Malegaon Verdict Is A Damning Indictment Of UPA's ‘Saffron Terror' Farce

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The 2008 Malegaon blast, which took 6 lives and injured over 100, was a tragedy that necessitated meticulous investigation and accountability.
In the age of reels, it is flabbergasting to know that it took 17 years for truth to extricate itself from the suffocating grip of political machinations and shoddy investigations. On July 31, 2025, a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Mumbai delivered a resounding verdict, acquitting all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case: Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit, Major (Retd) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Sudhakar Dhar Dwivedi, Ajay Rahirkar, and Sameer Kulkarni. These 7 hapless people, vilified as terrorists, endured nearly two decades of torment, their lives upended by a narrative that was as malicious as it was baseless. The court's ruling was not just a legal exoneration; it was a scathing rebuke of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime's reckless and politically motivated pursuit of the so-called 'Hindu terror" narrative.
The 2008 Malegaon blast, which took 6 lives and injured over 100, was a tragedy that necessitated meticulous investigation and accountability. Instead, it became a political weapon bandied by the UPA to crush the looming Hindu renaissance, tarnish the image of Hindu organizations, and counter the rising tide of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), under the late Hemant Karkare, took no scourge in pointing fingers at Hindu nationalist groups, coining terms like 'Bhagwa Atankwad" (Saffron Terror) and 'Hindu terrorism." From P. Chidambaram to Prithviraj Chauhan to Digvijaya Singh, Congress stalwarts tripped over themselves to peddle this narrative, painting the Hindu community as perpetrators of terror without a shred of credible evidence.
This wasn't just a legal failure; it was a grotesque political ploy. The congress, sensing the BJP's growing prowess under Narendra Modi, then Gujarat's chief minister, saw an opportunity to polarize the Muslim vote bank. The 'saffron terror" theory was a carefully crafted mirage, designed to appease Muslim voters and consolidate the electorate. Though neither in the Maharashtra nor central government at the time, Digvijaya Singh, a Congress heavyweight, claimed publicly that Hemant Karkare was updating him every half hour during the Malegaon investigation. Why would a senior police officer brief a politician with no official role? This only insinuates an insider syndicate of the cops and the congress Netas working on a joint mission to realize a nefarious agenda. Further raising eyebrows over the Congress's conduct is the curious case of Parambir Singh, the former Mumbai Police Commissioner and a tainted cop now a fugitive. Singh, who served as ATS chief during the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) regime—a coalition including Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT)—was reinstated despite allegations of corruption and extortion. His reinstatement under the MVA rule, only to later become a fugitive, fuels suspicion of a Congress-police nexus in Maharashtra. Why was a controversial figure like Singh brought back? Does this point to a deeper, systemic manipulation of law enforcement for political ends?
The Congress's obsession with the 'saffron terror" narrative is rooted in the Nehru-Ghandhy-Vadra clan's long-standing strategy of Muslim appeasement. Yes, Ghandhy, not Gandhi—the family's Parsi lineage is often obscured by their adopted surname. From Jawaharlal Nehru's supposed secular posturing to Rahul Ghandhy's 2009 remark to a US ambassador that the RSS posed a 'bigger threat" than Lashkar-e-Taiba, this dynasty has consistently prioritized vote consolidation over national unity. Robert Vadra's recent claim that the Pahalgam terror attack was linked to the BJP's 'Hindutva push" is yet another example of this family's compulsion to exploit communal fault lines for electoral gain. The Malegaon case was no different—by branding Hindus as terrorists, the Congress sought to stoke fear among Muslims, positioning itself as their sole protector. The acquittal of Sadhvi Pragya, Lt. Col. Purohit, and their co-accused is a moment of vindication, but it's also a moment of reckoning. The Congress's narrative didn't just fail the accused; it failed the victims of the Malegaon blast, whose quest for justice remains unresolved.
The court's ruling underscores a painful truth: while the UPA played its dangerous game of communal politics, the real perpetrators walked scot-free. Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde called it 'delayed justice. " But the moot point here is if m justice ever be fully served when political agendas taint the process? BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad accused the Congress of a 'well-calculated conspiracy" to frame innocents for vote-bank politics, while Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis declared, 'Atankwad Bhagwa Na Kabhi Tha, Na Hai, Na Kabhi Rahega" (Terrorism was never saffron, is not, and will never be).
The human toll of this travesty is staggering. Sadhvi Pragya, battling cancer and alleging custodial torture, endured years of stigma. Lt. Col. Purohit, a serving military officer, faced accusations of betraying the nation he swore to protect. The other five suffered similar indignities. Their acquittal cannot erase the scars of a justice system manipulated by political expediency. The Congress owes them—and the nation—an apology, but don't hold your breath. The Malegaon verdict should compel us to confront the broader implications of such political slyness. The Congress's 'saffron terror" gambit wasn't just about one case; it was about reshaping India's communal discourse to entrench division. By demonizing Hindus, the UPA sought to secure its electoral fortress, but at what cost? The erosion of trust in institutions, the vilification of an entire community, and the perpetuation of a divisive narrative that continues to haunt our polity. The trial saw 323 prosecution witnesses, 37 of whom turned hostile, and over 30 died before testifying, further exposing the fragility of the case. Former Bombay High Court judge B.G. Kolse-Patil called the acquittal a 'death of justice," but the real travesty was the UPA's attempt to manufacture a myth at the expense of truth.
As we reflect on this verdict, let's not forget the human cost and the systemic failures it exposes.
How long will we allow vote-bank politics to dictate justice?
Can we afford to let divisive narratives fracture our social fabric?
Who will hold the Congress accountable for its role in this travesty?
Why did Digvijaya Singh claim such close access to Hemant Karkare's investigation?
And what does Parambir Singh's reinstatement and subsequent fugitive status reveal about Congress's influence over Maharashtra's police?
Is this judgement served or justice served?
Who will compensate for the blooming and fostering years lost by those entangled in the rigmarole of the system?
Readers, the answers lie with you—will you demand a system where truth triumphs over political agendas, or will you let the shadows of appeasement linger?
About the Author
Yuvraj Pokharna
Yuvraj Pokharna is a Surat-based author and media panelist who vociferously voices his opinions on issues of Hindutva, Islamist Jihad, politics, policies, and sometimes mules over books. He can be followed on I...Read More
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First Published:
August 03, 2025, 10:26 IST
News opinion Write Mind | Malegaon Verdict Is A Damning Indictment Of UPA's 'Saffron Terror' Farce
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