Author: Mateen Hafeez
Publication: The Times of India
Date: July 27, 2006
Introduction: As police come knocking, former
member rue joining Islamic outfit
Sajid Ahmed is now employed with a garments
outlet. He used to be a member of the Students' Islamic Movement of India
but quit the organisation even before the government banned it. He has already
submitted documentary evidence of his resignation to the local police station.
But, try as he might, he just cannot shake off the "SIMI" tag; he
is called by the police for "probes" whenever something untoward
happens anywhere in the country.
Ahmed is not alone. There are hundreds like
him who are ruing the day they joined the organisation. Ahmed's parents now
want him to marry and settle down. But no one is ready. "It is extremely
humiliating. The family of every girl my parents have spoken to have rejected
me," he said on Wednesday. There is a common ground for refusal: "Frequent
police visits to his residence."
SIMI was established in 1978, ostensibly with
an aim to build a strong nation. But, after the demolition of the Babri Masjid
in December 1992, the organisation found itself divided between moderates
and extremists. And most of the moderates started resigning, not finding a
place in an organisation they found increasingly extreme for comfort. The
ban on SIMI came in 2001.
Another former SIMI member, who requested
anonymity, said: "It has become very difficult to get a decent job because
of the SIMI label. Nobody is willing to hire me in my locality since they
fear police visits at their shops. I got a job in another area and was earning
Rs 3,000 a month but the police visited that shop and my employer sacked me
after that," he added.
Families of these men are now facing financial
crisis because of a past they claim to have given up long ago. Jameel Khan,
a tailor by profession, had also resigned from the organisation. But he has
not been able to hire himself a lawyer for the only case registered against
him after SIMI was banned.
The sole bread-winner of the family earns
around Rs 3,500 a month and says he does not have enough left over after meeting
family expenses that include his children's tuition fees and mother's medical
bills.
"I never thought in my wildest dreams
that I would have to pay such a heavy price for just being an ordinary SIMI
member. I am always living in tension, fearing the police knock. I have faith
in the judiciary but little in our police," Khan said.
But Feroz Shaikh has got used to all this;
he visits the local police station religiously twice a month.
"They call us and make us wait for hours
for a two minute talk. But, if we go 15 minutes late, we are punished and
made to wait for whole day to meet the relevant officer," he said.
(Some names have been changed)
