The Students' Islamic Movement of India is observing its silver jubilee as a students' front of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, this year.
The Union Home Ministry has prepared a detailed report on the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) which says that the SIMI considers Osama bin Laden to be an "outstanding example" of a true jehadi "who has undertaken a jehad on behalf of the ummah". TheNewspaperToday has obtained a copy of the report which details the aims, objectives, links and activities of the SIMI in India.
The Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) is observing the silver jubilee of its establishment (Aligarh -1977) as a students' front of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JEI-H), this year.
Following SIMI's ideological differences with JEI-H, mainly in the context of SIMI's open and total admiration of the Islamic revolution in Iran, and its communal posture, the JEI-H started withdrawing its support from 1982, and floated another students' body called the Student's Islamic Organisation (SIO). JEI-H, however, continued to maintain links with SIMI till 1986, when it was compelled to disown the latter following SIMI's call (1986) for 'liberation' of India through Islam. The slogan caused considerable embarrassment to the JEI-H, although JEI-H leaders continued to share platforms till SIMI's Conference at Mumbai in 1992. The JEI-H and SIMI, however, maintained links over the years, which have again become quite close.
Since its inception, SIMI has consistently adopted a hard-line, militant posture on various issues of concern to the Muslim community. According to its Constitution, SIMI aims to achieve 'Allah's pleasure through reconstruction of human life in accordance with the principles given by Allah and His Messenger, and the Holy Quran and 'Sunnah' would guide the organisation in all matters towards its goal. Ideologically, therefore, SIMI maintains that the concepts of secularism, democracy and nationalism, keystones of the Indian Constitution, are antithetical to Islam. Parallel to its rejection of secularism, democracy and nationalism is SIMI's oft-repeated objective of restoration of the 'khilafat', emphasis on 'ummah', and need for 'jehad', to establish the supremacy of Islam.
The inter-linked triad of concepts- 'jehad', 'ummah' and khilafat'- provides the rationale for SIMI's postures and activities. 'Jehad' and Khilafat are usual subjects of discussion in SIMI conclaves at various levels. According to SIMI, Osama Bin Laden is an outstanding example of a true 'Mujahid', who has undertaken a 'jehad' on behalf of the 'ummah'. An organisation greatly admired by SIMI is the HAMAS. Its founder, Sheikh Mohd. Yasin, is a frequent invitee to important SIMI functions. Masood Azhar, founder of the Jaisn-e-Mohammed, is another source of inspiration for SIMI. As apart of international ramifications of Islamic 'jehad', the sufferings of Muslims in Bosnia, Kosovo, Palestine and Chechnya are highlighted by SIMI in its conclaves, and Kashmir is often referred to in this context. All these elements of SIMI's ideology are reflected in articles published in its organs, particularly the Islamic Movement.
Over the years, SIMI has developed fairly extensive pan-Islamic contacts. It is closely associated with the Riyadh-based World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) and the International Islamic Federation of Students' Organisations in Kuwait. It has links with the students' wings of the JEI units in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. Chicago-based, anti-India Consultative Committee of Indian Muslims was in touch with SIMI. Groups of SIMI sympathizers exist in several places in the Gulf States. 'Jamayyatul Ansar', a organisation of SIMI activists, comprising expatriate Indian Muslims operate in Saudi Arabia.
Several militant/fundamentalist bodies in India are controlled by former SIMI activists. Prominent among these are the NDF and Islamic Youth Centre (IYC), both Kerala based, and TMMK in Tamil Nadu. Set up in 1994, the NDF, though ostensibly a social welfare body committed to the welfare of the Muslim community, also maintains a clandestine militant apparatus. It has formed the Confederation of Human Rights Organisations, a human rights group, which mainly takes up Muslim causes. TMMK, set up in 1985, remained dormant till around 1995. Some of its cadres were involved in militant activities in the past. Its President and Treasurer were former President and Secretary, respectively, of SIMI, Tamil Nadu. IYC was established (Calicut-1978) by some ex-Ansars of SIMI, and a few JEI-H workers, with the professed objective of propagating Islamic ideology among youth/students and is registered as a charitable Trust. Majority of the Trustees and members of IYC are, or were, associated with JEI/SIMI. Incidentally, the NDF was established on the initiative of IYC to bring together ex-Ansars. Of late, SIMI was developing active contacts with the Hyderabad-based militant Muslim Organisation, Darsgah Jehad-o-Shahadat.
SIMI activists and sympathizers were involved in several explosions (February-August, 2001) on trains and elsewhere in Uttar Pradesh. Their interrogation revealed SIMI's links with the Kashmiri militant group, HM. This was further corroborated following the recent arrest of many SIMI activists of Jalgaon involved, inter alia, in the planting (Nagpur-May, 2001) of explosives outside the RSS headquarters and VHP office. They also admitted to being trained by HM in handling of arms and explosives.
Involvement of SIMI in militant and communally provocative activities is well established. In 1993, following the arrest of a Sikh terrorist, it came to light that SIMI cadres, Sikh terrorists and Kashmir militants had been brought together by Pakistan-ISI through the JEI-Pakistan in furtherance of its disruptive game-plan in India. In this context, several SIMI cadres were also imparted ideological and weapons training in Pakistan. Abdul Rehman, a Chinese Muslim militant fugitive from the Xinjiang province of China, and his escort, Nazrul Islam, a SIMI activist of West Bengal, were apprehended at the Indo-Bangladesh border in January, 2000. His interrogation revealed, inter alia, that he was in contact with a number of senior SIMI functionaries at various places in the country and participated in SIMI conferences. The arrest (September 4, 2000) of SIMI activists Maroof Ahmed and Abdul Mobin, a student of AMU, by the Uttar Pradesh Police, led to the detection of 6 cases of explosions in different districts of Uttar Pradesh during March 18- August 15, 2000. Among the cases detected was the explosion (August 14) in the Sabarmati Express in Barabanki district, resulting in death of 9 persons and injuries to many others.
SIMI was involved in provoking communal disturbances. Recently, following allegations of burning of pages of the Holy Quran in Delhi, SIMI systematically disseminated (March,2001) information to its workers across the country. It sent copies of a photograph of the alleged burning of the Holy Quran, with instructions to prepare additional copies for distribution. This led to communal disturbances in several places in the country. There are a large number of cases u/s 153 & 295 of the IPC registered against SIMI in the last few years. SIMI has tried to deliberately whip up communal frenzy through provocative posters and speeches, particularly on the anniversaries of the BM demolition. In some cases, as in Aurangabad (1999), it led to riotous situations. Several cases pertain to publications in SIMI's organ, 'Islamic Movement', simultaneously published in Urdu, English and Hindi. Recoveries of posters and other incriminating documents were also made in some cases.
A SIMI-sponsored conference (New Delhi- April 2001) was attended by fundamentalist and militant Muslims from associated organisations. It led to the setting-up of a new body called 'Tehreek Tahaffuz Sha'aire Islam' (TTSI), for the protection of 'Islamic symbols'. Some of the key office-bearers of this organisations are militant elements. Units of the TTSI have been established in some States and efforts are underway to mobilise Muslim youth under its banner. One of the main objectives of the TTSI is to take up the BM issue more aggressively in future, which is likely to vitiate the communal situation in sensitive places in the country.
Against this background of ideological underpinnings and activities of SIMI, with trans-border overtones, the belligerent and strident posture of the students' body acquires significance. An insight into SIMI's mind-set was evident during the Ikhwan Conferences organised by it in late 1999. The slogan of the Conferences, 'Allah Ki Jamaat He Ghalib Rahne Wali Hai' (Allah's Party Shall Indeed Triumph) had set the tone for the proceedings. The logo of the Conferences depicted a Quran with a hand holding a gun against a globe, encapsulating SIMI's philosophy of militant Islam. The keynote was struck by Sheikh Ahmed Yasin, 'HAMAS' leader, whose message in Arabic broadcast during the Conferences was in the nature of an exhortation for 'jehad' in defence of Islam. Even the certificates issued to the participants included the declarations ' Quran is our constitution' 'jehad is our path', and 'shahadat is our desire', reflecting SIMI's lack of commitment to the Indian Constitution.
In the circumstances, it is imperative
that urgent steps are initiated to draw up an Action Plan to deal with
the undesirable activities of SIMI and its associated organisations.