The Myth of ‘Hindu Terrorism’: A Decade of Political Propaganda


Between 2004 and 2014, India witnessed a dangerous political experiment—an attempt to paint the majority Hindu community as a threat to national security. The narrative of “Hindu Terror” or “Saffron Terror” was not merely political rhetoric; it was a calculated ideological assault aimed at psychologically disarming India’s majority and reshaping the country’s socio-political narrative.

This narrative was pushed under the UPA regime with tacit and often explicit support from elements within the Congress party and Left-Islamist radical groups. The design was clear: to equate the Hindu faith with extremism and redefine secularism as a tool of suppression, not inclusion. Let us examine three significant episodes that expose this design in full.


I. The Malegaon Bomb Blast Case (2008)

On the night of September 29, 2008, a powerful bomb exploded in the Bhikku Chowk area of Malegaon, Maharashtra—an area with a large Muslim population. The attack killed six and injured over 100. Initial investigations by Maharashtra ATS pointed to Islamist outfits like SIMI and Indian Mujahideen.


Suddenly, the investigation took a political turn. The ATS accused a group called Abhinav Bharat, allegedly aligned with Hindutva ideology. Arrests followed: Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit, and several others. The media trial was swift, and the narrative of “Hindu terrorism” was born.


Top Congress leaders like Sushilkumar Shinde, Digvijaya Singh, and P. Chidambaram amplified the theory. Yet, when the NIA took over in 2011, its investigation questioned the ATS’s methods and raised doubts about the credibility of the evidence.


Eventually, in a major setback for the original theory, a Special NIA Court acquitted key accused including Sadhvi Pragya and Lt. Col. Purohit due to lack of evidence. The court even hinted at procedural lapses and political interference in the investigation.


II. The 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks (2008)

The horrific attacks of November 26, 2008, left 166 dead and over 300 injured. As the dust settled, the nation was shocked by reports that the terrorists carried Hindu-sounding names, ID cards written in Marathi, and even wore kalavas—sacred threads typically worn by devout Hindus.


This raised suspicions. Was the attack intended to frame Hindus? The lone surviving terrorist, when interrogated, revealed the truth: he was not a Hindu named Sameer Chaudhary, but Ajmal Kasab, a Pakistani national and a member of the Islamist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba. His confession, along with evidence gathered by Indian agencies and confirmation by the FBI, put all doubts to rest.


Yet, in 2010, Urdu journalist Aziz Burney published a book titled “26/11: RSS Ki Sazish”, alleging RSS involvement in the attacks. Startlingly, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh attended the book launch and supported its contents. This triggered outrage, not just from security experts but from families of victims and the general public. It was an audacious attempt to redirect blame for an internationally exposed Islamist terror attack onto a Hindu nationalist organisation.


III. The Communal Violence Bill (2011): Legally Institutionalising Bias

In 2011, the National Advisory Council (NAC)—a non-elected body chaired by Sonia Gandhi—proposed the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence Bill. At first glance, it appeared progressive. But a closer look revealed something far more sinister.


The bill assumed that in any communal conflict, the majority community (read: Hindus) would always be the aggressor. If a member of a minority group filed a complaint, the accused from the majority would face legal action without needing to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Such a provision would have weaponised communal identities against justice.


The bill was widely criticised by legal experts and civil society. Opposition parties, led by the BJP, called it unconstitutional and divisive. The uproar was so strong that the bill was never tabled in Parliament. With the fall of the UPA in 2014, both the NAC and the bill faded into history.


Conclusion: Narrative Defeated, But Not Forgotten

From Malegaon to Mumbai, from biased investigations to books based on fiction, and finally, to a proposed law designed to institutionalise bias—the period between 2004 and 2014 was a masterclass in narrative warfare. The target was not terrorism, but the cultural confidence of India’s majority.


Despite repeated attempts, the truth has prevailed. Sanatan Dharma—India’s eternal cultural foundation—has withstood the assault. But the recurrence of such conspiracies reminds us that eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.


Hindus must not lapse into complacency. A politically aware, nationally committed Hindu society is not an adversary to secularism—it is its true guardian. India must reject divisive identity politics and embrace Bharatiyata—the inclusive civilisational spirit of this nation.


If we fail to recognise propaganda for what it is, the cost will be borne not just by us—but by generations to come.

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