Re : IDPs of South Waziristan

I received the following comment/criticism for my article on South Wazirstan from Prof Kunal Ghosh of IIT Kanpur. I attach both his comments & my reply.
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The IDPs of South Waziristan
Posted by: "Prof. Kunal Ghosh" kunal@iitk.ac.in lanukg
Mon Nov 23, 2009 4:52 am (PST)
This article by Uddipan Mukherji gives a comprehensive picture of the on
going operation in South Waziristan and its fall out, namely the
deplorable condition of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). However,
in his analysis on why the populace is supporting terrorism, he uses the
same hackneyed so-called secular concepts and contradicts himself. He
says,

"Being one of the most impoverished regions of Pakistan, FATA has become
the breeding ground of Taliban militancy. Lack of participatory governance
and abysmally low socioeconomic indicators are primary factors fostering
a milieu of terrorism. Quite expectedly, the terrorism generated in this
region by the Al Qaeda and Taliban has menacingly scattered into the
Pakistani heartland."

Lack of governance and grinding poverty set the context and are important
factors. But they are not the determinant factors. Poverty does not always
lead to terrorism. An ideological input is necessary. What are the
terrorist master minds promising the population? By taking up arms against
the Americans in Afghanistan and the army of Pakistan, would they acquire
wealth and welfare here and now? No, the promise is a birth in heaven.
Wahhabi-Deobandi madrasahs in thier hundreds are enlisting sons of very
impoverished people by promising them free board and education. The
finance comes from Wahhabi Saudi Arabia. These young boys are
indoctrinated in a truncated version of Islam which abhors Sufi
spiritualism or Tariqa, whereas Tariqa has always been an important
pillar of traditional Sunni Islam from the times of Prophet Mohammad.

Mukherji contradicts hinself when he says " Quite expectedly, the
terrorism generated in this region by the Al Qaeda and Taliban has
menacingly scattered into the Pakistani heartland." Why should terrorism
spread so easily into better governed and not-so-impoverished Pakistani
heartland?

The world must confront this Wahhabi fanaticism squarely like it did
Nazism in the past. Otherwise this version of fanatic Islam would take
over all the Muslim countries one by one. It has already taken over Aceh
porvince of Indonesia which is actually a relatively prosperous region,
bacause many of the sons of Aceh have been working in Saudi Arabia. The
rest of Indonesia is hearing the sounds of the alarm bell. But the world
leaders are lulled into complacency by the piped music coming out of Saudi
Arabia, like the Prime Minister of UK before Churchill, Neville
Chamberlain, whose nerves were soothed by the vague Anglophile utterances
of Nazi supremo Adolf Hitler.

Kunal Ghosh
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My Reply :

Dear Prof Ghosh,

Thanks for your erudite comments.

But I have reservations regarding the word "hackneyed".

I guess we are again at the ideological crossroads of Hegelian and Marxian philosophies. Whether "idea" or "material condition" is the basis of the Universe, remains a persistent matter of debate.

There is no gainsaying the fact that Al Qaeda-Taliban combo despise "dar-ul-harb" and vow to achieve "dar-ul-Islam" : historical legacy of which could be traced back to Abdul Wahab of Arabia (1703-87) and the Delhi saint Shah Waliullah (1702-62).

Further, I would like to point out the following (from your comments):

"What are the terrorist master minds promising the population?
By taking up arms against the Americans in Afghanistan and the army of Pakistan, would they acquire wealth and welfare here and now?
No, the promise is a birth in heaven.
Wahhabi-Deobandi madrasahs in thier hundreds are enlisting sons of very
impoverished people by promising them free board and education. "

So, Sir, I guess you also agree that ultimately the "impoverished lot" has to be given some concrete material benefits in this 'life', apart from the promise of '70 virgins' in 'jannat'.

Moreover, isn't/didn't the Maoist rebellion in India or say Nepal or for that matter in China & Vietnam feeding/fed on the disgruntlement of the population; viz. lack of development, unemployment & others ? Though these insurrections are/were based on strict doctrinal concepts.

Doctrines/Principles are fine, but the cadre-base has to remain powerful : and that can be assured through poverty (emphasis added).

Now coming back to the phrase "Quite expectedly" which I had used in the article, I would like to clarify the meaning.
1.) I meant that any insurgency needs spatial extension and wants to spread its bastions elsewhere; lest it looses its sheen.
2.) TTP wanted to terrorise major cities of Pakistan in order to thwart the "Operation Rah-i-Nijat".
3.) Some areas of Punjab, NWFP & Balochistan provinces in Pakistan are fecund "growthlands" of Taliban et al. But they are pockets of administrative negligence & poverty.

Undoubtedly, a Laden or a Hakeemullah or for that matter a Jinnah may foment mobocracy through their demagogy, but sustenance can occur only through an assured supply of mass base; the reasons of which are somewhere else to search.

Down the lane, the "state actors" are to an extent responsible for the "non-state actor-led" insurgency.

thanking you
Yours truly
Dr Uddipan Mukherjee

PS : Why has Saudi Arabia itself not been the breeding ground for terrorists? I mean, why is terrorism conspicuously absent from Saudi heartland ? Finance is agreeable, even McChrystal specifies it in his report. Regarding Banda Aceh, I am not an avid watcher of that area, but I don't think Aceh can be compared to Af-Pak. Sporadic incidents cannot be compared to sustained terrorism. For that matter, Mumbai, Banglaore also have faced terror events.