to our faith”.(i.e.Islam)
    “This is an isolated incdent which is being
    blown out of proportion”.
    And he exhorted his students “not to be
    on the defensive”.
    According to press reports, the VC’s address
    was listned to by about 5,000 students, who at the end of the meeting raised “anti-media slogans”.
    And it is learnt that the University had already “informed”(not taken their permission)the Ministry of Human Resource Development about its decision to provide legal aid to the students nabbed on charges of terrorist activities, and the ministry has had no objection to the decision as similar aid has been given to students in the past.
    Now we may safely ask the VC: If these sons oy yours are proved to be terrorists which the investigations so far have showed they are,would you like to be crowned as THE FATHER of TERRORISM and like your institution to be renamed as a FACTORY OF ISLAMIC TERRORISM IN INDIA?
    The very fact that Mushirul Hasan had the audacity to make such objectionable comments speaks volumes about the state of governance in India as well as the level of politics in this country.
    What we have in India is merely a caricature of a Government .You have mentioned the fact about some ministers suporting the SIMI.But what about Mr Manmohan Singh himeslf?Did not he once make the statement that Muslims had the first right over the resources of the country?Doesn’t such an statement from the highest executive in India encourage terrorism ?What message does it give to the muslim community?Why didn’t Mr Arjun Singh, the senile HRD Minister object to the University’s proposal?
    One of the Ministers of State, Shakeel Ahmad very often appears on television and whenever he is asked to comment on SIMI and terrorists loses no time in comparing them with those lumpens, the Bajrangis!Yesterday, on Sahara Samay he even went to the extent of saying that these Bajrang Dal and RSS people were responsible for driving these (muslim) young men towards terrorism !Only a couple of days back Rambilas Paswan demanded that the Bangladeshi infiltrators be given Indian citizenship!
    Manmohan, Shivraj,Arjun,Laloo,Paswan, Mulayam, Amar, Karunanidhi,Pawar et al are the people who seem to be running this show of a government in our country.What else dowe expect here?

  2. sam on September 25, 2008 8:51 pm

    It appears that, Manmohan, Shivraj,Arjun,Laloo,Paswan, Mulayam, Amar, Karunanidhi,Pawar & also Sonia, all of them are on hostile country [ ? ] payroll. The country has already been sold to the terrorists & smugglers.

  3. Rationalist on September 26, 2008 2:48 pm

    indiatime,
    I have just been watching News 24 and was aghast to hear one Shakeel Ahmad,said to be a Minister of State in the Home Ministry, Mushir-ul-Hassan, the V C of Jamia Milia and Arjun Singh supporting the University’s decision to support these terrorists who have been making confession after confession about their involvement in the Bomb blasts.Isn’t it time that the people of the country demand not only the dismissal of these three from their posts but also their arrest for anti-national activities?

  4. Thiagan on September 26, 2008 5:24 pm

    26/09/08

    UPA government is a dhimmi government and the financial help represents jazia being paid to the muslims.

  5. KD on September 27, 2008 12:53 am

    frankly speaking, I m hooked up to indiatime.com , u r one site where my every though resonates with ur writings. Politicians r doing everything and anything to gain the minority votes.They have sold their soul long back and ironically common man(majority/minority) r payin the price.
    Keep wirting

  6. vinoy on September 27, 2008 12:24 pm

    The so called SHAHI IMAM of democratic India has come out with the statement theat Inspector Sharma was killed by a polican and those arrested on the charge of terrorism are innocent.Why can’t this BASTARD be arrested?

  7. loka on January 2, 2009 9:36 pm

    alas we are indians no nationalism only politics.when the muslims and christians cross our population or vote than the sons of thease leaders will not succeed the political throne …..sorry…time is helpless….India will be finished… we will shortly declare it a muslim state..than when there is a question of secularism?

  8. DR. VIRAJ M. on July 7, 2009 11:07 am

    Hindus should leave aside this psuedo secularism and think for its community like the other communities do to prevent it self being the minority; cause it is shame to see mass-murder of hindus in hindu- sthana.

  9. DR. VIRAJ M. on July 7, 2009 11:13 am

    I think media should play more role in highlighting the issue if anti- hinduism.

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