Seeds of Islamic radicalisation in South India not new, it dates back to over 30 years

The problem of radicalisation and terror recruitment is nothing new in South India. One would have to revisit the Lal Singh vs Gujarat case of 1991 to understand how deep-rooted the entire issue is.

New Delhi, Aug 20: The chargesheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday yet again amplifies the problem that South India is facing and how the problem of deep-rooted Islamic radicalisation and terrorism had been ignored over the years.

South India except Hyderabad has not witnessed terror strikes like the rest of the country, but going deep one gets to see how much the radicals from the South have contributed to the problem on terror in the rest of the country.

In the instant case, the NIA said that the accused persons held conspiracy meetings in Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai to recruit members to the Khilafah Party of India and other outfits floated by Sathik Batcha and R. Ashiq on the lines of proscribed terrorist organisations like the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda and NTJ of Sri Lanka.

This particular case is one of the many that the NIA has been probing in recent times. It also goes on to show that for how long the problem of radicalisation had been ignored in Kerala and the rest of South India.

The problem of radicalisation and terror recruitment is nothing new. One would have to revisit a case of 1991 in this context. The case went on to be called the Lal Singh vs Gujarat case.

Basheer, a resident of Kerala who was studying aeronautical engineering, was part of the extremist faction of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). He had organised a convention in Mumbai then Bombay. Investigations learnt back then that the convention was sponsored by Pakistan to create a liaison between the Khalistan terrorists and the SIMI.

Pakistan had brought in Lal Singh who was part of the Khalistan movement. He was to help the SIMI grow and their plan was target South India. Basheer had even carried out a reconnaissance of the Madras Stock Exchange. The plan was to bomb it, but the plan did not materialise.

This case only makes it clear that the radical mindset in states such as Kerala have cropped up in recent times, but was existing over 30 years back.

An Intelligence Bureau official OneIndia spoke with says that many agencies have been saying it for long. However it has not rung a bell with the political class then and it is only now that many realise how deep-rooted the problem is. The highest number of persons who have joined the Islamic State are from South India.

The officer also explains that now the ideology has become so strong that these radical elements are able to influence a large number of youth. These influencers were radicalised, thanks to the Wahhabi preachers who were allowed to visit South India in large numbers and propagate their ideology. This has been one of the biggest influences for the spread of radical Islam in South India and we have a problem of immense today, the official further stated.

If one looks at the various incidents one can make out that they are all inter-connected. The hijab row, the violent anti-CAA protests, the leaving for the Islamic State, the killing of Hindu leaders, plots by outfits such as the Base Movement to target judges and police personnel just to name a few. All these incidentally have taken place in the Southern part of the country and have emerged from states such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu and gradually spread into Karnataka as well.