By
Vijay Darda
September
4, 2020
The latest
arrest in New Delhi of a suspected Islamic State operative with the recovery of
15 kg of IEDs comes a month after the 26th report of the UN’s Analytical
Support and Sanction Monitoring Team, which monitors the activities of Islamic
State and al Qaeda and allied terror outfits. The report mentions that the IS’s
Indian affiliate (Hind Wilayah), which was announced in May 2019, “has between
180 and 200 members,” and there are “significant numbers” of operatives in
Kerala and Karnataka. The report also underlines how al Qaeda in the Indian
Subcontinent (AQIS) could have between 150 and 200 members from Bangladesh,
India, Myanmar and Pakistan.
The flag of Islamic State. File
| Photo Credit: REUTERS
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These
numbers are relatively small and as a recent paper by researchers Abdul Basit
and Mohammed Sinan Siyech of the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies
(RSIS), Singapore, argues that even at its peak, IS “successfully recruited”
hundreds of supporters and sympathisers and yet the number of Indians remained
low.
The gradual
shrinking of the IS, India’s “institutionalised democratic culture,” that helps
register “demands and grievances,” the authors argue, may be one reason behind
this. But, clearly, there are causes for concern.
Previously, ISIS attacks in Kashmir were linked to its so-called
Khorasan Province branch, which was set up in 2015 to cover “Afghanistan,
Pakistan and nearby lands”. (Reuters/File)
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The UN
report itself comes after the Islamic State announced the formation of its
Indian branch, “Wilayah of Hind”. Before this, the countries that the IS had
included were Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. A few years ago, the IS magazine,
Dabiq, had announced the establishment of a Caliphate in these areas. At that
time, the IS was fighting its battle for survival in Iraq and its announcement
did not attract much attention but the Wilayah of Hind branch is India-centric.
Now, the
National Investigation Agency (NIA) has zeroed in on Kerala and some of the
trouble-mongers have also been identified and arrested. Many have been
extradited. Earlier this month, claiming responsibility for the Nangarhar
jailbreak, the IS released photographs of 11 attackers, including recruits from
Kerala. On March 25, 27 Sikhs were killed in an attack on a gurdwara in
Afghanistan by terrorists. Among the terrorists was Muhammad Muhsin from the
Kasaragod district of Kerala. The IS newspaper printed his picture and wrote
his name as “Kunya” Abu Khalid al-Hindi.
India’s
intelligence agencies were surprised when they came to know that it was the
same Muhammad Muhsin who went to Malaysia in 2017. He travelled from Malaysia
to the UAE in 2018 and then to Afghanistan to join the Islamic State. It was
the IS that informed his father that his son was killed in an attack in
Afghanistan. He was only 28 years old at the time of his death.
A month
earlier in July, the NIA filed a chargesheet against 17 IS suspects who had
allegedly plotted to carry “out terrorist attacks in South India, especially in
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and for establishing Islamic Khilafat in India”.
An Expert
Explains: Why it is necessary to watch the emergence of ISIS in the region
In
February, the NIA conducted searches at 15 locations in Karnataka in connection
with the case and said that the members, “inspired by ISIS” conducted meetings
at Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and “procured arms and
ammunition and other incriminating material for executing their plans”.
Kerala and
Karnataka are relatively prosperous states with strong social and community
networks. A slew of educational institutions has mushroomed in Kerala, some of
which are accused of promoting hardline faith-based teaching. Posters of these
sermonisers can be seen aplenty on the roadside. Historically, Islam has deep
cultural and social roots in Kerala — its people make up the largest share of
the Indian diaspora in the Gulf.
A growing
population of young, aspirational men and women from these states are in the
Gulf and in countries in the region. Many of these countries do not have
robust, democratic structures and are caught in their own ethnic and regional disputes.
By flaunting the Indian connection in prominent attacks in Afghanistan, Basit
and Siyech write, the IS is “trying to dispel the narrative that Indians cannot
succumb to radicalisation”. The IS will also try to tap into communal fault
lines. It’s this that needs to be challenged and countered.
The public
policy and diplomatic challenge for India to have strong ties with the diaspora
and encourage deep cultural and institutional bonds back home so that any
radical element or a potential security threat is marginal and can be
marginalised.
The
challenge also is to strengthen the intelligence system to get early warnings
and better information-sharing among nations. The law — and those whose job is
to enforce it — should take a tough stand without any discrimination. The
biggest need of the hour is for political parties, across the spectrum — Kerala
and Karnataka are run by rival parties — not to look at this issue in terms of
ideology or vote banks. Politics and power can never be placed above the nation
and the future of its children. India’s message to the world has been one of
unity amid diversity and it is this that should define our way forward on this
challenge as well — the task is cut out.
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Vijay
Darda is chairman, Editorial Board of Lokmat Group.
Original
Headline: UN report flagging IS threat
underlines why India cannot lower its guard
Source: The Indian Express
URL: https://newageislam.com/radical-islamism-jihad/un-report-islamic-state-challenge/d/122786
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