Malegaon Blast Case: P Chidambaram, Sushil Shinde, RK Singh—Who Coined ‘Saffron Terror’?

Last Updated:July 31, 2025, 22:01 IST

The term saw an official burial on Thursday as an NIA court in Mumbai acquitted all accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case

Forensic experts search for clues at the blast site in Malegaon in 2008. File pic

From P Chidambaram to Sushil Kumar Shinde and former home secretary RK Singh—the term “saffron terrorism" coined by these prominent personalities saw an official burial on Thursday as an NIA court in Mumbai acquitted all accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.

Each time, it landed the Congress in a spot of bother, and ultimately, on Thursday, party leaders evaded any comment on the matter. From Chidambaram to Shinde and Singh, no one chose to speak. The NIA, which had filed a supplementary chargesheet in the Malegaon case in 2016 (under UPA tenure), also did not commit immediately to whether it would appeal against the court verdict.

How it began

P Chidambaram, the home minister between 2008 and 2012, was the one who coined the term “saffron terror". On August 25, 2010, Chidambaram was addressing the annual DGP/IGPs conference in Delhi, where he said a “recently uncovered phenomenon of ‘saffron terrorism’ has been implicated in many bomb blasts of the past". He was talking about the blasts in Malegaon in 2008 and the Samjhauta train blasts, and the Mecca Masjid and Ajmer Sharif blasts of 2007.

The BJP took umbrage at it, with senior party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad reminding the Congress that saffron is also a part of the tricolour. The Congress backtracked, saying terrorism does not have any colour other than “black" and that saffron was a part of India’s ancient traditions.

But Chidambaram’s successor, Sushil Kumar Shinde, went a step further in January 2013 when he said not only does “saffron terror" exist, but it is emanating from terror camps run by the RSS and BJP. Shinde said so at a Congress Chintan Shivir in Jaipur, making headlines. He also mentioned the Samjhauta and Malegaon blasts.

The Congress was again in a spot, and within days, Shinde had to issue a retraction. “I had no intention of linking terrorism with any religion. There is no basis for suggesting that terror could be linked with the organisations mentioned in my brief speech at Jaipur. I am issuing this clarification and express regret to those who felt hurt by my statement," Shinde said in a statement issued a few days later.

Then home secretary R K Singh, however, seconded Shinde and said there was evidence that people associated with the RSS were involved in terror incidents. Singh subsequently joined the BJP after retirement and went on to become a minister. He then blamed Shinde for coining the term “saffron terror" and denied using it.

BJP calls it Congress conspiracy

BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad said the court verdict on Thursday has smashed the Congress conspiracy of framing people under the guise of “saffron terror". Prasad said a serving army officer who fought terrorism in Kashmir was implicated in the Malegaon blasts by planting RDX at his house.

“This was a well-planned Congress conspiracy for sheer vote-bank politics," Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

Aman Sharma

Aman Sharma, Executive Editor - National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Minister’s Office....Read More

Aman Sharma, Executive Editor - National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Minister’s Office....

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