At least thirteen people are reported killed and dozens injured in bomb blasts in Varanasi, Faizabad and Lucknow on November 23, 2007. People's Voice condemns these brutal terrorist killings and conveys its sincere condolences to the families of the innocent victims.

These latest bomb blasts were organized in and around court complexes. The Police and intelligence agencies have immediately given out inspired leaks to the media about whose hand lies behind the blasts. Various “justifications” are also being offered for why terrorists chose the particular target of court premises.

The police inspired media speculation which immediately follows terrorist strikes follows a definite pattern. Before any investigation is carried out, certain shadowy Muslim sounding organizations are blamed for them. Various people from the Muslim community are picked up, interrogated, jailed and tortured. Later on, some one who is declared an alleged mastermind of terrorist strikes is declared eliminated in an encounter. No one is actually tried in court for these crimes and punished. No coherent picture of who organized the terrorist strike, and why, ever comes out.

People should be wary of the “stories” spread by the intelligence agencies through the media. The aim of these stories is to convince people that Muslims are terrorists, and that all violence against and torture of Muslim youth is justified in order to combat terrorism. The UP terrorist strikes have been organized to create a surcharged communal atmosphere, wherein even enlightened people like lawyers, stand back and watch while state terrorism against people of Muslim faith is escalated. People must not fall into this trap.

The Indian state has the responsibility to protect the lives and liberties of people. However terrorist strikes are taking place with sickening regularity all over India. This shows that the state is either incapable or unwilling to discharge this duty. Instead, it resorts to state terrorism targeting innocent people of Muslim faith. By doing so, it is once again deliberately failing to discharge its duty of protecting lives and liberties of the people.

The people, independent of which religion or region they belong to, abhor terrorism of all kinds — whether bomb blasts, or police terror, or encounter killings. They want an end to terrorism and want the guilty to be punished.

Terrorism is a preferred tool, like communal violence, of reactionary ruling cliques the world over. It is used by states to paralyse the people, and to win support for the demand that the state arm itself with draconian powers to allegedly put down terrorism. In fact, historical experience in India and other countries reveals that this is just an excuse to crush the democratic strivings of the people against injustices. People must therefore not give up their struggles for rights even for a moment. They must not succumb to the state's demands for more draconian powers. They must not support attacks by the state on the rights of the Muslims or any other section of the people.