Author:
Publication: The Newspaper Today
Date: September 27, 2001
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.
