Dr Jalees Ansari, now in Ajmer Jail for masterminding several blasts, writes in Urdu daily that death and destruction serve no purpose
File photo of Ansari being escorted out of Sessions Court in 1994Endless violence unleashed by terrorists seems to have touched the heart of ‘Dr Bomb’ Jalees Ansar
i, himself the mastermind of around 60 blasts across the country in the early nineties. Ansari, 52, now serving a rigorous life term in Ajmer Jail, has written a two-part article in the Urdu Times about the futility of terrorism
and how it contradicts the very essence of Islam.After over 15 years in jail, Ansari now feels that Muslims can’t rule the world using terror as a weapon. “If we Muslims say that we want the good of humanity, while on the other hand blasts occur on trains, public places and temples, and innocents are killed, then who will even listen to the correct things we say?” he writes in the mainstream Urdu newspaper. “Can anybody justify the 26/11 terror attacks? Has any Muslim in the world benefited out of 26/11? No, because this militancy will only harm Muslims. We should strictly follow the Quran and the prophet’s teachings, and all misunderstanding about Islam will disappear.”Ansari, an MBBS from Mumbai University, was deemed the ‘father of terror’ in Mumbai for training teams that carried out blasts in several cities. In his first outspoken response since his arrest in January, 1994, he dwells on the consequences of Islamic terrorism in articles headlined ‘Ek dehshatgard doctor ki aap beeti’. He talks about the three main triggers of ‘Muslim terrorism’-Jammu & Kashmir dispute, communal riots and Babri Masjid.Ansari was arrested in January 1994, along with his three brothers, who were discharged after nine months. Ansari says that even after that, blasts kept happening across India. This got him thinking-on one hand, Hindus were being killed in blasts at Ayodhya, Akshardham temple, Raghunath temple, Sankatmochan temple, etc, while on the other, Muslims were dying in blasts at Delhi’s Jama Masjid, Hyderabad’s Mecca Masjid, Malegaon, Jalna, Parbhani, Jalgaon, and Ajmer Dargah. The battery of blasts in the recent past-from the Parliament attack to 7/11 train blasts to 26/11 attacks-brought about a transformation in him. “These continuous, destructive, terrorist acts forced me to seriously think, what will all these terror acts take us? How will such militancy help Muslims to attain their goals which the almighty has sent them to do?” he questions.Recounting his first brush with the ‘anti-Muslim feeling’ while he was a student at Mumbai University between 1976-82, he writes, “Some Marathi teachers and students would talk strange things about Islam. I felt that a deep conspiracy was being hatched to make Muslims second class citizens, so that they would remain backward socially, financially and politically.”He recalls participating in relief work for Bhiwandi riot victims in the 1980s, and only shedding tears for their trauma. “At that time, I selected some youngsters and trained them in martial arts and stick-wielding. Our aim was to defend ourselves during riots. We didn’t want to form any armed organised group, as we were afraid that once armed, we would ourselves become evil and inflict damage on others.”Calling himself ‘aaraamdil’ (soft-hearted), Ansari blames both the Congress and the BJP for creating the Babri Masjid issue and exploiting it to garner Hindu votes. He says fanaticism crept into his soul with the Babri Masjid demolition on December 6, 1992. “That scene of demolition, no proud Muslim can forget till he breathes his last,” says Ansari, calling it the birth of Muslim militancy.He points out that though innocent Hindus also suffered in the 1992-93 Mumbai riots, Muslims suffered maximum losses with even the police stacked up against them. “I have personal experience of the police’s one-sided role. During these riots, lakhs of Muslims were forced to live in relief camps, while Hindus didn’t face such problems. I couldn’t tolerate such insult and sadness. I decided to embrace militancy. I knew that the basic character of militancy would not bring justice, but I thought that for every role, some emotions are also involved. Aur is tarah ek doctor terrorist ban gaya,” Ansari rues.
i, himself the mastermind of around 60 blasts across the country in the early nineties. Ansari, 52, now serving a rigorous life term in Ajmer Jail, has written a two-part article in the Urdu Times about the futility of terrorism
and how it contradicts the very essence of Islam.After over 15 years in jail, Ansari now feels that Muslims can’t rule the world using terror as a weapon. “If we Muslims say that we want the good of humanity, while on the other hand blasts occur on trains, public places and temples, and innocents are killed, then who will even listen to the correct things we say?” he writes in the mainstream Urdu newspaper. “Can anybody justify the 26/11 terror attacks? Has any Muslim in the world benefited out of 26/11? No, because this militancy will only harm Muslims. We should strictly follow the Quran and the prophet’s teachings, and all misunderstanding about Islam will disappear.”Ansari, an MBBS from Mumbai University, was deemed the ‘father of terror’ in Mumbai for training teams that carried out blasts in several cities. In his first outspoken response since his arrest in January, 1994, he dwells on the consequences of Islamic terrorism in articles headlined ‘Ek dehshatgard doctor ki aap beeti’. He talks about the three main triggers of ‘Muslim terrorism’-Jammu & Kashmir dispute, communal riots and Babri Masjid.Ansari was arrested in January 1994, along with his three brothers, who were discharged after nine months. Ansari says that even after that, blasts kept happening across India. This got him thinking-on one hand, Hindus were being killed in blasts at Ayodhya, Akshardham temple, Raghunath temple, Sankatmochan temple, etc, while on the other, Muslims were dying in blasts at Delhi’s Jama Masjid, Hyderabad’s Mecca Masjid, Malegaon, Jalna, Parbhani, Jalgaon, and Ajmer Dargah. The battery of blasts in the recent past-from the Parliament attack to 7/11 train blasts to 26/11 attacks-brought about a transformation in him. “These continuous, destructive, terrorist acts forced me to seriously think, what will all these terror acts take us? How will such militancy help Muslims to attain their goals which the almighty has sent them to do?” he questions.Recounting his first brush with the ‘anti-Muslim feeling’ while he was a student at Mumbai University between 1976-82, he writes, “Some Marathi teachers and students would talk strange things about Islam. I felt that a deep conspiracy was being hatched to make Muslims second class citizens, so that they would remain backward socially, financially and politically.”He recalls participating in relief work for Bhiwandi riot victims in the 1980s, and only shedding tears for their trauma. “At that time, I selected some youngsters and trained them in martial arts and stick-wielding. Our aim was to defend ourselves during riots. We didn’t want to form any armed organised group, as we were afraid that once armed, we would ourselves become evil and inflict damage on others.”Calling himself ‘aaraamdil’ (soft-hearted), Ansari blames both the Congress and the BJP for creating the Babri Masjid issue and exploiting it to garner Hindu votes. He says fanaticism crept into his soul with the Babri Masjid demolition on December 6, 1992. “That scene of demolition, no proud Muslim can forget till he breathes his last,” says Ansari, calling it the birth of Muslim militancy.He points out that though innocent Hindus also suffered in the 1992-93 Mumbai riots, Muslims suffered maximum losses with even the police stacked up against them. “I have personal experience of the police’s one-sided role. During these riots, lakhs of Muslims were forced to live in relief camps, while Hindus didn’t face such problems. I couldn’t tolerate such insult and sadness. I decided to embrace militancy. I knew that the basic character of militancy would not bring justice, but I thought that for every role, some emotions are also involved. Aur is tarah ek doctor terrorist ban gaya,” Ansari rues.Dr Jalees AnsariAccording to Ansari, today’s Muslims shouldn’t be depressed with the ‘anti-Muslim’ atmosphere. “Aaj ke daur ki Muslim dehshatgardi daawat ke kaam main badi rukaavat hai, jisey door karna bahut zaroori hai (Today’s Islamic terrorism prevents others from listening to the correct things we say, which must be stopped),” Ansari says. He quotes the holy Quran to state that god sent Muslims to do good things on earth, look after others, restrain them from doing wrong, and believe in the almighty.“Maine dehshatgardi se tauba kar lee hai (I have quit terrorism),” proclaims Ansari, “If thousands of terrorists quit terrorism like me, will it come to an end? I don’t think so. Terrorism is a symptom, not the real disease. In the name of Jihad, terrorism is growing.”Donning the cloak of a Muslim scholar, Ansari says, “Every Muslim must understand that the Godhra train burning episode was not right. We must follow our educated, sincere and honest leaders and scholars, and listen to them. We must be wary of those who provoke our emotions. Education should be our top priority, after which we must become strong financially and politically.”Interestingly, Ansari has avoided any reference to his role in the blasts, perhaps because his appeal against conviction is pending before the SC.
By Anand Holla
(Mumbai Mirror)
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