Muslim Radicalization in India - Islamist Bomb Ticking to Explode!

A brief status report provides insights into impending gloom and doom scenario. From a single digit number of radical Islamist outfits in early 1980, there are over 100 proscribed, active and inactive terrorist groups on the prowl all over India. Add to them, over 300,000 active mosques, more than any other country in the world set to increase to 4, 50,000 by 2025. 5 times a day prayers offer platforms for Maulvis to radicalize and rally their followers in the name of Jihad, particularly after Friday Namaj. Law and order agencies well beyond their capabilities to control their awesome social mobilization.

Next, according to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, there are 24,010 Madrasas, of which 4,870 are funded. Unofficially, Jamiat-Ulema Hind has over 20,000 Deobandi Madrasas in North India. They constitute the framework for psychological conditioning of young minds on hate-spewing mind-set based on Islam as "religion par excellence". Ipso facto, the madrasas are used to indoctrinate young minds. The seniors talk of how their religion is under threat. Now, they use technology like social media platforms and IT in stealth mode to indoctrinate and propagate their one-track mind-set.

Today, Islamists short term objective stands expressed as ‘Jinnah wali Azadi’ for India's 20-25 million Muslims. Essentially saying that they want ‘Azadi’ to break India yet again and create another Pakistan where the founding principle of the state is Islam and Sharia Law - most regressive state like the one that prevails in today's Taliban ruled Afghanistan with most repressive measures against women.

Of course, their immediate objective is to sustain their ongoing onslaught on the Hindutva followers thereby gain political and social domination and ascendancy to keep the "Pot of radicalism and terrorism boiling" for an opportune crisis escalation in posterity.

No wonder, radical Islamists are in the forefront spreading hatred and to convert all the other non-believers to Islam by allurement (Love Jihad), financial enticements, force, violence etc. No dearth of funds from State and non-State actors flowing into the coffers of radical groups. The spurt of hate crimes is real after former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma remarks in a TV interview. Islamists have been unrelenting toward all those Hindus supporting Nupur Sharma.

The list of murders/attacks over alleged support to Nupur Sharma includes: 22nd June 2022, Chemist Umesh Kolhe was killed in Amravati of Maharashtra; 28 June 2022- Hindu man named Kanhaiya Lal was brutally murdered in Udaipur, Rajasthan, with accused Ghaus Mohammed and Riyaz Attari’s having ties to Dawat-e-Islami, a Pakistan-based outfit of the Sufi-Barelvi sect of Sunni Islam; 5 July - a frenzied Muslim mob in Arrah, Bihar, attacked a Hindu boy; 6 July, one Ahmedabad-based lawyer received threats for life; 15 July - a young businessman received death threats in the Umra area of Surat city in Gujarat, and a 23-year-old man named Ankit Kumar Jha was stabbed multiple times for watching a video of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on social media in the Sitamarhi district in the Tirhut Division of Bihar; 26 July - mysterious death of an engineering student from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, who was found dead on the railway tracks near Obaidullaganj town in the Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh and before his death, his father had received a message that read, “Gustakh-e-Nabi ki ek saza, sar tan sey judaa”; 26 July 2022 In a gruesome incident in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district, a BJP Yuva Morcha leader Praveen Nettaru was hacked to death in front of his chicken shop at Bellare by three miscreants; and, 28 July - Mohammed Fazil, a resident of Mangalpete near Surathkal, a member of PFI was stabbed to death outside a textile shop at Surathkal on the outskirts of the city.

The list of radical hatemonger is a long one. Some of the notable names that keep making news headlines include: controversial AIMIM MLA and brother of Asaduddin Owaisi, Akbaruddin who had made a highly inflammatory speech asking to remove the police for 15 minutes so that he could finish off 100 crores Hindus; AIMIM chief- Asaduddin Owaisi, Akbaruddin elder brother; Maulana Jarjis Ansari Hafizullah, who openly threatened to wage ‘jihad’ in India as he rejected the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) bill by falsely claiming that they are anti-Muslim; Zakir Naik, who has on several occasions incited Muslims against the Hindus; Peerzada Abbasuddin Siddique, Congress ally and a Muslim preacher of Furfura sharif who had wished for the death of 50 crore Hindus; AIMIM leader and former Maharashtra MLA Waris Pathan who was seen inciting Muslims at an anti-CAA rally in Gulbarga, Karnataka, by stating that the time has come for the Muslims of the country to unite and ‘achieve freedom’ and even though Muslims are just 15 crores in the country, they can still dominate over 100 crore Hindus; AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, who had also warned "If Muslims are silent today, then, it is only because they are tackling the issue. If Muslims hit the streets, they wreak havoc (eent se eent baja denge). Muslims of the world cannot tolerate insult to Prophet Muhammad”; Tauqeer Raza Khan, founder of the political party Ittehad-e-Millat Council, repeatedly brazenly urging for a bloodbath in the country - “We are Allah wale, what we say it happens, there will be blood bath Inshallah”; and so on.

On 15 April 2021, Bareilly Saw A Massive Rally with ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ Slogans. Both Media And Police Downplayed It. Again on 8 January 2022, Tauqeer Raza Khan while addressing a crowd of 20 lakh Muslims in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, brazenly threatened Hindus in India that the day Muslims rage flares, they would have nowhere to escape.

During the so-called farmer’s protests and the anti-CAA protests, protesters raised slogans of ‘Hinduon se Azadi’, ‘Kaafiron se Azadi‘, ‘Chheen ke lengey Azadi’ and ‘Ladh ke lengey Azadi’. In fact, the anti-CAA protests had exposed itself to be deeply Islamic and anti-Hindu in nature with posters like F*ck Hindutva that distorted the Om symbol to several slogans that exposed the Islamist mobs’ deep-seated hatred for Hindus.

Salman Khurshid, a senior leader of the Congress party, was spotted at a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, reportedly in Jamia in February 2020, participating in a jolly round of ‘Azadi’ chanting that was led by a baby. Khurshid beamed with pride, and was encouraged as the child was cheered by the crowd to chant slogans of “Tum Goli Maaro! Azadi!” and “Hum Chheen ke lenge Azadi!”

Ironic but true that during a during a news channel debate on the Citizenship Amendment Act, Congress member Ajay Verma demanded that Muslims in India should be granted another chunk of Indian landmass to make another Islamic nation like Pakistan. What a thoughtless idea? If allowed, a 3rd or 4th partition will be inevitable paving the course for eventual foisting of Ghazwa e Hind.

And, the threats are only increasing. On 8 July 2022 Grocery store owner and teacher receive ‘Sar tan se juda in 10 days’ threat in Bharatpur in Rajasthan. On the intervening night of 15 and 16 July, two Hindu men from Udaipur received death threats. Recently, Maulana Mufti Nadeem openly threatened Hindus that too in the presence of the police in Rajasthan’s Bundi that “We will go against the law to act against those who indulge in blasphemy. I’m issuing an open threat and not making any request. When we Muslims react, we will make sure the person has nowhere to hide. We know to take revenge.” the Maulana is heard saying in Hindi. He further threatened to cut off the tongue, hand, or fingers and gouge out the eyes of those who spoke against Mohammed.

Even in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar, radical Muslims raised slogans ‘gustakhe nabi ki ek saja, sar tan se juda’ (insult of Mohammed will be avenged by beheading) slogan in June 2022. Despite these open threats, the police are merely mute spectators. When the secular state fails to act against such Maulanas, it directly encourages radical Islamists. Such radicalism is further normalized when the state fails to act also against other instigators.

Let me provide a backdrop to the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and communalism. After the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992, Muslim radicalization gained momentum. Islamic cleric Abdul Nasser Madani, who founded the Islamic Seva Sangh (ISS), began delivering speeches spreading the notion of ‘Islam is in danger’ to influence the “community to stand up against atrocities”. The now-banned ISS radicalized individuals like Thadiyantavide Naseer, who Indian agencies believe is the South India commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Of over 100 radical Muslim outfits, major groups include: Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI); Popular Front of India (PFI) and its political arm, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI); Al Ummah; Deendar Anjuman; Indian Mujahideen (IM); Islamic State (ISIS) and al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS); Lashkar-e-Taiba; al-Qaeda; Daesh or Islamic State (ISIS); etc.

SIMI, known to be the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, was formed in 1977 in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh. The organization banned by the Indian government in 2001 that has led to radicalization and formation of terror groups such as the Al Ummah and Indian Mujahideen (IM).

The PFI, founded in Kerala, is an offshoot of its predecessor, the National Democratic Front (NDF), which was formed in 1993, a year after the Babri Masjid demolition. Smaller outfits like Manitha Neethi Pasarai and Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD) formed in 2001, which were seen to be offshoots of SIMI, merged themselves to form the PFI in 2006. MNP, a Tamil Nadu-based group, is believed to have links to Yasin Malik’s Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front as well as PFI. The KFD, which also merged with the PFI, was seen to be active in the Dakshina Kannada region of Karnataka.

Three years later, the PFI launched its political arm, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), with the tagline “to fight for the advancement and uniform development of all the citizenry, including Muslims, Dalits, Backward Classes and Adivasis". The same year was launched the Campus Front of India (CFI), said to be PFI’s student wing, and the forum at the fore of the Hijab controversy that has rocked Karnataka. PFI raises funds on the name of social services and uses them for anti-social and anti-India propaganda. It is carrying recruitment drives in schools, colleges and madrasas. More than 200 PFI caders have been trained in Southern India.

PFI has launched multiple wings to evade government agencies and spread its agenda to include: the SDPI, CFI, National Women Front, All India Imams Council, All India Legal Council, Rehab India Foundation, National Confederation of Human Right Organization, Social Democratic Trade Union and HRDF. According to the NIA, the outfit has a presence in almost 23 states in the country.

Al Ummah, Tamil Nadu-based terror group, just like the PFI, was founded in 1993 by Syed Ahmed Basha, a year after the Babri Masjid razing. Deendar Anjuman is a Hyderabad-based radical group that has been involved in a series of bomb blasts across churches in southern India.

IM, the banned terror organization, was born in the year 2000 in Karnataka’s Bhatkal town was created by two brothers who shared the area’s name: Riyaz and Yasin Bhatkal. The outfit claimed its main objective was to bring together like-minded people who were committed to waging a holy war against anti-Muslim people and the Indian state. It is seen as an Islamic terror organization that includes a loose network of groups like SIMI, PFI, HuJI, Al Ummah, and supporters of the LeT. By late 2007, the IM began gaining support in southern India. Several top-rung SIMI leaders supported the formation of the IM and had even imparted training to 50 SIMI cadre members in Kerala’s Aluva.

The Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K) and the AQIS has been slowly radicalizing the existing radical groups in India since their mission is quite similar- Ghazwa e Hind. They have been identifying radical groups ready to align themselves with them in hopes of funding and training. Many receive funding from terror organizations like the LeT and ISIS. These small splinter groups receive training, weapons, and, when the time comes, are expected to join hands and provide local support on the ground.

The Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath (TNTJ) - claims to be “non-political, socio-religious, community service” organization" is linked to the PFI. Three members of TNTJ have been arrested for threatening Karnataka High Court judges of “possible" murder over the Hijab verdict.

The rise of radical Muslim groups is attributed to "India's Soft State", lack of resistance by Hindus, Mainstream Media, security forces and eminent personalities. Intelligence agencies in states where a non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is in power, like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, “refuse” to do their bit to tackle Islamic radicalization. The slogan “Sar Tan Se Juda (removing head from body” is normalized. Violent Protest with heavy stone pelting is being unleashed by the Muslim mobs with shouting of this slogan. “Sar Tan se Juda”. These slogans of beheading are shouted openly in the streets in front of police officials and no actions are being taken against them. It instills a fear among the non Muslim society to talk on any subject related to Islam because normalization will make Muslims free to demand beheading of any person they want for any reason.

Time to realize that "Tolerance" too has limits. Delays will only enable radical Islamists to up the ante to spread anarchy and chaos. Seizing and exploiting opportunities is the acme of leadership. High time for India to abandon its "Soft State" posture or "Kid-glove" strategy in favor of "Iron fist" policy and strategy. Time for judiciary to fast track the criminal case against the Killers - Ghaus Mohammed and Riyaz Attari - of Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur, Rajasthan, without phenomenal adjournment delays.

There is no other alternative to declaring Hindu Rashtra and passing the UCC in the Parliament. PFI and its associate groups must be banned and their leaders put behind bars. Where opportunities provide, the "Bull Dozer" strategy must be implemented. All States must activate Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for proactive-cum-pre emptive actions. Dithering and procrastination over such a radical shift will only embolden the radical Islamists.

To sum up, the exponential growth of radical groups like SIMI, PFI, SDPI, Al Ummah, IM and AQIS. Some of these have aligned and identified themselves with bigger terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba, al-Qaeda, and Daesh or Islamic State (ISIS). Ipso facto, Islamic leaders, politicians and clerics are increasingly emboldened to invoke threats of violence, blatant calls for ‘jihad’ and Hindu genocide. And, the left-leaning liberals and the so-called ‘secular’ intellectuals are turning a blind eye.