SIMI- On Trial for Terror

Shafey Danish Almost a month after the ban on SIMI was lifted by the Delhi High Court tribunal reviewing the ban on it; the organization once again finds itself in the center of the terror debate in India, with 10 of its members being arrested in connection with the Ahmedabad blasts which killed 57 people. One of them, believed to be the mastermind behind the Ahmedabad blasts is Abdul Bashar Qasmi. The police also believe he could provide crucial links into the blasts in Jaipur and Bangalore. The Gujarat police in its press conference announcing the arrests put forward two very interesting theories. One, the Indian Mujahideen is nothing but another name for a hard-line faction of SIMI. Two, SIMI is split down the middle, and it is its hard-line section, once headed by the arrested ex General Secretary of SIMI Sadar Nagori, that is behind the blasts in various parts of the country. This section simply took out the S and the last I from the name to get IM, the Indian Mujahideen.

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The other, more moderate, section of SIMI was previously headed by the SIMI’s ex national president Shahid Badr, who though currently out on bail, is fighting cases for inciting violence. While it is now up to the Gujarat police to prove the charges against the 10 arrested and to bring the case to a successful conclusion, the case itself has thrown up many troubling questions. One very important one is the suspected involvement of Taufique Bilal, reportedly an ex employee of Wipro who could have played a crucial role in the case. Even though this is just speculation at present, if it proves true the implications would be ominous. It would be the first time that highly educated people would be to be directly involved in a terror plot. The theory that terrorists are poor people driven to crime for money would be laid to rest once and for all. It would mean we have people who are not just driven by ideology, but driven to the point that they are ready to risk the comforts of life and are willing to kill. Let us hope that this proves to be a false lead. But even then SIMI itself, whether moderate or hard-line, was never really a derivative of the madarsas. Its recruits and members were drawn from schools and colleges. It made conscious efforts to portray itself as a forward looking Muslim organization, emphasizing more on education and reform than on prayers and fasting. It ran education programmes and gave financial support to those of its members still studying. The ramifications of such an organization taking to terror at all, is vast. One needs to understand what actually drives these men who are by no means dumb yokels to be swayed by stories of oppression in any part of the World. What could be the aim of such an organization? Do they really believe that they would be able to win out the Indian state by such stray acts of violence? Are these attempts to provoke a communal backlash so as to increase tensions? SIMI on its part disclaims such aims. It has been saying quite consistently, that it is against terrorism and seeks only to promote Islam. According to its Constitution, SIMI aims to achieve `Allah`s pleasure through reconstruction of human life in accordance with the principles given by Allah and His Messenger, and the Holy Quran and `Sunnah` (saga of struggle) would guide the organization in all matters towards its goal. The news of a split is a very recent formulation. Before that in SIMI’s conferences provocative rhetoric and aggressive statements were freely used. Such a climate would provide fertile ground for the recruitment of cadres for any terrorist organization. SIMI’s history SIMI, was formed in Aligarh on April 25, 1977. Mohammad Ahmadullah Siddiqi, who went on to become a Professor of Journalism and Public Relations at the Western Illinois University Macomb, Illinois since 1987, was the founding President of the outfit. One of the aims behind the formation of SIMI was to halt the drift of the Muslim youth towards western culture. Students up to the age of 30 years are eligible to be its member and after completing this age-limit they retire from the organization. Recently, two organisations of SIMI, called the Islamic Dawah Mission and the Islamic Youth Movement of Kerala came into being to accommodate activists who leave SIMI after they cross 30 years of age. Besides, there is the Saheen Force – a group of essentially school-going children. SIMI originally emerged as an offshoot of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind but soon grew into a closely-bound, independent body of young Muslims with an all-India presence. It has often advocated the establishment of the Khilafat, an ideal Muslim state in India. SIMI was banned for two years in 2001, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, after intelligence reports showed that its cadres were joining Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and were providing support in setting up of ‘sleeper cells’ in India. The ban was re-imposed for the second time from Sept 2003 to Sept 2005, as soon as the first ban period came to an end. The ban was imposed for the third time on Feb 08, 2006 after almost a four month relaxation; the prohibition on SIMI activists further strengthened after the 2006 Malegaon blasts. The Union Government decided to continue the ban on the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) for another two years from 2008. "The decision to re-impose the ban for two years has been taken in view of the fact that the group continues to indulge in unlawful activities," said the Home Ministry spokesperson Onkar Kedia. Thirteen SIMI leaders were arrested in Madhya Pradesh- including the ex -general secretary Safdar Nagori-their interrogation led the police to a terrorist training camp at a popular holiday spot near Indore, where, say the police, combat training was being given to SIMI cadres by making them climb the surrounding mountains and swim across the river. Evidence of a firing range was also found. Around 20 persons were trained at the camp, and over the past 1 ½ years 5 such camps were held, according to the police. In the same interrogation, police claimed, it was revealed that SIMI is training a women’s wing called the ‘Shaheen Force.’ SIMI’s lawyers though, speaking to Zee News in an exclusive interview, vigorously denied the charges. According to Mobin Akhtar and H A Siddique, who are representing SIMI at the Delhi High Court tribunal which reviews the ban every two years, SIMI has become a victim of the post 9/11 climate of hostility and suspicion against Muslim organizations. “The ban on SIMI was imposed within days of the 9/11 incident,” points out H A Siddique. As far the SIMI’s Shaheen Force is concerned, they say that it came into existence much before the ban and its sole purpose was to train school going children through cultural activities, cultural meets, essay competitions, exhibitions, picnics and quiz contests. And that, it was not a women’s but a children’s wing of the SIMI. They also point to what is perhaps the biggest weakness in the government’s case,- they have not been able to sentence any SIMI member in any case of terrorism. Shahid Badr, former SIMI chief, himself has been acquitted in 3 of the seven cases against him. Judgment is still to come in the other four, but he is currently out on bail. Mobin Akhtar points to the fact that in 18 cases against various SIMI members have ended in acquittals. Division in the ranks Safdar Nagori, the ex general secretary of SIMI, who was recently arrested in Andhra Pradesh though is a different matter. Why did he not turn himself in when SIMI was banned? Neither of the lawyers have the answer. "He should indeed have turned himself in. We do not know why he did not do so. He has not even been in contact with us, the official lawyers for SIMI." Narco analysis revealed that Safdar Nagori was present in Mumbai during the train bombings in 2006. But it is not enough to establish a link with the blast. H A Siddique says that even the evidence of narco analysis, the fragments of which were published in leading dailies, does not establish Safdar’s culpability in any of the crimes. Indeed in reports published in major newspapers, investigation in all the cases of terrorism in the past three years, including the train bombing, have come to a dead end. Nagori himself has been charged with sedition and inciting communal trouble. Our approach to tackling terrorism so far, at one level demonstrates the lacunae in our anti-terror mechanism. We simply do not have the resources to collect, collate and link terror acts to one another. The investigations in different states are being carried out by different agencies. And there is little effort at coordinating these efforts. The Prime Minister’s proposal to set up a federal agency to track terror cases is a step in the right direction. One also needs to develop political consensus on the issue so that parties do not start getting into you-did-this and you-did-that fight. Tackling the menace of terror should be above politics.