Author: Chandan Nandy
Publication: The Hindustan Times
Date: February 11, 2002
Warning bells of a resurgence in
Islamic fundamentalism and the danger it posed to the country's security
had been sounded way back in 1982 by the Intelligence Bureau in an exhaustive
report now dug up by the Hindustan Times.
The 80-page report, titled 'Islamic
Fundamentalism and its Bearing on India', was prepared in June 1982 and
provides details of how, since the mid-70s, Muslim bodies in India veered
towards an "orthodox brand" of Islam. They took help from Pan-Islamic organisations
like the Mecca-based Rabita-e-Alam-e-Islami and Karachi-based Motmar al-Alam-al-Islami.
After the September 11 strikes,
the Rabita Trust, believed to have links with Al-Qaeda, was banned by the
US. Experts say the entire ''revivalist fundamentalist movement could have
been nipped in the bud long back''.
The report says, the seeds of Islamic
fundamentalism were sown two decades ago. Three of its main features were
the increasing clout of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JeI) and the birth of
the SIMI in February 1977, besides the ''subservience'' of Indian (Muslim)
leaders to the Pan-Islamic agencies.
The report provides details of the
steady flow of funds from Pan-Islamic bodies in West Asia and Pakistan
to Muslim bodies here and the utilisation of the money to build mosques
and madrassas.
"The total receipt of foreign funds
by Indian Muslims increased from Rs 1.31 crore in 1979 to Rs 1.91 crore
in 1980 and Rs 2.66 crore in 1981." Foreign funds came both through open
and cove-rt channels, the report says.
"Foreign patronage of the JeI increased
during the last 3-4 years. From Rs 6.4 lakh in 1977, the known financial
assistance to JeI rose to Rs 20.7 lakh in 1978, Rs 23.1 lakh in 1979 and
Rs 22.2 lakh in 1980. In 1981, the JeI collected over Rs 96.6 lakh from
foreign sources,'' the report says.
