New Delhi, Sep 10 (IANS) Terrorism can be successfully fought "only when communalism and extremism are firmly checked", CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat said Saturday.


In a note submitted to the National Integration Council meeting here, Karat said that in recent years there was a spurt in cases of religious extremism fuelling terrorist violence.

"This has been the motivation for some of the Muslim extremist groups. They continue to pose a threat as seen by the gruesome attacks recently like the blasts in Mumbai in July and the bomb blast at the Delhi High Court this week," the Communist Party of India-Marxist leader said.

"It would be wrong to ascribe terrorism to any one community alone and make them a target of communal mobilisation. The investigations into the Malegaon, Mecca Masjid, Ajmer Sharief and the Samjhauta Express terrorist attacks have found them to be the handiwork of certain extreme Hindutva groups.

"The task of combating terrorism can be successfully taken forward only when communalism and religious extremism are firmly checked."

He warned that the secular nature of the country was being eroded due to communal mobilisation.

"This politics which is sought to be given the garb of nationalism is nothing but majority communalism. Minority communalism also mirrors this approach and weakens secularism.

"Till political parties eschew all forms of communal politics, the problem of communalism will remain."