Southern Islamic Caliphate: Lankan crisis could spell bigger trouble for India

With the Sri Lankan crisis deepening, Indian security agencies fear that this could lead to an attempt to set up Southern Islamic Caliphate in the country

New Delhi, July 14: Indian security agencies are keeping a close watch on the developments in Sri Lanka as violence continues to rock the economically-hit nation. While on the diplomatic front, India has made it amply clear that it stands with the Sri Lankan people and the democratic process to elect a new leader, on the security front the radar of the agencies has gone up in states such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

With scores of refugees attempting to enter India, the Intelligence Bureau warns that with them could come the members who had in 2019 planned on setting up a Southern Islamic Caliphate.

The plan to set up a Southern Caliphate came to light in a big way following the 2019 bombings in Colombo. It was revealed during the investigation that the main accused Zaharan Hashim had instructed radicals in Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala to help establish the Southern Caliphate.

Clues about such a Caliphate was first found when on September 1 2018, a case was registered at a police station in Coimbatore. The case pertained to a criminal conspiracy hatched to further the objectives of the Islamic State by targeting Hindu leaders and activists.

The case was handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and during the probe, the agency came across a video in which Hashim had urged the Muslim youth from Sri Lanka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu to establish Islamic rule in the nation.

A further probe led the NIA to a case in Kerala where it was found that three persons, Abdul Rashid Abdulla (Kozhikode), Bestin Vincent (Pallakad) and Ashfak Majeed (Kasargod), had travelled to Sri Lanka in 2016. All these men were also in touch with Hashim.

Further the NIA also said that like their accomplices in Kerala, these persons from Tamil Nadu too were in touch with Hashim and were helping him set up the Southern Islamic Caliphate.

The fear of radical elements spilling in comes in the wake of the agencies flagging the refugee crisis that could emerge in India considering the situation in the Island nation. An Intelligence Bureau official tells OneIndia that along with the refugee crisis comes the security nightmare.

In addition to the radical elements trying to make their way into states such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the agencies also fear that a Tamil-Sinhalese conflict may erupt as there has been a history of the same.