South Asia Terrorism Portal

INDIA

Creeping Radicalisation
Sanchita Bhattacharya
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management

On October 23, one person, identified as Jameza Mubin, died in an early morning explosion in a gas cylinder-laden Maruti 800 near the Kottai Eswaran Temple in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore District. There were two LPG cylinders inside the vehicle, of which one exploded. As reported on October 26, this incident took place around 200 metres from a Police patrol.

Following the incident, on the night of October 24, five persons were arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and under Section 120B (punishment for criminal conspiracy) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The arrested were identified as Muhammad Talka, Muhammed Azharuddin, Muhammed Riyaz, Firoze Ismail and Muhammed Nawaz Ismail, all in their 20s. Afsar Khan who is a cousin of the deceased Mubin, was also arrested on October 26, the sixth arrest in this case. City Police Commissioner V. Balakrishnan disclosed that 75 kilograms of potassium nitrate, charcoal, sulphur and aluminum powder were recovered from Mubin’s house in Ukkadam. On October 27, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered the case.

Mubin had previously been questioned by NIA in 2019 for suspected links with radical elements, and has been registered as the primary accused in current case. Significantly, October 26 reports cite an unnamed officer stating that Mubin and the other arrested men were in contact with Mohammad Azharuddin from Ukkadam, who is currently in jail in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, perpetrated by affiliates of the Islamic State (IS). Azharuddin was a close aide of Moulavi Zahran Hashim, the radical Islamist Imam and preacher who was the mastermind behind the Easter Sunday attacks, and carried out the suicide bombing at the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo.

Meanwhile, it also came into light that one of the arrested, Muhammad Talka was the nephew of Syed Ahmad Basha, ‘chief’ of the banned terrorist organisation Al Ummah, who was involved in the 1998 Coimbatore bomb blasts. Al Ummah was founded by Basha in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, in 1993, a year after the Babri Masjid demolition. It came under the spotlight after the 1993 bomb blast near the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) office in Chennai, in which 11 persons were killed. Basha and others were arrested under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, but were released in 1997. In 1998, Al Ummah planned serial bomb blasts at multiple locations in Coimbatore, in which 58 persons were killed. The group was banned by the Government of Tamil Nadu after these blasts.

In the context of the security situation in India, outside Jammu and Kashmir, it is certainly the case that Islamist terrorism related incidents and fatalities have declined dramatically since their peak in 2008, when 362 persons were killed in such attacks. Nevertheless, Islamic State ‘inspired’ activities have resulted in a number of incidents of violence. The first of these was the Bhopal–Ujjain Passenger train bombing of March 7, 2017, in which 10 people were injured. Moreover, according to South Asia Terrorism Portal, 18 people (two civilians, four Security Forces personnel and 12 militants) have been killed in 13 incidents involving or inspired by IS, across the country, including Jammu & Kashmir (till October 30, 2022).

Crucially, the global contribution of Indian origin militants to IS is microscopic. In a country with a population of 1.417 billion, including over 200 million Muslims, just 111 travelled to Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan to join IS, of which 44 confirmed killed. Of these, 50 of the Indians went from the Diaspora in West Asia, and 40 per cent from India’s Coastal regions.  

Nevertheless, Islamist radicalisation continues to find spaces on the fringes of the community. Jameza Mubin, for instance, attended bayan classes at a mosque in Coimbatore, run by the Tamil Nadu Thowheeth Jamath (TNTJ).

The malignancy of radicalization is also visible in the recent countrywide arrests of Popular Front of India (PFI) cadres. September 28 media reports indicate that more than 250 people linked to the group were arrested during raids on 22 September and 27 September. PFI was eventually proscribed for five years, on September 27, 2022 under a notification issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA). According to Ministry of Home Affairs Notification, the Centre exercised its powers under sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, proscribing PFI as an ‘unlawful association’.

Formed in 2006 by three south Indian Muslim fundamentalist outfits, namely the National Development Front/NDF, Kerala; the Karnataka Forum for Dignity/KFD, Karnataka; and the Manitha Neethi Pasarai/MNP, Tamil Nadu, the ‘South India Council’ (a Bangalore based organisation floated by NDF in 2004) was rechristened the ‘Popular Front of India’.

The PFI describes itself "as a non-governmental social organisation whose stated objective is to work for the poor and disadvantaged people in the country and to oppose oppression and exploitation." The front organisations through which the PFI carried out its radical activities include the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), Campus Front of India (CFI), National Women’s Front (NWF), Rehab India Foundation (RIF), and the Empower India Foundation (EIF). With a countrywide network, the PFI has emerged as arguably one of the most well-organised radical outfits.

Examining the radical outlook and activities of PFI, a dossier by Intelligence Agencies titled “PFI – A Threat to National Security” highlighted the presence of PFI in 17 States. The dossier stated that PFI had been engaged in disturbing the communal and secular fabric of the country and posed a grave threat to the national security, advancing its radical ideology that calls for the establishment of an Islamic state in India. Furthermore, the dossier indicated that, in their oath of allegiance, PFI cadres swear to sacrifice themselves for the creation of Allah’s rule (Shariah) and for the interests of the organisation. This oath was administered only when the cadre was judged suitably radicalised for inclusion in the core group. PFI recruits were exposed to selective video clippings on emotive issues such as the Babri Masjid demolition, communal riots in Gujarat and other parts of the country, instilling a sense of ‘Muslim persecution’ and distrust against the State as well as other communities.

India also faces the problem of ‘lone wolf’ terrorist incidents associated with the misuse and abuse of the electronic and social media. Due to easy access to the internet, extremist ideologies propagated by global terror outfits and radical organisations are readily available for mass consumption. Ghaus Mohammad, one of the prime accused in the July 28, Udaipur beheading case, for instance, was closely connected with the Karachi-based extremist Dawat-e-Islami. According to an un-named NIA official, in addition of visiting Karachi, Ghaus had been in touch with several Pakistani numbers over social media platforms, including WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook messenger and Snapchat. Communal tensions and violence are also exploited for ‘online preaching’ of radical ideas by various groups. Taking advantage of the communal tensions, especially during the Delhi riots of February, 2020, IS released the first issue of its India-specific online publication, Sawt al Hind (Voice of Hind). In some of its editions, it spoke about attacks on Indian security forces, revenge for the northeast Delhi riots, and how to use the Covid-19 pandemic to attack India while it was at its weakest.

Also, on October 29, in his keynote address at a special meeting of the UN Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), India’s Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar stated that terrorist groups, their “ideological fellow-travelers” and “lone wolf” attackers, had enhanced their capabilities by gaining access to new and emerging technologies. The transformative technological innovations and breakthroughs of the past two decades, including virtual private networks, encrypted messaging services, blockchain and virtual currencies, have an array of economic and social benefits; but the flip side of progress is their misuse by terrorists, he added.

Radicalization is also receiving a fillip as a result of the growing rift between various communities in the country, with an increase in the incidence of riots and disruption. The recent Hijab row case in Karnataka, the statement of former BJP spokesperson, Nupur Sharma on Prophet Mohammad, and the proliferation of a communally polarizing politics across the country is creating fertile ground for various terrorist and radical organisations to mobilize people alienated by these trends, and to recruit cadres, especially among the youth. Terrorist violence in India has certainly reduced dramatically, but the social fabric of the country is being pulled apart. Unless these trends to communal polarization and radicalization are checked, national security will be increasingly jeopardized.

PAKISTAN

Twin Virus: Polio and Terrorism
Tushar Ranjan Mohanty
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

On October 27, 2022, unidentified militants killed a paramilitary Levies officer Habib-ur-Rehman, deployed to provide security to an anti-polio team in the Sarki Talari tehsil (revenue unit) of Chaman District in Balochistan. The militants shot Levies Rehman in the head, killing him on the spot. The members of Polio team escaped unhurt. 

On October 25, 2022, a Policeman guarding a polio vaccination team was shot dead by unidentified assailants in the Trat area of Pishin District in Balochistan. Pishin Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Yasir said that the assailants attacked the vaccination team, killing the Policeman, identified as Constable Muhammad Hashim. The polio team workers remained unhurt in the attack.

On October 24, Pakistan kicked off a seven-day nationwide anti-polio vaccination campaign in an effort to eradicate the crippling disease. The vaccination campaign will be carried out in 28 Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 21 Districts of Sindh, 19 Districts of Balochistan and 14 Districts of Punjab.

Whenever a Polio campaign starts in Pakistan, there is violence directed against the vaccination teams. The current Polio programme, the fourth of 2022, had already recorded two incidents, with two Policemen killed. The three previous Polio campaign saw attacks. The first campaign between January 17 and January 24 was, by and large, peaceful, with just one incident of killing of a Policeman on January 25. The second campaign – June 27 to July 3 – claimed three lives, including two policemen and one polio worker. During the third campaign, August 19 to August 29, two Policemen were killed by armed men on August 16 in the Tank District of KP, while escorting a polio team for a survey in the area.

According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), at least seven Policemen and two Polio workers have been killed in such attacks in the current year (data till October 30, 2022).

The first polio immunisation-linked incident of violence recorded by the SATP database was reported on July 20, 2012, when unidentified terrorists shot dead Doctor Ishaq, associated with the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Polio Prevention Campaign, at Al-Asif Square in Junejo Town, Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh. At least 131 persons (58 health workers and 73 Policemen) have been killed in such violence since then. Another 84 persons (54 health workers and 30 policemen) have been injured in such violence.

In 2012, at least 13 persons (all polio workers) were killed in such attacks. There were 18 [eight polio workers and 10 Security Force (SF) personnel] such fatalities in 2013; 39 (12 polio workers and 27 SF personnel) in 2014; 12 (six polio workers and six SF personnel) in 2015; 13 (five polio workers and eight SF personnel) in 2016; none in 2017; six (five polio workers and one SF trooper) in 2018; eight (four polio workers and four SF personnel) in 2019; five (three polio workers and two SF personnel) in 2020; and eight (all SF personnel) in 2021. 

Islamist terrorists violently oppose all forms of inoculation, and their resistance grew after the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reportedly organised a fake vaccination drive by Doctor Shakil Afridi, to track down Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, who was killed at Abbottabad, KP, by US SEALs on the intervening night of May 1-2, 2011. Terrorists and extremists also spread negative propaganda against the vaccination campaigns, including the canard that the vaccination drops were part of a western plot to sterilise Muslims.

The polio vaccination campaign in Pakistan has not only suffered at the hands of terrorists but also due to socio-religious opposition and the issuance of Islamist fatwas (religious edicts). The first such Fatwa came from cleric Maulvi Ibrahim Chisti in the Muzaffargarh District of Punjab on June 12, 2012. Declaring the anti-polio campaign “un-Islamic,” Chisti had warned that a jihad (holy war) would be launched against polio vaccination teams.

Subsequent to Chisti’s ‘divine formulation,’ the then ‘commander of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)’s erstwhile North Waziristan Agency (NWA) ‘chapter,’ Hafiz Gul Bahadur, issued a fatwa on June 18, 2012, denouncing vaccinations as an American ploy to sterilise the Muslim community and banned these in NWA until the CIA stopped its drone strikes in the region. Bahadur’s declaration was a reflection of the consensus reached by the various terrorist outfits that formed the Shura-e-Mujaheddin (Council of Islamic fighters).

On July 31, 2019, TTP warned people against polio vaccination. The one-page message in Urdu seen by people in Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan District, cautioned the public not to allow the administration of polio drops to children or to be ready to ‘face dire consequences’ for their defiance. There were two Polio campaigns immediately after the July threat, in August 2019 and December 2019. A three-day campaign was conducted between August 26 and 28, 2019, during which no one was killed. However, during the five-day campaign conducted between December 16 and 20, 2019, two Policemen deployed for the security of polio teams were killed by unidentified assailants in the Maidan area of Lower Dir city (Lower Dir District) in KP on December 18. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, all polio campaigns in the country were suspended thereafter.  

After the COVID-19 crisis diminished, as soon as polio campaign was restarted, the attacks by extremists resumed. During the August 2-6, 2021, campaign, three attacks on Polio workers and their security team were reported in which two policemen were killed and another policeman sustained injuries. Similarly, during December 10-13, 2021, campaign, three incidents of attack were reported in which two policemen were killed and another policeman sustained injuries.

The Government, however, claims of having provided ‘fool proof security’ to the vaccination teams. The On June 20, 2022, Pakistan National Coordinator for the Polio programme, Brigadier Doctor Shahzad Baig reiterated, “Every team is escorted by security, by law enforcement agencies, either police [or] army. And I want to bring it on notice that, so far, the polio program has lost 50 lives in the line of duty to extremist bombings and shootings”. He did not, however, specify the period over which these deaths took place.

People's reluctance to have their children vaccinated due to militant threats has also jeopardised the polio programmes. Quoting Global health security expert Dr. Nadeem Jan, Dawn reported on October 24, 2022, that there was no system of across-the-board accountability in the polio programme. He added,

Polio remains endemic in just two countries of the world - Afghanistan and Pakistan. According to End Polio Program (EPP), an offshoot of the Federal Health Ministry's Pakistan Polio Eradication Program (PPEP), Pakistan has recorded 20 cases of polio in 2022, so far, and all the cases were detected in the Tribal Areas of KP, bordering Afghanistan. However, the re-emergence of Islamist terrorism in the tribal areas of KP, has created apprehensions concerning the security of Polio administering teams. On August 12, 2022, Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Maulana Abdul Shakoor warned that people of the erstwhile tribal areas would boycott polio vaccination campaign if the government and security institutions failed to restore peace, adding,

The extremist Islamist ideologies rampant in Pakistan, substantially supported by state institutions, and the creation of terrorist proxies by the state agencies have produced a deeply radicalized environment in the country, and the irrational opposition to the polio eradication campaign is a direct consequence. This is what has kept the polio virus alive in Pakistan, threatening not only the children of the country, but keeping alive the danger of its resurgence in other parts of the world. Unless poliovirus transmission ends in Pakistan and Afghanistan, all countries remain at risk; equally, as long as extremism and terrorism continue to find fertile ground in Pakistan, the world will remain vulnerable.