On Terrorism... And Morality

Bombs exploded in New Delhi last evening. Scores of ordinary peaceful people were killed.

They call this “terrorism.”

Manmohan has now said the battle against terror is his “top priority.” That means he will not have time to look into what is happening to his other hobby horses: education, employment guarantee, loan waivers, and the nuclear deal.

[In the meantime here is a shocking story of corruption in the loan waiver scheme for suicide-prone Vidarbha. A loan waiver can be a balance-sheet transaction. Why did they add this bit about giving cows away – for the netas to steal? What kind of lunatic public policy is this?]

The only answer to terrorism is moral. Today, bomb blasts have become as routine as traffic accidents, and life is cheap in India. But behind all politics there must be a moral purpose. This includes the terrorist. And it is here that the real question lies: As with the Naxals, so with these terrorists, there must be a political dialogue based on morality. What should be the main element of that dialogue?

But before that: Let it not be forgotten that the EFFECT of all this terrorism is to increase police powers and budgets while simultaneously diminishing civil liberties. This is the actual political result. If Manmohan gives “top priority” to the war between his sarkaar and terror, this is going to be the only political result. There will be no real “politics” – as in the sense of a moral dialogue.

Of course, there is no “magic bullet” to put an end to wars and senseless violence forever – but the political “leader” must show the moral way for all: and that is, peaceful, voluntary and gainful exchanges in markets. If this Way of Life is encouraged through the moral dialogue that should replace socialist politics, much can be achieved.

Wars and senseless violence will only end when the desire to produce and exchange replaces the desire for plunder. And only one of these ways of seeking survival is the moral one. And that is the moral tone liberal politics must take in Indyeah.

In the end, while there may not be any God, there will always be Good and Evil. If a political choice must be made between them, politics must be moral.